NLL Insider

Word to the wise, when you sign yourself up to tackle a project like The Money Ballers, do not wait for something like 75 games to be played before you start sifting through the digits, unless you have like seven straight hours to kill.

Anyways, my back might look like Quasimodo’s hump and my vision is about as blurred as you can get, but not to worry, the first edition of the Junior A Money Ballers is complete… every God damn game included, even last night’s trio.

So a couple quick things. Unlike the NLL, OT in the summer months is a bit different. The boys up here play a full extra period no matter if zero goals are scored or if a hundred goals are scored. There’s no sudden death and like we’ve seen a couple times this year already, if it’s still knotted after OT, it stays tied.  So as you’ll see below, I had to add a few extra point values for the different goals scored in extra time.

Also, although some teams from BC and Ontario are in-and-around the same amount of games played, due to BC kicking things off earlier and Ontario fast tracking a few teams that carry a number of guys that will be playing for Canada at the U19’s, not everyone has played an equal amount of games. Right now, Whitby has already played 11 games, the most in the country, while a team like Orangeville has only played four.

Due to available stats, we’ve only included Ontario and BC, which is no disrespect to Alberta, but right now at least, the digits for those teams just aren’t available. Word is the RMLL is launching a new site in coming days, so if the game data is there, I’ll definitely give the kids playing in Calgary and Edmonton the same looks I give the other two provinces with Jr. A teams. Seriously, I love Alberta ball, so that was no knock on ya.

And for the new readers that didn’t follow our NLL Edition of The Money Ballers, what we’re trying to do is determine who is the game’s most clutch scorer. Who finishes when it matters most? Who scores the most game tying or goal ahead goals, and definitely game winners?

Checkout the small chart below which shows how I’ve weighed the point system for goals and assists, putting more value on the stuff that happens late when the game’s still on the line, and definitely more value on goals versus assists…

So onto this week’s initial rundown.

Even though the Whitby Warriors have played a ton of lacrosse to start, there’s no denying that Mark Matthews has been lights out so far this summer. He’s factored in on three Warriors’ game winners and has definitely been one of the main ballers Whitby has looked to when their searchin’ for a big marker. He’s been a killer so far for sure.

And Six Nations’ fans, don’t worry. With the Arrows only at five starts, Cody Jamieson is a ways down the leaderboard, but when you factor in that he’s averaging at least two money points a game, that average would have him right in line with Matthews and Alex Gajic, once he logs in as many minutes as those two.

New West’s Max Gallant, who sits 15th in regular scoring in the BCJALL, is fourth in clutching scoring here, and trust me, that’s no fluke. Gallant’s been comin’ up huge in a number of tight games this summer, including last night when the Bellies dumped #2 ranked Coquitlam 9-8. Ditto for PoCo’s Trevor Evans, who’s something like 20th in the province’s regular scoring, but ninth on The Money Ballers. Impressive, especially when you take the time to see what his goals have meant to the Saints.

Our first leaderboard can be found below, and even though I was a day late cuz of stats overload yesterday, you can expect The Money Ballers: JR A Edition to appear every Wednesday on the the site.