NLL Insider

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Rochester Knighthawks
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The only thing tougher than winning a championship is repeating (ask Colorado). Everyone wants to knock off the champs, so they get the opponent’s best game every night.

In a parity-filled league like the NLL, everything has to go right to win it all. A key injury or bad period by a goaltender can quickly kill championship chances. In hockey, the 2006 Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes didn’t even make the playoffs the following year. However, Rochester won’t suffer a championship hangover. They will become the first NLL repeat champions since the Toronto Rock in 2003.

It’s ludicrous to say that Rochester won’t catch anyone by surprise this year. When is the last time Rochester has been a surprise?

Quite simply, the reason they will repeat is that they are still the NLL’s best team.
And with the monkey off their backs, expect to see a much looser Knighthawks squad. John Grant and a number of his Rochester teammates have tasted so much success lately. Between the 2007 NLL championship, Minto Cup, Mann Cup and World Indoor Lacrosse Championship, these guys have seen the view from the penthouse — and they like it. They won’t be moving to a lower floor soon.

Manager Jody Gage has kept everyone from last year’s team except sniper Mike Accursi. He even managed to get young Jack Reid back from Boston after trading him for a first-round pick prior to the Expansion Draft. Accursi, who would have been an unrestricted free agent, was traded to Edmonton for a first-round pick in ’09 (Zack Greer’s year). Rochester will miss Accursi, but it will give Shawn Evans more floor time, something he has craved.

Offense: Last year the Knighthawks scored 40 more goals than Buffalo, the next-best team in the East. They will dominate here again. Grant, Shawn Williams, Scott Evans and Shawn Evans have all spent their lives winning scoring titles. With support from Ken Millen and transition players like Steve Toll and Steve Hoar, this team will have no problem scoring goals.

Defense: Last season the Knighthawks lost Mike Hasen to injury and didn’t miss a beat. They’re deep on defense with Regy Thorpe, Marshall Abrams, Scott Ditzell and Pat Cougevan.

Goaltending: Pat O’Toole is still one of the NLL’s best goaltenders, but Rochester lacks an experienced backup and will be in trouble if O’Toole gets hurt.

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Colorado Mammoth
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The Era of Gary Gait is over. After helping establish Denver as the preeminent pro lacrosse city in North America, the legendary Gait has returned to Syracuse to coach the women’s team. The search for Gary’s replacement caused a lot of excitement as the Mammoth made a splash by offering the job to 44-year-old Toronto captain Jim Veltman. In the end the Rock managed to keep Veltman and the Mammoth went to Plan B by hiring 2002 NLL Coach of the Year Bob McMahon from Arizona. McMahon is recognized as one of the NLL’s brightest coaches; he enjoyed his role as an assistant to Bob Hamley in Arizona, and leaving the Sting is proof that he also has good timing.

This is a team that is still in great shape. Last year, after a 12-4 regular season, their hopes for a repeat were dashed when the Mammoth lost in overtime to San Jose. (Colin Doyle’s 10-point performance and Jeff Zywicki’s seven goals beat them 15-14.)

Even though they don’t get high picks, the Mammoth has drafted well and last year had two players on the All-Rookie Team (Jamie Shewchuk and Nenad Gajic). Two years ago they chose Dan Carey, who has blossomed into a star. This season, former Rutgers attackman Nathan Sanderson, son of Philadelphia manager Lindsay Sanderson, was their top pick.

Offense: Superstar Gavin Prout will get 90-plus points every season and now has a lot of support from Carey, who scored 76 points last year. Shewchuk scored 27 goals as a rookie, Brian Langtry is always dangerous and this year they have added power-play specialist Jason Wulder from Edmonton. They also picked up Matt Brown in the Dispersal Draft. Brown scored 59 points in 28 games with Arizona and is thrilled to be playing in Denver, where he plays for the MLL Outlaws and coaches at the University of Denver.

