We could learn today whether the St. John’s Edge will have Carl English in the lineup as they begin their second-round NBL Canada playoff series against the KW Titans this weekend. As for another possible roster addition, it seems we’ll have to wait and see.
The Edge are holding a media availability with head coach Steve Marcus and the team’s players this afternoon at Mile One Centre, where the main topic of conversation will be the status of English, the 38-year-old star guard who hasn’t played in more than two months following surgery to repair ligament damage in his left thumb.
However, the Patrick’s Cove native and 2018 NBL Canada MVP has been working diligently in practice to judge his readiness for the best-of-seven matchup with the Titans, which gets underway with games Saturday and Monday nights (7 p.m. starts) at Mile One Centre.
If English is activated, it will give St. John’s 11 players on its playing roster. Twelve is the maximum, but the NBL Canada deputy commissioner disputed a report in Tuesday’s Telegram which said e Edge already had gained the league’s permission to fill the other vacancy.
St. John’s had been operating with 11 players on the active roster, not including English, since the team parted ways with guard Tra-Deon Hollins late in the regular season. That number dropped to 10 when Canadian Shaquille Keith suffered a broken foot during the Edge’s first-round playoff series with the Sudbury Five.
Keith has since been placed on injured reserve.
However, deputy commissioner Audley Stephenson said in an e-mail that the Telegram’s Tuesday claim St. John’s had league permission to fill the 12th roster spot was “100% false,” adding the story “was released prior to the league even receiving an official request from the team.”
If and when such a request is (or has since) been made, and if a league waiver is granted, there is no certainty St. John’s will fill the spot, especially given the possible difficulty of bringing in players so late in the season.
Games 3 and 4, as well as any necessary Game 5, of the Edge-Titan series would be in Kitchener, Ont., although dates were still to be announced as of Tuesday evening. The same goes for Games 6 and 7, which would be played at Mile One, if they are necessary.
Tickets for the first two games of the series went on sale Tuesday through the Mile One box office.
The Edge-Titans winner will advance to the league championship series to play either the Halifax Hurricanes or Moncton Magic, who square off in an Atlantic Division final that begins Thursday.
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