One Sentence on Every NLL Team Before 2024-25 Faceoff Weekend
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© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
© 2024 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
Welcome back to the National Lacrosse League.
It’s Thanksgiving week, which means the NLL is back with its Faceoff Weekend. The Toronto Rock and newcomer Ottawa Black Bears kick off the season on Friday, Nov. 29, at 7 p.m. Eastern, while the Vancouver Warriors and San Diego Seals close the season-opening five-game slate on Sunday, Dec. 1, at 5 p.m.
With the season mere days away, it’s time to get fully invested in the league’s 14 teams — with a one-sentence look at each organization.
Forgive our utter disdain for agreed upon grammar and punctuation practices. There’s a lot to talk about in a small space.
The surprise of the 2023-24 campaign is poised to be a mainstay atop the league table, especially with breakout star Alex Simmons continuing his upward trajectory.
A three-peat is for sure in the cards if Dhane Smith continues his MVP-caliber play and a defense that finished 10th in the NLL a season ago can make slight improvements.
Talking about the Roughnecks has to start with the absence of Christian del Bianco, the ex-MVP goalie who’s holding out after failing to reach a contract (and then trade) agreement with the team, and without him there, can the Roughnecks even sniff playoff contention?
It was something of a shock to see Colorado catapult from the NLL Finals to the bottom of the league table in one year’s time, so 2024-25 is all about re-establishing their reputation as, at the very least, a real threat.
After a season during which their defense allowed fewer than 200 goals for the first time since the NLL moved to an 18-game regular-season schedule, the Swarm’s offense needs to close the gap for Georgia to become an even bigger threat.
It’s an interesting year for Halifax, which replaces the combination of Austin Shanks (23G, 62A) and Ryan Benesch (42G, 39A) — two of its top-three scorers from last season — with new acquisitions Thomas Hoggarth (14G, 4A with Rochester) and Jason Knox (23G, 27A with Panther City).
The Desert Dogs aren’t exactly Vegas high rollers, as 2023-24 somehow marked a step back for the NLL’s worst offense — needless to say, newcomers Jonathan Donville and Adam Poitras will be relied upon heavily.
The new (sorta) kids on the block have one of the NLL’s top players in Jeff Teat, but a defense that allowed the most goals in the league (234) needs to see a significant turnaround after spending a boatload to acquire 33-year-old goalie Zach Higgins — a netminder sure-handed enough for the Black Bears to compete.
An offseason of upheaval on the roster and on the bench means the Wings might need some time to figure things out in terms of chemistry, but they should be exciting while it’s happening as Brennan O’Neill makes his NLL debut after earning the No. 1 selection in the draft.
Only a handful of teams could score like the Knighthawks in 2023-24, but a defense that left much to be desired was augmented in the offseason with five additions — Chad Tutton, Ian Llord, Josh Medeiros, Brandon Slade and Jake Piseno — in hopes of making it three straight postseason appearances.
The Seals were already quite good, and then they went out and added Rob Hellyer (Las Vegas), Ben McIntosh (Philadelphia) and Zach Deaken (trade with Ottawa) on the first day of free agency in September.
Once the class of the NLL, it’s been rough sledding for Saskatchewan since 2020’s season was shortened and 2021 was lost due to COVID-19; yet perhaps there is hope for a rebound after the Rush spent last season building chemistry with its young core.
TD Ierlan was second among full-time faceoff men last season (72 percent), but is out longer term with a lower-body injury — how will Toronto manage without their possession ace?
Del Bianco has openly stated his desire to play in Vancouver, but if a deal doesn’t come together, young Aden Walsh will need to build off his experience last year and take a step forward in his goaltending career.
Kenny DeJohn has been the Digital Content Editor at USA Lacrosse since 2019. First introduced to lacrosse in 2016 as a Newsday Sports reporter on Long Island (yes, ON Long Island), DeJohn specializes in women's game coverage. His search for New York quality pizza in Baltimore is ongoing.