Defense: Colorado picked up 6-1, 260-pound Bruce Murray from Arizona in the Dispersal Draft and he will play alongside veterans Pat Coyle, Rich Catton and John Gallant. The Mammoth lost two vets when Dave Stilley retired and Jamie Hanford signed with New York.

Goaltending: In net, Gee Nash’s health is a concern since he has had some recent back problems. But Chris Levis is capable and comes off a Mann Cup appearance last summer.

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Buffalo Bandits
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Rochester stopped the Bandits from making their second straight NLL championship game. Buffalo made a blockbuster three-way deal with Calgary and Philadelphia this summer, trading 2006 MVP goaltender Steve Dietrich, defender Kyle Couling and underrated forward Jason Crosbie. In return they got tough, young defender Ian Llord and Philadelphia’s leading scorer and potential superstar Sean Greenhalgh.

They also had a change on the bench as Darris Kilgour’s right-hand man, Troy Cordingley, became the head coach in Calgary.

Aside from goaltending, this is a team that is still very deep in talent. It’s hard to believe that John Tavares, one of the best lacrosse players ever, will be 40 years old in 2008 and last year he still scored 103 points in 15 games (41 points more than Buffalo’s second-leading scorer). I still expect Buffalo to solidify their goaltending position.

They also took a calculated risk by drafting Craig Conn from Arizona in the Dispersal Draft. Conn had a knee injury that looked like it might keep him out for the entire NLL season, but there was talk in the preseason that Buffalo expects him back – possibly as soon as February.

Offense: They have veterans Dan Teat and Cory Bomberry, along with plenty of young talent in Kevin Dostie, Delby Powless, Roger Vyse, Greenhalgh and Brett Bucktooth. Mark Steenhuis is among the best transition players in the NLL and Pat McCready is also a dangerous offensive threat from the defense. If Conn returns and all of these players find the right chemistry, this might be the best offense in the NLL.

Defense: Buffalo is deep on defense. They will miss Couling but they still have Chris White, Kyle Laverty, McCready, Phil Sanderson, Billy Dee Smith and now Llord. What they don’t have is an experienced starting goaltender and they take too many penalties — a good man-short unit (fourth in the NLL last year) isn’t enough. Critics say the Bandits are undisciplined, while Buffalo’s coaches say they’re just a marked team. Either way, this team will not win until they reduce their penalty minutes.

Goaltending: Buffalo will go with 31-year-old Mike Thompson in goal. Even though he only has 550 minutes of NLL experience, Thompson played for Kilgour with St. Regis in the OLA the past few years. Many think goaltending is a question mark for the Bandits, but Buffalo coaches say they’re confident in what they have.

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Calgary Roughnecks
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Rookie coach Troy Cordingley won’t admit it, but he is thrilled that his first head-coaching job in the NLL is with a team that has a chance to win the Champion’s Cup. Calgary is a team that has underachieved since winning it all in 2004. There’s not much buzz about the Roughnecks being a contender this season, and that’s how most coaches like it.  

It actually sounds funny to call Cordingley a rookie since he’s been an NLL assistant for many years (most recently in Buffalo) and a head coach in the OLA for a few years. He’s reunited with manager Kurt Silcott, who was also with the Bandits, and he has brought Terry Sanderson (his righthand man in Brampton) along as an assistant.

This team has strength at all positions. Last summer they traded Taylor Wray and draft choices for 2006 NLL MVP goaltender Steve Dietrich and former all-star defender Kyle Couling. They lost Kyle Goundrey to Edmonton as a free agent but young Jeff Shattler is ready to get extra floor time on offense after a fantastic summer playing for Cordingley’s Brampton Excelsiors. Lewis Ratcliff, Tracey Kelusky and Kaleb Toth are all superstars. Management is also high on No. 4 overall draft choice Dane Dobbie, as well as No. 10 pick Peter McFeteridge. Both played for the Minto Cup finalist Burnaby Lakers.

In the Dispersal Draft, Calgary picked up goaltender Pat Campbell, who will compete for the backup position, and defender Bruce Codd , a workhorse who fights for every looseball. They also signed veteran Curt Malawsky, who will have one of the easier commutes of his long NLL career.

