2024 National Lacrosse League Player Poll
You know the drill…
We checked in with five players from each of the National Lacrosse League’s 14 teams a month before the start of the 2024-25 regular season, and asked them 25 questions about an array of league-related topics.
In addition to asking an equal number of names from every NLL squad, we tried our best to ensure the players taking part included everyone from rookies to long-time vets, that each on-floor position was well represented, and that the various backgrounds and regions the NLL’s talent comes from were recognized as well.
We ran a similar poll prior to the start of the 2022-23 season, and included some of the same questions again this year to see how players’ feelings have changed over the past two years. We’ve got some new stuff this year too. About 70% of the same players took part, with a third of our player pool poll first timers.
The survey was 100% anonymous to ensure we received the players’ most truthful answers. For any questions that were specific to the actual players (mostly best in role or position type stuff), they were allowed to submit three responses, only one of which could be used on a current teammate.
That’s about it. So, here were go!
NLL Commissioner Brett Frood (Reuben Polansky-Shapiro)
1. Are you happy with the direction the league is headed?
Yes – 82%
No – 18%
The responses were overwhelmingly optimistic, just not nearly as positive as two years ago when “Yes” won by a whopping 95%. We lost a team, expansion talk has quieted considerably, NLL.com still can’t spit out the previous season’s stats, and well, you’ll learn more as we go. “Starting the season on American Thanksgiving is an awful idea,” said one pissed off player. “The league isn’t going to compete with the NFL.” This year’s regular season starts on Friday, November 29. The last time the NLL’s regular season started any earlier was on Friday, November 16, 2021 when a fairly small announced (so, less) crowd of 4,608 people watched the Albany Attack host and beat the New Jersey Storm 20-16. A year later, the league would go back to their late-December start date.
2. In the role since September 1, 2022, what grade would you give Brett Frood as NLL Commissioner?
A – 2%
B – 60%
C – 30%
D – 8%
F – 0%
When we ran this survey two years ago, Brett Frood was only a few months into his tenure, 61% of players back then saying they were essentially undecided on the impact he would have. In 2022, we also asked the players to grade former commish Nick Sakiewicz. Frood and Sakiewicz, who are about as opposite as you can get when it comes to their league-leading approach, scored almost exactly the same across all of our alphabetical grade options.
Since leaving the NLL, Sakiewicz worked a short facility-focussed stint for the since-iced Arizona Coyotes, moved on to become the CEO of the United Soccer League’s Hartford Athletics for eleven months, and has since been linked to a Phoenix-area group looking to build a soccer-specific stadium in the state, and one day a pro club too.
Jonathan Donville (Photo: Asher Greene)
3. Who was most at fault for the Panther City Lacrosse Club folding in Fort Worth?
Nick Sakiewicz and previous league office – 30%
PCLC ownership/office – 33%
Dallas-Fort Worth market – 27%
Brett Frood and current league office – 10%
There is definitely some overlap between the above options, but over 60% of responses pin the NLL’s Fort Worth failings on previous league leadership and Day 1 ownership, the two parties that obviously would have pushed the most to make expansion in Texas a reality. While the league included Dallas in their youth-driven NLL unBOXed program (more on that in a bit) after Panther City shut down, unless Tom Gaglardi or Mark Cuban step up to the plate, a return to the Lone Star State seems unadvisable, for the next while at least.
4. From a business perspective, how do you think the Black Bears (formally New York Riptide) will do in Ottawa this upcoming season?
Super successful – 30%
Slightly strong than Long Island – 58%
Still struggle – 12%
Look, there is always a ton of positivity going into any expansion or relocation, and based on the Black Bears’ relationship with the Senators alone there certainly should be in Ottawa this winter too, but reestablishing a franchise in a failed city is never easy (Ottawa Rebel, 2001-2003). “Putting the genie back in the bottle is always a very tough thing to do,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman when recently asked about the league returning to Quebec City.
2024 New York Riptide (Photo: Brandon Hill)
5. Are you worried about the stability of any current franchise(s)?
Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 25%
Albany FireWolves - 24%
Rochester Knighthawks - 15%
Georgia Swarm - 11%
No - 10%
The Rest - 15%
The NLL has been around since 1987, but only the Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks and Colorado Mammoth have stayed in the same city (and arena) for a decade or more when it comes to still active clubs. This year, the league lost Panther City, sees two teams relocating to hopefully long-term homes, and another moving into a significantly smaller barn for a single season.
