NLL Insider

First off guys, just wanna say that I’m super stoked to be working with Inside Lacrosse again and am even more jacked to be a part of what’s gonna be a ridiculously amazing site at www.nllinsider.com. The coverage that we’ve got planned for this year’s NLL season and beyond is gonna definitely rock your socks off, so you better have us dialed in 24/7 starting… now.

Also, since I came on board after IL’s NLL Preview issue was already pretty much hashed out, I felt I still needed to chime in on how I think things are gonna shakedown this year. I know you all missed my input last year. I have the severe lack of hate mail to prove it. So thought I’d throw down with a preview that may or may not stray from what you’re gonna see when the NLL season preview issue hits the street.

So anyways ladies and gents, here’s your preview. Numero uno all the way to numero, ummm, whatever twelve is in Spanish. I looked at the question marks surrounding teams, who the major ball players are outside of the usual top 10 goal scorers and a bunch of other stuff that goes just a wee bit deeper than the articles that go out on a limb and project that John Grant is gonna have a good year, cuz apparently he is, gonna have another good year that is.

Anyways, enough of the small talk…

1. Colorado Mammoth

Shakedown: Bob McMahon will do what Gary Gait couldn’t; rebrand an already star-studded cast back to the Champion’s Cup without relying on what got them there in the past. That fro does more than workin’ the ladies into a frenzy; it keeps the ol’ ticker warm too. And as much as I and many others miss Jay Jalbert on the court, Josh Sims more than stepped it up last year in his absence. Expect more of the same from Sims, who to me, mighta been one of the most overlooked ball players last year anywhere in the league.

Who To Watch: Thank God for us Nenad Gajic decided to go pro with lacrosse and not hockey, cuz Gajic, like the rest of his brothers, are the new brand of ball players that the NLL, and in this case Colorado, needs playing that gritty, athletic style of lacrosse that most GM’s would give their first borns up for. He’s kinda like a Jim Veltman Version 2.0 (or whatever the geeks are sayin’ these days). He’s got the brains, athleticism and work ethic to do big things at this level.

2. Rochester Knighthawks

Shakedown: I kinda like how Buffalo’s shaping up this year, but to not have Rochester the top ranked team outta the East would just be, well, kinda wrong. Their roster is virtually unchanged from last season, a good thing by all accounts, except of course Mike Accursi going to Edmonton. Although they probably won’t miss Accursi too much during the regular season, subtract his presence from that cup run and there’s probably no cup run. Seriously though, eleven goals in three playoff games including the game winner against Toronto in a game John Grant, by his standards, was getting stoned. Take that away and I’m not sure Rochester wins the title in 07.

Who To Watch: Really like how Scott Ditzell has developed since entering the bigs. He played fewer games last year than the big minutes he put up in his rookie season and still beefed up his stats nicely. Some doubted whether he’d translate to pro box. Guess they were wrong cuz dudes the cat’s meow at the Blue Cross.

3. Buffalo Bandits

Shakedown: Although Steve Dietrich and Kyle Couling definitely still have game left in ‘em, great job by the Bandits to get quality ball players in return in the form of Sean Greenhalgh and ultimately Ian Llord (real St. Kitts flavor on that squad lately). It keeps ‘em younger than they’ve been in years and maybe the most skilled too. Crazy scary D with Billy Dee Smith, Chris White and now Llord. If Mike Thompson or Ken Montour step up and become that #1 in goal they need, John Tavares might be lifting that cup over his head for the first time in 12 years. Oh my God, I can’t believe I was 16 the last time these guys won it all. Even scarier? Llord was only ten.

Who To Watch: Well it’s gonna be whoever grabs that starting gig in the cage. Thompson or Montour? In my opinion, both guys are capable of landing the spot, but it depends who steps it up early. It’s really the only question mark surrounding these guys this year. The skies the limit if their net gets figured out. Secondary who to watch shout-out goes to Kevin Dostie, who has long been a big time performer that couldn’t find a regular gig in this league. Hopefully he’s found a home in Buffalo for a while to come, cuz those 62 points and 15 man-up helpers last year were real nice to see.

4. San Jose Stealth

Shakedown: Next to Rochester, the Stealth probably have the strongest starting four on O anywhere in the league. Colin Doyle, Jeff Zywicki, Luke Wiles and Gary Rosyski are the definition of true power forwards. None of them are afraid to get dirty and all four can torch you on any given night. Apparently rook Frank Resetarits has looked good at camp and should be right up there for ROY hardware. Hard to pick a spot they went down in. Even the ownership has stepped it up during training camp and given this team that professional feel it had been lacking in years past. Everything’s definitely lined up for something fierce outta San Jose this year.

Who To Watch: The new high profile name in the Stealth’s always stacked D has gotta be Curtis Hodgson. Steady, solid D that even landed him some WLA hardware this past summer. Now, as usual, the NLL just has to catch-up and realize what a killer this kid is and at the very least finally give him an all-star nod. Could definitely say the same thing about Erin Martin too.