Offense: Depth is the key word here: Kelusky, Toth, Ratcliff, Shattler, Malawsky, Scott Ranger, Kelly Hall. Only Rochester has a better starting six.

Defense: Also deep. When training camp opened in November, Calgary had Couling, Codd, Andrew McBride, Ryan McNish, Jeff Moleski, Kyle Neufeld competing for jobs with youngsters McFeteridge, and brothers Mike and Scott Carnegie (who played for Cordingly last summer). Defensive coach Terry Sanderson will make sure everyone knows that jobs are available. He has coached most of the new faces at some time in their careers and won’t hesitate to cut fan favorites if he thinks it will make the team better.

Goaltending: Dietrich comes over from Buffalo after ranking fourth in the league in save percentage last year. The Roughnecks are hoping the former league MVP can push them to the next level.

5 (5)

San Jose Stealth
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The Stealth surprised me last year.

After going 9-23 over 2005-06, I wasn’t expecting much out of San Jose, but pulling off the colossal deal for superstar Colin Doyle just before last season helped them go 8-2 down the stretch after they found their chemistry. Doyle scored 81 points and once again was Mr. Clutch in the playoffs.

This team looks like a contender again and GM Johnny Mouradian didn’t make many moves this offseason. One move he did make was sending Andrew Burkholder and Callum Crawford to Chicago for the No. 5 draft choice that he used to pick Albany’s Frank Resetarits, a first-team All-America from the Buffalo area that has serious box lacrosse experience. In his last year of Junior A, he scored 43 goals for St. Catherine’s. In the Dispersal Draft, the Stealth picked Peter Veltman for immediate help and Sean Morris for the future.

Offense: This team has four battle-tested players in Doyle, Luke Wiles, Gary Rosyski and Jeff Zywicki who have all won major championships. Expect Resetarits to contribute immediately.

Defense/Goaltending: Eric Martin and Kyle Sorenson are two young stars with the potential to dominate defensively. Former goaltender Paul Dawson (brother of Dan Dawson) spent last summer playing defense for Brampton. Expect him to do the same for San Jose; the goaltending duties will go to last year’s NLL Goaltender of the Year Anthony Cosmo and backup Aaron Bold.

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Philadelphia
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Two years ago I said Philly would make the playoffs. Last year I guaranteed it. Can I go double or nothing?

This team has forgotten how to win big games and has been especially disappointing given how much talent they’ve had. Ownership recognized this when they fired coach Lindsay Sanderson but kept manager Lindsay Sanderson. Hiring his own replacement, Sanderson brought in Dave Huntley , who was actually Philly’s first general manager in 1987. Huntley has a wealth of coaching experience and was an integral member of the coaching staff when Canada won the World Outdoor Championship in 2006.

The team also made some personnel changes, giving up last year’s leading scorer Sean Greenhalgh and and young defender Ian Llord for Calgary’s Taylor Wray and Buffalo’s Jason Crosbie . Wray, a Duke graduate and Lehigh assistant coach, was the 2004 NLL Defender of the Year.

Offense: Philly will rely on Athan Iannucci, Kyle Wailes, Dan Marohl, Jake Bergey, Keith Cromwell and Crosbie, an underrated seven-year veteran who should help Philly’s anemic power play. Geoff Snider’s unique abilities make him a threat all over the floor. His face-off dominance gives his team a scoring chance on almost every draw, and his physical presence boosts the entire roster.

Defense/Goaltending: Wray’s physical abilities will have an immediate impact on the defense and he will get plenty of help from Tom Hajek, Kyle Sweeney and Shawn Nadelen. The Wings also improved their goaltending by acquiring Rob Blasdell in the Dispersal Draft. The 37-year-old comes off one of his best seasons and, with Matt Roik , the twosome should provide solid goaltending.

