NLL Insider

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 7 and playoff drives

The BCJALL finished up a quick first round of the post-season this past weekend, both New Westminster and Burnaby sweeping their opening rounds to set-up some interesting BC semis.

The OLA kicks things off tonight, but also has an eight spot that is still up for grabs, the Whitby Warriors hosting the Barrie Lakeshores tonight  (8PM EST Iroquois Park) in a winner takes all (if you consider a first round against Orangeville “all”) wild card game that should see both teams going for broke.

And even though the Calgary Raiders still currently hold the top spot in the RMLL standings, the Edmonton Eclipse shored up two wins against both Calgary rivals that should give them a huge boast heading into the Alberta post-season, which starts soon.

After the jump, check out who sits where in our weekly top ten as we creep into a very heated post-season in Canada… READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 6, plus pro prospects & Minto Cup fan poll

Well, after a weekend’s worth of heavily weighted post-season implicated games, the Toronto Beaches and Port Coquitlam Saints were officially dropped from this year’s playoff chase, the Saints joining the Langley Thunder on the outside looking in in the BCJALL, and the same for the Beach Boys and Mississauga in Ontario.

One of the major trends we’ve seen from Minto winners and successful provincial post-season teams in recent years, is the play of junior aged players already with National Lacrosse League experience under their belts. Last year Mat MacLeod (Rochester Knighthawks) played a vital role for the Northmen, Shawn Evans was a leading force for both the Peterborough Lakers in ‘06 and then again for the Six Nations Arrows two summers ago.

Who fell where in our most (top half) active National Jr. A Ranking? And what kinda pro talent is suiting up for those teams (plus prospects to watch for in the ‘09 entry draft)? Find out after the jump. READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 5

Big game tonight between Ontario’s current two best when the Orangeville Northmen and Burlington Chiefs square-off at Central Arena on Drury. The two teams currently combine for a 28-4 record and sit within this week’s top three across the nation.

In fact, BC and Alberta see their best two clash this week too, while the race for the final spot in the BCJALL will play-out in what’s turning out to be this summer’s most explosive seven days of junior ball.

After the jump, check out who falls where on the heels of the post-season, and what remaining crucial regular season battles could determine some team’s playoff fate. Plus a couple polls for both BC and Alberta. Who ya got?!?! READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 4

The Orangeville Northmen and Coquitlam Adanacs continue to roll through the opposition with near perfect records, still sitting one-and-two respectively in the National Jr. A Ranking a month into the rundown.

Two weeks ago we saw a number of BC post-season hopefuls feast off the Langley Thunder as they bolstered up for a serious run, and then this week, Ontario did the same at their trade deadline, with a number of the top dawgs picking up some high profile names that will no doubt help their cause.

Find out who drops where in Week 4 and what brand name guys are wearing different sweaters with only about three weeks of regular season ball to go. READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 3

Even though the Orangeville Northmen and Coquitlam Adanacs sit one-two again this week, the rest of the rundown, due to some outta left field results, had a lot of movement in our third week of tracking the top teams in the nation.

Where does St. Catharines’ recent slide in the Ontario’s standings put them in the rankings? With the Raiders dumping the Eclipse last night, where does Alberta fit in? And what about those Six Nations Arrows, who seem almost unbeatable of late?

After the jump, check out this week’s top ten. READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 2

A few days into last week, and NLL Insider’s National Jr. A Ranking seemed like it was going to write itself.

The St. Catharines Athletics’ 14-11 win over the defending Minto champs and last week’s number one ranked team, the Orangeville Northmen, coupled with the Coquitlam Adanacs making relatively short work of the New Westminster Salmonbellies 14-8, really cleared the way for one of those two to knock the Horn Heads from the top of the charts.

Days later, both teams got semi-unlikely rocked, the Athletics against the Six Nations Arrows and Adanacs for the first time all summer against Delta.

Although only one new club lands in NLL Insider’s top ten teams in the country, after the jump, check out what a couple crazy results did to the rankings. READ MORE »

NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking: Week 1

Just like last summer, NLL Insider will be publishing our National Jr. A Ranking every Monday, all the way up to the Minto Cup, looking at the ten best teams in the country, combining BC, Alberta and Ontario.

Teams will be ranked on what they’ve done this year, with an emphasis on recent action versus what they’ve done much earlier in the season or what some feel their on paper potential might be.

We’re a good five weeks into the Jr. A season, so hit the link and check out our first edition of the NLL Insider National Jr. A Ranking, and check back every Monday for our latest Top 10 the rest of the summer. READ MORE »

The fans are diggin’ Jamieson, Flindell and Bremner for JOTY hardware

Like we mentioned last week, before NLL Insider makes it’s official final selections on who this year’s Junior of the Year Award winners are gonna be, we wanted to give you, the fans, a chance to chime in and give us your opinion before the final picks are made.

So, after receiving an insane almost 3,500 individual player votes over the past seven days, you guys have three clear cut favorites and two categories that came down to just a few votes, which is crazy considering how many people checked in.

Anyways, after the jump, check out who “you” picked as the fan favorites for this year’s Junior of the Year Awards, and then next week, on August 26 just prior to the Edmonton Miners and Victoria Shamrocks round robin game at the Minto Cup in Calgary, we’ll be announcing our individual category winners, as well as our First and Second All-Canadian teams. READ MORE »

National Junior A Ranking: Week 12

Man is Orangeville ever cleanin’ up.

Their 29 wins during the summer are well above any other team’s combined regular season and playoff total.

They’re 16-4 in their last 20 games, which next to the Edmonton Eclipse, who’ve only played in-and-around 20 games, is by far the best in the country in that stretch too.

Their trio of Adam Jones, Matt McLeod and Stephen Keogh is still firing on absolutely all cylinders and look as close to unstoppable as you’re gonna get this year. How do you think they stack up against last year’s slick trio in Six Nations of Shawn Evans, Cody Jamieson and Craig Point? READ MORE »

National Junior A Ranking: Week 11

Although Orangeville is leading the National Junior A Ranking for the sixth straight week, they’re NOT one of the two remaining teams left in this year’s post-season that have yet to drop a game.

The two teams?

The Victoria Shamrocks and the team everybuddy loves to hate in Alberta… the Edmonton Miners, who’ve found a spot in the Minto for the past five years straight, but have a hungry as hell Edmonton Eclipse standing in their way this summer.

The two Edmonton based clubs kick-off their best of seven war tomorrow night at Sherwood Park Arena (7PM), and then have the next two weeks to figure out who reins supreme in Alberta in 2008. It’s shapin’ up to be maybe the most anticipated series in junior ball this summer. READ MORE »