5. Minnesota Swarm

Shakedown: Outside of maybe Ryan Ward and Ryan Cousins, this team has no real guys you’d label as full fledged superstars, which has definitely worked to their advantage. There are no egos on this squad, just guys that go full out, no questions asked. Really interested to see how rooks Chris Courtney and Craig Point fit into the lineup. Both have looked real good in camp and found spots on the starting 23. The roster is still super young and may lack some on-floor old school experience you find in a guy like Veltman or Tavares, but after last year’s run, maybe that doesn’t matter to these guys. Nice to see the Minny brass give Marty O’Neil enough time to properly put together a quality ball club before yanking the cord on him. Real nice stuff going on in Minnesota for sure.

Who To Watch: As big as his rookie year was last year, think Dean Hill blows it up even bigger this year. With Scott Stewart in Portland, think Hill becomes more money in clutch situations and even gives Ward a run for the points lead. Big, mobile, high scoring power forwards are not easy to come by and Minny’s got a full out stud in Hill.

6. Calgary Roughnecks

Shakedown: The Neck’s D took a hit this off-season no matter how you break it down. Do Steve Dietrich and Kyle Couling replace Taylor Wray, Craig Gelsvik, Andy Ogilvie and Jesse Phillips? They’ve definitely stepped it up in goal, but their D took some heavy hits for sure. Bruce Codd and Greg Hinman will help, but both T Wray and Gelsvik are killers back there that leave you black-and-blue whether you play nice with ‘em or not. Will be interesting to see how Ryan McNish looks with an A on his sweater and likely playing an increased role in the Necks’ own end. Offensively they’re still monsters up front, so you know they’ll be in every game no matter how things shakedown.

Who To Watch: Although Couling will be the leader on this reworked D, I think the guy that really keeps stuff together is Andrew McBride. Every year McBride is such a stud and depending on how things work out with Calgary’s D, expect to see this guy get some looks for year-end hardware. With all those defenders either traded or retired, McBride may just become an elite level, pro defender in their absence. And if he can nudge some bodies out of the way on O, I say Dan Dobbie’s stick shakes up some games this year too.

7. Toronto Rock

Shakedown: Scoring Cam Woods and then Peter Lough really saved the Rock’s season and automatically brought them back as potential contenders in the East again (emphasis on potential). How six wins slipped them into the playoffs last year is beyond me, but it really didn’t matter when they scored all of six against Rochester in that first round game (tight game, but six isn’t gonna win you much no matter what kinda game you’re in). They really need to replace Colin Dolye, who was missed last year… badly. They lack a power forward and don’t have anyone close who fits that gig. Forget replacing Doyle’s experience and leadership; just find a guy with grit and size that can score. I’m definitely not calling their forwards wimps, but Doyle filled a specific need on that O that is still a question mark heading into 08. Not having Chad Thompson in the lineup this year (injury) or Kevin Fines (Woods trade) will hurt them on the press for sure. Seems like they’ve taken a totally different approach than the one they started out with last year. Think it’s another fight for the post-season right till the end though. Consistency offensively will dictate where Toronto decides they’ll finish.

Who To Watch: Someone has definitely gotta step up on O, not only to replace Doyle’s frame in traffic but now Matt Shearer’s (underused) cannon too. Although he doesn’t fit that bill, nice to see Jon Harasym in the fold with TO, who’ll at least bring some grit and heart to the roster. Interesting to see they picked up former LAXMAG cover-boy, Nathan Sanderson. Nate’s a guy that can bring some of what Toronto’s lacking after the Doyle trade, especially in heavy traffic down the middle. Is he the next Colin Doyle? I’m not saying that. What I am saying is Nate’s game can fix some of what their broken down O lost in Colin.

8. Edmonton Rush

Shakedown: Can Mike Accursi, Ben Prepchuk and Kyle Goundrey finally get this struggling Edmonton O over the hump? All three have put up good digits over their pro careers, but all of them have also always been secondary scorers on pretty stacked NLL O’s. Would also really like to see AJ Shannon finally playing a full season in strictly an offensive role, something he never did in Buffalo. This guy can score goals, just let him do what he does best. They’ve also got a guy that has more splinters in his ass during his NLL career than if he’d slid down a wooden sled with no drawers on, Kevin Olson. What Kevin’s done during some off the chain junior and senior seasons in Burnaby is no fluke, unless you consider over 500 points in seven seasons of summer ball a fluke. Olson’s got game and hopefully Edmonton finds a steady role for him in 08. They’ve got the fire power, but can they make it work? With Arizona gone, increased scoring or not, they better land a post-seaosn spot.

Who To Watch: Even though they made some moves to shake up their O, the Rush’s biggest pickup was Ian Hawksbee, who’ll do more to their two-way game than any forward signing will do for their scoring. Fans in Edmonton are gonna love this guy for his balls out style of lacrosse. Guys gonna be a celeb on game nights.