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Toronto Rock
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Last season was the worst in Rock history, and this summer they almost lost the heart of the franchise in Jim Veltman to Colorado’s head coaching vacancy. Losing Veltman would have been like the Detroit Red Wings losing Steve Yzerman to the Colorado Avalanche near the end of his Hall of Fame career. While the 41-year-old Veltman is not as dangerous as he was a few years ago, he’s still a legitimate all-star and one of the NLL’s most versatile players. A deal has already been arranged for him to become part of Toronto’s management/coaching staff in ‘09, after his final season as a player this year.

Offense: Josh Sanderson is still their most dangerous offensive threat: he led the team in scoring last season with 85 points. Blaine Manning’s goals have dropped the past two years (39 in ‘05, 28 in ‘06, 21 in ‘07), but he and Aaron Wilson are the most dangerous right shooters. Under considerable pressure as Doyle’s replacement, Ryan Benesch won over fans with 33 goals and the Rookie of the Year award last year. Kasey Beirnes and Jon Harasym add depth on offense.

Defense/Goaltending: Last season I said Toronto’s most mobile defenders were Patrick Merrill and Phil Sanderson . They’re both gone, but the Rock picked up Cam Woods and Peter Lough to bolster their defense. Both were team captains last year and both are big, strong and athletic. In net, Bob Watson still gives Toronto the chance to win any game.

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Toronto Rock
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If you checked the ballots for Coach of the Year last season, you would probably find that Minnesota coach Duane Jacobs finished second behind Ed Comeau. Jacobs made a smooth transition to head honcho in Minnesota, and his coaching résumé got even better after leading the Iroquois Nationals to within an OT goal of the World Indoor Championship last May. Although I picked Minnesota to finish fifth in the East, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them finish as high as third.

On draft day, the Swarm dealt for No. 3 pick Craig Point from Boston. Point scored 11 goals for the Iroquois in the World Championship and was also an integral part of 2007 Minto Cup Champion Six Nations. Minnesota picked up another Iroquois player in Andy Secore from the Dispersal Draft. Secore has 25 points in 17 career games and is a former OLA Junior A MVP.

Offense: In 2006, the Swarm had the league’s third-worst offense. Last year they were fifth. Ryan Ward led all point-getters with 75, but rookie Dean Hill had the most goals with 32. The Swarm made room for Point and Secore by trading away Kasey Beirnes and Spencer Martin.

Defense: Captain Ryan Cousins , the 2007 Defender of the Year, anchors the back. He gets help from Andrew Biers, Ryan Sharp and talented youngster Mike Grimes . Goaltender Nick Patterson will be relied on even more with veteran Matt Disher in Edmonton.

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Edmonton Rush
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If Edmonton doesn’t make the playoffs this year, you can’t blame GM Paul Day for not doing enough in the offseason. In their expansion year, the Rush couldn’t score goals and went 1-15. Last season, the additions of Chris Gill , Dan Stroup and Jason Wulder gave Edmonton the type of players who could score the big goal when the game was on the line, and Edmonton’s record jumped to 6-10. Through trades, free agency and the Dispersal Draft, Day has added Mike Accursi, Kyle Goundrey, Ben Prepchuk, Chris Seller, Chris McKay and goaltender Matt Disher .

Offense: Edmonton is without Wulder, whom they traded to Colorado, but his scoring should easily be made up with the addition of righties Accursi and Prepchuk. Goundrey doesn’t put up huge numbers, but he is a lefty who does all the dirty work to make things easier for his teammates and he’s capable of scoring the big goal. A healthy AJ Shannon will also be a bonus after playing only five games last season.

Defense: This was a team that was originally built on defense. Former NLL Defender of the Year Andy Turner is the leader but he will get help from Buck Stobart, Rory Glaves and veteran Rob Williams . Cam Bergman and Seller provide two of the league’s speediest transition players. Goaltending is solid with 2004 NLL Championship Game MVP Curtis Palidwor and backup Matt Disher.

