How Joey Spallina Learned Box Lacrosse at Orangeville

Joey Spallina’s box lacrosse development did not start from zero when he went to Canada. He had played box locally while growing up, but his major step into the Canadian game came in summer 2023, after his freshman season at Syracuse. He joined the Orangeville Northmen and learned within a Junior A team environment. Inside Lacrosse’s interview-based account distinguishes that earlier local experience from his introduction to Canadian Junior A.

Why he went to Orangeville

Spallina wanted to understand how his box-trained Syracuse teammates saw the game—not simply add indoor games to his schedule. Owen Hiltz, Finn Thomson and incoming teammate Trey Deere were among the players whose perspective he wanted to understand as the quarterback of Syracuse’s offense.

Orangeville general manager Nick Rose had contacted him the previous year, but the timing around finishing high school and starting at Syracuse did not work. The opportunity came together in 2023. Head coach Rusty Kruger also had a family connection: he had played professionally with Joey’s uncle, Brian Spallina. Inside Lacrosse reported those connections; a later USA Lacrosse profile described Rose and Kruger’s support in bringing him into the program.

What changed once he was on the floor

The first adjustment was physical. Spallina recalled cutting through the middle on his first shift and taking a hard slash to the arm. His existing stick skills did not make Canadian Junior A a familiar playing environment.

He learned alongside experienced box players, including Deere and Koleton Marquis. Spallina lived with a host family—a billet—roomed with Marquis and spent much of the summer with Deere. Deere described him as a quick learner who adapted to the game’s physical demands. Spallina also credited the summer with substantially improving his shooting. Source: Inside Lacrosse

Just as important was the detail of the team game. In a later interview, Spallina described his experience of Canadian box this way: “box in Canada is very detailed and every little thing matters.” That was his comparison with the U.S. box he had played, not a universal judgment on every American program. His stated aim remained learning what box-trained players were thinking and how they read the game. Source: World Lacrosse

A second summer, then learning from U.S. veterans

Spallina scored 148 points in his first OJLL campaign. He returned to Orangeville in 2024 and helped the Northmen win the league championship. Through that championship, Syracuse Athletics reported 202 points—80 goals and 122 assists—across 29 games, leading the OJLL in all three categories. Source: Syracuse Athletics

Making the 2024 U.S. men’s box roster gave him another learning environment. During preparations for the world championship, he told World Lacrosse that he was learning from veterans including Tom Schreiber and Joel White. Schreiber later withdrew through injury, as USA Lacrosse’s pre-tournament profile noted.

With the national team, Spallina also welcomed a different offensive role:

“I can play off-ball and play in the two-man game. I can be the guy who makes the pick instead of the guy who plays off of it.”

That comment shows how his role could change: helping create an opening for someone else, rather than always being the player using it. A two-man game is a coordinated action between two attackers, often involving a pick. Source: USA Lacrosse

Calgary selected him fifth overall in the 2026 NLL draft as a right-side offensive player—a later milestone, not the starting point of his box education. His route had already included local box exposure, two summers in Orangeville’s Junior A program and learning from national-team veterans. Source: NLL draft record