NLL Insider

NLL Insider has the “Money Ballers” and “Top 20 Player Rankings.”  The NLL ranks individuals by Goals and by Points.  Goalies are assessed by Goals Against Average.  I have always found it hard to evaluate defenders. Without a “Takeaway” or “Turnover” stat we are left to rely on more subjective criteria.  The next most obvious ranking is “Loose Balls.”  Props are often given to the Ground Ball King … typically Jim “Hoover” Veltman or Brodie Merrill, while the leagues classic grinders often go unnoticed.

Let’s face it…racking up the LB’s doesn’t just happen.  Especially those who grab 10 a night!  So this week I dusted off my calculator to unveil the top LB men in the league.  I stayed away from transgression analysis or a complicated algorithm.

In order to make the list you needed to average at least 7 a game.  It comes as no surprise that on the top of the list is Geoff Snider, Brodie Merrill and Steve Toll.  Some might argue that Snider tops the list as the result of facing off.  Although that is true, you don’t see any other draw men with similar stats.  If other’s could master the plunger like Snider, I am sure they would.  Gone also are the days when goalies topped the list because they were given a stat after corralling a save. 

Rounding out the top 5 are American natives Jarett Park and Eric Martin.  Glad to see they made the All Star Rosters.  Of note to me is Athan Iannucci at #6 … more support for his MVP campaign.  On the team front, Philly dominates with 8 players in the top 24…for all of you not majoring in math, that’s a third of the players on the list.  Teams without a dominant ground ball machine:  Chicago and Colorado.  Although to their defense, the Mammoth had 5 players with at least 6 per game.

So without further ado…The Top 24 LB Men in the NLL.

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