While Albany ranks high here, the FireWolves franchise recently inked a new three-year lease at MVP Arena, with an option for three additional seasons. “I’m in the community, I’m playing men’s hockey, I’m golfing and I’m interacting with a lot of people, and there is that narrative that it’s a hard market and teams come and go and they can’t keep teams,” Albany Head Coach & GM Glenn Clark recently told local media. “We’re grinding through that and we’re trying to break that perceived stereotype. This is another step in saying, look, we’re committed to this community, we’re committed to this arena, and we want longevity and stability.”
Leo Stouros, Albany FireWolves (Photo: Kevin McGurn)
6. If you could pick the next NLL expansion city, where would you put a franchise?
Nashville – 29%
Montreal – 22%
Edmonton – 9%
Tampa – 7%
Winnipeg – 5%
The Rest – 28%
Nashville lost a lot of votes in comparison to this same question from two seasons ago, but remains the #1 destination amongst players for future expansion. Montreal (+17%) and Edmonton (+4%) saw vote increases, while Tampa and Winnipeg cracked the Top 5.
7. Do you feel the league's media partners, specifically TSN & ESPN, support and showcase the NLL enough past simply the broadcasts on traditional television and online streams?
Yes, they promote us a lot – 25%
No, they could do more – 75%
We’re less than a month away from the start of the 2024-25 NLL regular season. TSN.ca copy and pasted the league’s broadcast announcement on their dedicated lacrosse page, but after that, it’s just a bunch of Rock City Unplugged thumbnails. On TSN.ca’s “NLL Lacrosse on TSN - Broadcast Schedule”, the hero image features a picture of the Panther City Lacrosse Club, who obviously won’t be playing a single solitary game on the network this year or any future one.
If you punch “National Lacrosse League” into ESPN.com’s search bar, the immediate results are three Premier Lacrosse League articles (so, a competitor) and a USA men’s soccer one for some reason. Scroll to the bottom of the full results, and again, only the PLL pops up, a few additional articles buried amongst other sports where “national” or “league” are likely mentioned somewhere early in the copy. ESPN’s “More Sports” option includes cricket but no lax, unless you go repeatedly clicking for collegiate content.
Innaugural unBOXed series game in Laval, Quebec (Photo: Reuben Polansky-Shapiro)
8. What is your opinion of the NLL’s unBOXed initiative?
It’s been successful – 2%
It has potential – 45%
No idea what is it – 53%
The logos were kinda cool. The game in Laval was fun. Now what? Many on social media and more than half of the players we polled aren’t entirely sure what the largely grassroots effort is all about. “Are we expanding to these places,” asked one perplexed player. Maybe? On paper, the idea looks like a winner, but the execution still seems to be a bit under construction and unclear, at least from the outside looking in. Aren’t today’s pro players the most ideal ambassadors and teachers of the sport in these non-NLL markets, many of which past and present NLLers played collegiate ball in: Tampa, St. Louis, Baltimore, Charlotte, Minnesota, Montreal, Utah, Seattle and Dallas. To be continued.
9. What is your opinion of the NLL’s Marvel program that debuted last year?
Marvelous – 20%
Meh – 50%
Move on – 30%
For a league that already sports a way above average amount of third, fourth, fifth, etc. jerseys past a club’s core homes and aways (breaking all the rules of branding 101 in markets many don’t even know the brand exists), we got a ton more of ‘em through the Marvel deal last year. Some sweater styles made sense, while others made little to none. “It sounded like it was going to be way cooler than it actually was,” one player said. The multi-year partnership between the NLL and Marvel, which seems to be geared at an always hard-to-attract younger demo, will move into a second season this upcoming winter.
Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
10. Whether through direct communication, through your team or through the NLLPA, do you feel the league listen to you?
Yes – 47%
No – 30%
I never have anything to say – 23%
Nearly half of the players we polled feel heard, which honestly, isn’t too bad considering almost a quarter of players we polled don’t really have any suggestions or feedback to provide.
11. If you had to be traded to a different team, where would you most want to end up?
Vancouver Warriors – 28%
Buffalo Bandits – 23%
San Diego Seals – 15%
Ottawa Black Bears – 13%
Toronto Rock – 6%
The Rest – 15%
Two years ago, the Vancouver Warriors franchise was a team most we polled wanted nothing to do with, but now is where everyone wants to be. The Warriors have made a dramatic on-floor turnaround under Curt Malawsky’s leadership after just a single season, continue to attract quality free agents, seem destined to make the playoffs for the first time in forever, and as we outlined on Instagram earlier this offseason, are attracting more fans than the franchise ever did in Albany, San Jose, Everett or Langley.
Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jordan Leigh)
12. If you had to be traded to a different team, where would you least want to end up?
Albany FireWolves – 35%
Georgia Swarm – 18%
Saskatchewan Rush – 12%
Rochester Knighthawks – 8%
Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 8 %
The Rest – 19%
Every though they’ve climbed considerably in the standings; Albany, Georgia and Rochester appear in the exact same spots they did for this question in 2022. Last Vegas went from one of the most desirable destinations to the fourth least friendly franchise over the span of just two seasons.
13. How would you rate the officiating in the league?
Great – 10%
Good – 65%
Gross – 25%
This is another repeat question from a few seasons back. While “Great” went up 3%, “Gross” was elevated by 11% more votes versus 2022. “They are noticed in games far too often lately,” replied one player. “No one bought a seat to see you. Let the players play.”
Photo: Kyle Hess
14. In general, are penalties called…
Too much – 58%
Not enough – 2%
Pretty perfectly – 40%
Special teams play a far greater role in today’s game than they did a decade or more ago. Look back at highlights from the MILL era or the first several seasons after the league rebranded to the NLL, and so much of what made highlight packages then would be penalties (or crease-cancelled goals) presently. While player safety is obviously paramount, most players would rather the ref’s whistle goes MIA during a game’s most meaningful moments. “Too many games are getting decided by bad calls,” said one player we polled. “There seemed to be enough majors flipped last year after being reviewed. Same thing would happen with minors too.” Another player answered, “Call the divers not the defenders. It’s getting ridiculous!”
15. How often do the officials get video replays right?
Most of the time – 67%
About half of the time – 28%
Less than half of the time – 3%
Rarely – 2%
“I have no idea what the cost would be, I’m sure high, but would love to see one central team reviewing challenges all weekend instead of in-game officials needing to do that too. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but honestly, they have enough on their plate already.”
Christian Del Bianco (Photo: Steve Hiscock)
16. Where will Christian Del Bianco play this upcoming season?
Calgary – 10%
Vancouver – 23%
Somewhere else – 2%
Sits out the season – 65%
For those unaware of the situation… Calgary goalie Christian Del Bianco told the team he’d like to be traded closer to home (he’s getting hitched) and work (runs his own reno business) in Vancouver, later sharing a message on social media with fans letting them know he’d no longer be playing for the Roughnecks. While Calgary have dealt Zach Currier, Shane Simpson and Thomas Hoggarth over the offseason, a blockbuster sending Del Bianco to the Warriors obviously hasn’t materialized. The former NLL Cup winner, GOTY and MVP isn’t feeling too optimistic.
17. Who is the best offensive player in the league right now?
Jeff Teat – 30%
Josh Byrne – 28%
Dhane Smith – 21%
Lyle Thompson – 7%
Wes Berg – 5%
The Rest – 9%
Recently on Instagram, we reviewed Jeff Teat’s first three seasons in the league versus the NLL’s all-time point producing king, John Tavares. Teat is averaging 1.03 more points per game than Tavares did after the pair’s first three years playing pro, and with regular season schedules much longer than in Tavares’ early days, although still early, Teat is on a record-breaking pace. Since Teat’s rookie year just three seasons ago, he has already finished fourth (108 points in 2022), first (136 in 2023) and third (130 in 2024) respectively in individual point production, which is honestly kind of insane.
Jeff Teat, Ottawa Black Bears (Photo: Brandon Hill)
18. Who is the best defensive player in the league right now?
Graeme Hossack – 27%
Kyle Rubisch – 16%
Brad Kri – 13%
Ryan Dilks – 12%
Steve Priolo – 9%
The Rest – 23%
Graeme Hossack and Kyle Rubisch flipped spots versus 2022, Brad Kri and Ryan Dilks stayed the same, and Steve Priolo pushed out Mitch De Snoo for the fifth spot. Kri and Priolo always seem to be highly valued by their peers, but neither hard-nosed defensemen has ever won the NLL’s Defensive Player of the Year honour, which is largely determined by team brass and the league’s small pool of dedicated media members. Kri has been a finalist for the award the previous two years, while Priolo has made the last three an astounding six times. Hossack, Rubisch and Dilks have won the DPOTY award a combined nine times over the last twelves seasons.
