NLL Insider

The Rookie of the Week award has to go out to Buffalo Bandits’ goaltender Daniel Sams. The third string back-up put up a franchise record 60 saves in the Bandits’ 13-8 victory over Chicago.

Despite being outshot 68-39, the Bandits put together another win. Buffalo now sits tied for third in the Eastern Division with Toronto, half-a-game up on New York and one game ahead of Rochester. The Bandits are expected to finally get their No. 1 starter Mike Thompson back in their next game versus Philly. Thompson’s missed the last few games due to a concussion. Back-up Ken Montour was also injured with a concussion, forcing Sams into action.

It was Sams’ first start in the NLL. 60 saves… Not a bad way to start.

Other rookie tenders this year include Joel Weber in Portland and Kevin Croswell in Minnesota.

Weber has yet to see any action as a third-string goalie behind Matt King and Dallas Eliuk. Croswell is Minny’s back-up. He’s played in two games this season to relieve all-star starter Nick Patterson. Combined, Croswell’s played about a quarter (13:45 to be exact) and stopped 13 of 18 shots.

Since I talked about rookie goaltenders to kick this post off, I thought I’d go ahead and also rank the top rookie forwards and d-men this week.

With the help of some NLL Insiders and General Managers (GMs), here’s the list we’ve come up with…

Offense

1/ Craig Point, Minnesota – He is the complete package, has great hands and plays well inside and outside. Plays like a veteran with poise under pressure
2/ Jordan Hall, New York – Outstanding athlete with a ton of speed, the No. 1 overall NLL Entry Draft selection contributes offensively and in transition
3/ Merrick Thomson, Philadelphia – The best pure goal scorer in the group. Uses his size at 6′2, 210lbs to go to the net, plus he’s got a rocket shot
4/ Jaime Rooney, Philadelphia – Not the biggest guy, but just has a knack for finding seams and the back of the net. Fearless when going to the cage
5/ Frank Resetarits, San Jose – Another natural goal scorer with great size at 6′2 and over 200lbs, he’s able to score from inside and out
6/ Brandon Swamp, Buffalo – Filling in nicely with Bandits’ injuries. GMs speak highly of his skill. Runs the floor well and has had an impact on both ends
7/ Cory Conway, Portland – Showing signs of why he led Victoria Jr. A in scoring last season. Big guy with tremendous speed and stick skills
8/ Matt Lyons, Rochester – Proven scoring touch, good hands. Rochester’s confident he’ll be a great scorer at the pro level, too
9/ Dylan Llord, Colorado – Young forward with lots of up-side, plays well in traffic and has a decent outside shot
10/ Peter Jacobs, Portland – Talk about young, Jacobs was born in ‘89. Great stick skills. GMs are saying he could be a superstar

Defense

1/ Kyle Ross, Minnesota – Incredible awareness on the floor, Ross is fast and aggressive, not afraid to mix it up and able to push the ball up floor
2/ Tyler Codron, Portland – Solid one-on-one defender, he’s tenacious with wheels and skill in transition
3/ Pat Heim, Philadelphia – A gifted athlete with all the tools. Heim can play solid on both ends of the floor and fits in with Philadelphia’s up-style tempo
4/ Steve Panarelli, San Jose – Plays a little dirty, but it’s nice to see scrappiness from an American. Will adjust. Great athlete
5/ Bobby McBride, Chicago – Extremely fast, good in transition. Kind of a Steve Toll type player
6/ Kyle Schmelzle, Buffalo – Big, aggressive and quick. Lots of GMs like the way this kid plays
7/ Mike Carnegie, Calgary – More of a role player per say, but quietly does his job and is good at pressuring the ball carrier
8/ Mitch Belisle, NY – Still trying to make an adjustment to the box game but he could be good. One of the best defenders in college D1 last season
9/ Paul Dawson, SJ – Another guy making the adjustment, from goal, but at 6’5, Dawson obviously has the size and SJ has been impressed with his play
10/ Jim Borell, Philadelphia – Tremendous speed. Contributes in transition and helps that up-tempo Wings’ style

Opinions vary, so feel free to sound off on the NLL Forums or hit me up via email if you think the list should be altered.

By the way, Thomson missed last weekend ’cause he was at the altar. Not for himself, but to be the best man in his buddy’s wedding. That hurts his shot at breaking the six-year NLL rookie point scoring record that he was originally on pace to eclipse.

“It would have been nice if it did not conflict with the game but sometimes you have to make sacrifices for friends and family,” said Thomson, “I have no regrets especially when we won 17-8. I just hope I get back in the line up.”

Merrick Thomson has 22 points in 4gp. Rooney’s now got 20 in 5gp. In 8gp, Point has 39 points and Hall has 32. Craig Point’s actually Top 10 in the league in goals scored, and tied with John Tavares with 17 goals.

An All-America at Simon Fraser and a decorated Jr. A player for Coquitlam, Kojima began covering lacrosse in 2003 and started working for Inside Lacrosse in 2007. Email him at steve.kojima@nllinsider.com or go to www.laxfuj.com .

Rate This Story:

(15 votes, average: 4.27 out of 5)

 Loading ...