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Portland Lumberjax
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In their expansion season, the LumberJax lucked out by winning the coin toss and drafting Brodie Merrill. A favorable schedule helped them overachieve and take first place in the West. Last season, I said they would drop — but I didn’t expect them to have the league’s worst record.

Once again, luck has struck. Portland’s poor 2007 season allowed them to grab the league’s second-most dominant offensive player in the Dispersal Draft: 6-5 superstar Dan Dawson.

Portland is still not a sure thing to make the playoffs, but I like their chances better with Dawson. GM/Coach Derek Keenan is very high on No. 6 draft pick Tyler Codron , who he thinks was the draft’s best athlete. He also feels that newcomers Spencer Martin and Mike Kilby will add some grit.

Offense: Last year Portland had the league’s worst offense. Enter Dawson and Derek Malawsky , who has averaged almost three assists per game over his career. Only Ryan Powell, Peter Morgan and Kelly Hall broke 40 points for Portland in ‘07. Expect everyone’s numbers to improve.

Defense: Last summer, Merrill played more offense than defense for Brampton, which will help him in transition for Portland. Big Bruce Alexander (6-5, 250 lbs.) and Richard Morgan (6-8, 260 lbs.) provide one of the NLL’s most imposing defenses. They will also have speedy youngster Brad MacDonald . In net they will go with 43-year-old Dallas Eliuk , but will give 26-year-old Matt King more starts than last year.

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Chicago Shamrox
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The future is now for the Shamrox. They were competitive last year and finished their expansion season with as many wins as Toronto and Philadelphia. This year, however, anything less than a playoff spot isn’t good enough.

GM/Coach Jamie Batley has been busy. Between the Entry and Dispersal Drafts, Chicago essentially picked up seven players who will probably be in the starting lineup, and a strong rookie in Kevin Ross. Although they lost a great defender in Cam Woods, Scott Self is a very similar player.

Offense: Batley won his third Mann Cup this summer with Peterborough. Although he can’t have Peterborough stars John Grant, Dan Carey and Tracey Kelusky play for the Shamrox, he still likes to surround himself with Lakers. Last year, his top four goal-scorers ( Jason Clark, Chris Panos, Mat Giles and Josh Wasson-McQuigge ) had all played for him in Peterborough. Rookies Wasson and Bill McGlone each had impressive seasons with over 40 points. Add newcomers Callum Crawford, Andrew Burkholder, Lindsay Plunkett and Andrew Lazore into the mix, Chicago should have a much deeper offense.

Defense: Self will be the new leader on defense. He will get help from Carter Livingstone, Brock Boyle, Darryl Gibson, Mike Kirk, Kevin Fines and Kyle Dupont . (Gibson, Self and Dupont all played for Batley this summer.) Brandon Miller will start in goal and he’ll be backed up by another Laker, Derek Collins.

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New York Titans
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Even though the Titans shared the league’s worst record (4-12) last year, there were some positives. They won two of their last three games — without injured star Casey Powell, who was on pace for 100 points. Pat Maddalena and Ryan Boyle each broke the 80-point mark and rookie Brendan Mundorf scored 44 points in his first season of indoor lacrosse.

Last year, the Titans traded the No. 1 draft pick to San Jose for Boyle, and this year they traded their third selection and Matt Alrich to get the top pick, which they used to draft Jordan Hall. (They wound up getting Alrich back from Boston in the Dispersal Draft.)

Offense: This team has plenty of firepower with Powell, Maddalena and Boyle. Hall scored at least one point in each of his last 31 games at Delaware. He was also the youngest member of Team Canada’s World Championship team in 2006, and last summer scored 38 points in 12 games for New Westminster.

Defense: New York got a huge boost when they got Patrick Merrill in the Dispersal Draft. Merrill is a tenacious defender who battles hard for every looseball and is not afraid to drop the mitts. He’ll get help from Alrich and Jeff Spano . The Titans will probably use Hall at both ends of the floor to take advantage of his speed and versatility. Matt Vinc will be the starting goaltender; he’ll be backed up by veteran Erik Miller .