DENVER – Since being drafted by the Mammoth organization in the first round (seventh overall) of the 2014 NLL Entry Draft, defenseman Robert Hope has endured a lot of roles over the years.
And while he’s served as the team’s captain for several seasons now, his “rallying cry” as the club’s leader both on the turf and in the locker room required a different tune, if not tone, this time around.
He’s one of the friendliest, easy-going guys when he’s back home with his family or during the week or working at school. Hell, even once showers have been had following a good ole skirmish, he’s good company.
But the man in the arena is a different “Hopey.”
One who understands it’s his job to set and reset the bar. And then when the boys have caught up, it’s time to reset it again, which shouldn’t be much of a surprise after earning the Jay Jalbert “Teammate of the Year Award” for the fifth time this season.
RELATED: Colorado Mammoth Announce 2024-25 Team Awards
He’s the guy who’s already started training for next year’s 2025-26 National Lacrosse League campaign. Especially if that means another opportunity to suit up for his hometown Peterborough Lakers.
In a summer landscape where guys have varying interests in who, where or what they represent within respective Sr. league or outdoor play, it’s always been an easy call for No. 18 to battle it out with the group he grew up watching, if not admiring.
Yet, it’s his time with the Colorado Mammoth which brings him back into the spotlight.
Turning in new career-high 155 loose balls during the team’s most recent 2024-25 session, Hope one-upped his total of 154 from the 2023-24 season by literally one en route to pacing the squad outright.
Trailing just five men in the league’s outright rankings, he finished with the sixth-most loose balls on the season, which is also good for the sixth-most in single-season Mammoth franchise history.
Adding in eight points (0g, 8a) 16 caused turnovers and 20 penalty minutes in his 17 games played, he tied several other players with the eighth-most blocked shots (19) in the NLL, a regular extension of his longtime pal Dillon Ward’s safe zone.
Trailing only Ward (184) and longtime defenseman John Gallant (181) in games played for the franchise, Hope’s 170 sessions suited up in burgundy and black solidify him as one of the organization’s most tenured and impactful players.
Mammoth fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media throughout the offseason for the organization’s most recent news, transactions and beyond!
