NLL Insider

A week after you, the fans, voted for your picks for most of this year’s end-of-year hardware, today we’re breaking those picks down and I’ll also give you my opinion of how each trophy race is shaping up heading into the National Lacrosse League’s All-Star Game Weekend.

Where did Mark Steenhuis, Casey Powell, Matt Disher and others end up after last week’s vote? Find out after the jump, in this week’s edition of The Trophy Case Chase.

MVP

The Fans Pick… Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits (59% of the vote)
Tuts Picks… Matt Disher, Portland Lumberjax

Obviously it’s tough to argue with Steenhuis’ record smashing season, which currently has Buffalo first in the NLL, but I have been equally impressed with what Disher has done for Portland. Virtually everyone outside of Portland gave these guys little to no chance this year (including me). With two backups behind Disher that have played a combined 5 minutes and 18 seconds of pro ball, the safety net on the Jax’s goalie depth chart is, well, super young and inexperienced between Joel Weber and Matt Flindell. One NLL GM we spoke to said, “Sometimes when you know you have no one on the bench to dig you out of a hole, you have no choice but to play your best lacrosse and that’s what Disher is doing this year.” I think Dish has not only been most valuable to his team more than anyone else in the league, he’s been just as flashy and spectacular as an individual too. Based on your votes and how things have played out recently, it also looks like Dan Dawson has edged a hobbled Casey Powell outta the frontrunners spot in the chase for MVP. Get better CP, the Titans and league need ya.

GOALTENDERS

The Fans Pick… Kenny Montour, Buffalo Bandits (35% of the vote)
Tuts Pick… Matt Disher, Portland Lumberjax

Obviously with what I said above my personal fave for keep hardware is Disher, but I also think Kenny Montour, as you guys have stated via last week’s vote, could definitely be plugged into this nod or even the MVP spot for that matter. It could probably be argued that Montour has been as big a difference maker for the Bandits this year as Steenhuis has been, just lacking those big offensive bells and whistles that have followed Steenhuis lately. Would Steenhuis and John Tavares have been able to perform that second half comeback against Toronto in that last one had Montour not come in in relief of Mike Thompson? And even though I’ve been impressed with a number of areas of the Jax’s game this winter, where would they be without Dish’s play?

DEFENDER

The Fans Pick… Chris White, Buffalo Bandits (27% of the vote)
Tuts Pick… Chris White, Buffalo Bandits

I’ve been a big fan of both Andrew McBride and Jeff Moleski this year for Calgary, but I think when it comes to handing out hardware, White might bring a few more intangibles that it seems the best defenders in this league usually have when the hardware is handed out. White has brought leadership, grit, a hard checking game, a mean streak and full out hustle to the Bandits this winter and although the Buffalo D as a whole has had a few let downs this year (Kilgour’s words not mine), I still like White for best pure D guy in the NLL right now. Real tough award to call right now.

TRANSITION

The Fans Pick… Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits (51% of the vote)
Tuts Picks… Mark Steenhuis, Buffalo Bandits

Steenhuis was the overwhelming fave, and even though I would give him the nod too, surprised that Brodie Merrill got such little love in the vote last week. Steenhuis is one of the few two-way guys that sees as much time on set O as he does, but he still puts in quality minutes on the D side of the ball and could be the most explosive two-way threat since Paul Suggate played the game. His versatility is unmatched this year.

ROOKIE

The Fans Pick… Daryl Veltman, Boston Blazers (67% of the vote)
Tuts Picks… Rhys Duch, San Jose Stealth

There’s no denying what an impact player Veltman has been for the Blazers during this improbable start to the year for Boston, but I think Duch, albeit playing for a low ranked San Jose team, has been just as good if not better than Veltman. The two studs are virtually identical in points, although Veltman has played one extra game than Duch, but in my opinion, there has been very little to say one is doing much better than the other. Would Duch get more hype if San Jose was 6-3 and not 3-6? I think this race will be as close as Craig Point and Jordan Hall was last year.

COACH

The Fans Pick… Tom Ryan, Boston Blazers (38% of the vote)
Tuts Picks… Tom Ryan, Boston Blazers

How can it not be Ryan at this point? And even though we didn’t include it, you’d have to think he’d be the favorite for GM honours too? I always find it hard for an outsider to be able to fairly determine exactly how effective a coach is considering, as a public, we see just a split second of what a pro coach actually does, but you’d have to think Ryan is doing something right behind closed doors to have the young Blazers exceeding virtually everyone’s expectations.

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