19. Who is the most versatile player in the league right now?
Challen Rogers – 23%
Zach Currier – 22%
Ian MacKay – 11%
Jake Withers – 7%
Bryan Cole – 6%
Dhane Smith – 6%
The Rest – 25%
This was by far our closest question, with Toronto Rock captain Challen Rogers eking out the win over San Diego’s Zach Currier by a single percentage point. Last year was actually the first time that Rogers or Currier didn’t win or garner a finalist position for the league’s Transition Player of the Year Award, Jake Withers snapping their suffocating streak. While Dhane Smith was the only one that landed on the list above, way more forwards got votes here than two years ago, the likes of Lyle Thompson, Josh Byrne, Connor Fields, Dan Craig and others getting mentioned by many.
Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
20. Who is the best goalie in the league right now?
Christian Del Bianco – 28%
Matt Vinc – 20%
Doug Jamieson – 17%
Nick Rose – 14%
Dillon Ward – 11%
The Rest – 10%
What will it cost to acquire the league’s best backstop? We may find out shortly. Or not.
21. Who is the toughest player in the league right now?
Billy Hostrawser – 23%
Steve Priolo – 21%
Mike Messenger – 13%
Tyler Biles – 10%
Paul Dawson – 7%
Matt Beers – 5%
Warren Jeffrey – 5%
The Rest – 16%
In our previous poll, we asked players who they thought the league’s best fighter was, and even though we altered the question a bit this year, most of the same names made it again. Rochester’s Tyler Biles, who over the last two years has really seen his pro rep grow as both a tough defender and feared fighter, got a lot of love.
Chase Fraser, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
22. Who is the biggest bitch in the league right now?
Chase Fraser – 14%
Leo Stouros – 13%
Tyson Bell – 11%
Callum Crawford – 6%
Curtis Dickson – 5%
The Rest – 51%
This question came in as a special request by a number of players coming out of our last poll, although a few guys this year didn’t appreciate it being included, one player telling us to, “Be better.” We couldn’t pass up that awesome alliteration though. Between being voted 2022’s most overrated (which didn’t really feel justified) and now this response, it’s pretty clear Chase Fraser isn’t overly liked around the league, and that’s probably just the way he likes it.
This year’s most requested future question: Who is the biggest diver in the league right now? Next time.
Curt Malawsky and Rob Williams, Vancouver Warriors
23. Who is the best head coach in the league right now?
Curt Malawsky – 27%
Glenn Clark – 19%
John Tavares – 17%
Pat Coyle – 13%
Matt Sawyer – 6%
The Rest – 18%
The vibe around Vancouver is super positive right now, and as we learned a bit higher up, most players around the league would love to play for Warriors Head Coach Curt Malawsky. Serving as a bench boss since 2013, last year was only the second time ever a Malawsky-led lineup failed to make the playoffs, but 8-10 Vancouver (doubled their W total from a season earlier) came closer to the postseason than they had in such a long time. One year in and things couldn’t be going much better for Malawsky and the Warriors.
24. Who is the best general manager in the league right now?
Steve Dietrich – 19%
Curt Malawsky – 18%
Glenn Clark – 14%
Derek Keenan – 13%
Jamie Dawick – 12%
The Rest – 24%
A three-time winner of the NLL’s GMOTY award (tied with Derek Keenan for the most ever), Steve Dietrich has built something really special in Banditland, Buffalo a perennial power under his direction. While he has constructed a star-studded lineup that has won the last two titles, Dietrich’s ability to add dependable depth and also overcome offseason losses with less obvious additions are also what’s helped Buffalo’s recent string of stupendous success.
Nick Weiss, Steve Priolo and Dhane Smith (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
25. Pick the four teams you think will make the 2025 NLL Semifinals/Final Four?
Percentage represents the amount of times each answer appeared on a player’s four-team response.
Buffalo Bandits – 95%
Toronto Rock – 83%
San Diego Seals – 52%
Colorado Mammoth – 33%
Vancouver Warriors – 33%
Albany FireWolves – 24%
Georgia Swarm – 21%
Ottawa Black Bears – 12%
Rochester Knighthawks – 12%
Saskatchewan Rush – 12%
Halifax Thunderbirds – 12%
Calgary Roughnecks – 2%
Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 2%
Philadelphia Wings – 2%
Buffalo and Toronto are by far the favourites here, but the players feel two teams that didn’t even make last year’s postseason, Colorado and Vancouver, could crash the Cup-contending party in the playoffs this year.
The 2024-25 NLL regular season starts on Friday, November 29 (7pm ET) at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario when the host Black Bears take on the Toronto Rock.