9. Philadelphia Wings

Shakedown: The players they have on this team are full out studs. So many great guys, but they just can’t get it to work. Why? That really is the toughest question anywhere in the league. Dave Huntley and Lindsay Sanderson will have their work cut out for them this year for sure. Their top four defenders plus the likes of Geoff Snider and Rob Van Beek give Philly as good and mobile a D as any in the league, as long as they bust it back to the bench every shift out. With Greenhalgh traded, their O took a real knock. They already struggled to score with Sean in the lineup, without him, who knows. At the same time, if the Wings get it together right off the hop and stay focused, there’s no reason they can’t be clipping at Rochester and Buffalo either. Like every season lately, your guess is as good as mine as where these guys end up, but they’ve been down the “reworked” road before, so gotta have ‘em on the outside lookin’ in right now.

Who To Watch: I’m gonna go out on a limb here and go with a rook. I really think Merrick Thomson does well this year. Even though he’s been a field only guy lately, I think the NLL was made for players like him. He’s got the size and scoring sense to make him a perfect ball player to start ripping hard cuts and either opening stuff up for guys like Dan Marohl or just taking it to the cage himself. I think Thomson is a multifaceted threat and should slide into that O pretty nicely. This is a role the Wings desperately need filled and I think the second overall pick takes the spot. Runner up is Jamie Rooney, who with Marohl at the top of the point can become a pretty crazy two headed monster.

10. Portland Lumberjax

Shakedown: Yeah Dan Dawson is a kinky freak up front (at least that’s what I hear from people), but Portland had issues last year that I think go beyond what Dan can do for them. I’m reading on the message boards that these guys are championship caliber material, but I just don’t see it right now. Think last year showed just how much the Jax rely on Brodie Merrill and if he’s off even for just a bit, the team flounders. Yeah, I know, Derek Malawsky is there too, but both him and Dan are quick fixes. Portland came up with some hopeful short term solutions (scored huge from the Sting fallout) but has anything really been solved? Should be interesting to see how chemistry meshes on teams who dropped ball players in place of Arizona Sting pickups. No knock on the guys that were forced to leave Zona for other cities, they’re just doing their job, but this sets up chemistry issues this year and good ball players (see Ryder Bateman) getting axed.

Who To Watch: Not sure he’ll even get many minutes, but one of the few long term solutions that was addressed this off-season was their keeper of the future, Whitby stud, Joel Weber. With young keepers tough to come by, I can’t believe Weber was available so low in the draft (44^th overall). If Dallas Eliuk needs some time off, hopefully Weber gets that tap on the back from Derek Keenan.

11. Chicago Shamrox

Shakedown: I gotta admit, I was kinda surprised to see Chicago do as well as they did last year for their first time out. Defensively, these guys were pretty decent in 07, but with Woodsy in TO, are they still as solid? I think Chicago, like Portland, scored huge in the Sting yard sale. Scott Self’s gonna save ‘em in the Woods loss big time. But again, he’s another one year rental guy that a team is putting a lot of stock in this season. Ditto for Lindsay Plunkett up front. Not questioning anyone’s heart, but this Sting fallout has created an odd situation I’ve never seen in any other sport before. Should be interesting to see how team’s mesh. Obviously with that Peterborough link on this club, chemistry shouldn’t be too hard too drum early, but chemistry in any sport is a tricky business. We’ll see.

Who To Watch: Kevin Fines isn’t gonna replace Woods, for one they play different roles, but what Fines will do is bring a smash mouth style of lacrosse that makes that Woods swap a lot less one sided than some critics made it out to be. 15 goals the last two years, I say breaking the 20+ mark is a done deal in 08 for Fines. The real work from Fines comes through his work between those restraining lines, the trenches, where games are won and lost. Think Kevin brings another dimension to their O press that they were kidna lacking last year. And if former Toronto Beaches JR A standout Bobby McBride can run the floor with the dominance he did not so many years ago, Chicago could have the sleeper free agent signing of the year. Fines, McBride and Brock Boyle are three Canucks who can go stride-for-stride with most in the league.

12. New York Titans

Shakedown: Not sure New York addressed their true needs in the off-season. They let in a helluva lotta goals last year. Matt Vinc is playing the role of Gee Nash in the Big Apple from like seven plus years back. The similarities are uncanny. A young, kick-ass keeper with a D that just can’t keep the floodgates closed. They need some big, nasty, blood thirsty Canucks patrolling their backcourt and even though picking up a worker like Pat Merrill was a good first step, they need more guys like that STAT! They’ve got the guys that can score. They’ve got guys that can push the offensive press, even more so with Jordan Hall in the mix. But what they really need is a couple axe murders in front of Vino or it could be 07 all over again. It’s one thing to be athletic and able to run laps up-and-down the court. It’s another thing to bust out the plugs that’ll run their man through the boards and into the cheap seats. Being a plug is no glamour gig, but some toothless SOB has gotta do it.

Who To Watch: Jamie Hanford doesn’t really fit the above description, but he’s definitely gonna add some stability to the roster. With Cub winning at the circle, slowing things down and letting New York take stock of what they need on the court, hopefully that subtracts a good 10 to 20 goals-against off the 233 they let in last year.

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