2025 NLL Player Rankings: Single-season records
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (2016)
After the first several weeks of the 2023-24 National Lacrosse League season are complete, The Lax Mag will publish a weekly NLL Player Ranking, examining the league’s Top 30 players from Week 1 right up until the end of the regular season.
TLM’s Top 30 NLL Player Rankings have nothing to do with reputations, career resumes, success in past seasons, whether we know a player personally, recognizing deserving players who’ve previously been passed over, player popularity, the size of their social media following, whether you slide into their DMs, or who others around the league tell us should get hype.
Our rankings, which only take into consideration a player’s performance for the current regular season, will be calculated using both our star-rating system after each game, but also a player’s season-long statistical position (based on per-game averages) across the league (more on both breakdowns below). Only players who have played two-thirds of their team’s games or more will qualify.
Click here for an even more in-depth breakdown of our scoring system.
Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Caroline Sherman)
The 2025 NLL regular season looks likely to be the year of broken records, maybe a record-high list of busted records in fact.
Currently, the assists, points, blocks and even turnover solo-season records look very likely to be broken, while a few others have a chance of falling as well.
Below, The Lax Mag looked at most major individual player stats (we promise goalies, you’re post is coming soon!), the highest single-season totals to date, plus the projected league-leading totals for this year’s top talent (by stats-per-game averages). Our weekly updated NLL TOP 30 Player Rankings, as always, can be found at the bottom of this post.
GOALS
Single-season Highs
Dhane Smith (2016) 72
Athan Iannucci (2008) 71
Gary Gait (2003) 61
Curtis Dickson (2016) 61
Jeff Teat (2024) 58
Gary Gait (1998) 57
Jeff Teat (2023) 56
Connor Fields (2024) 56
Gary Gait (2004) 55
Ryan Benesch (2015) 55
The Buffalo Bandits have been firing on all cylinders, especially offensively, and although they still have two-thirds of their season ahead of them, so far no one has come close to cooling off their up-front fire. Josh Byrne is averaging over a hat-trick per game right now (no one else in the league is) and looks likely to better the 52 goals he scored during last year’s MVP-winning season. In 2024, a record-high four players hit 50 or more goals in the NLL (Jeff Teat, Connor Fields, Josh Byrne and Austin Staats). Based on current goal-scoring averages, we’re likely to get even more in 2025.
Project 2025 Total
Josh Byrne (Buffalo) 63
Curtis Dickson (Calgary) 54
Dane Dobbie (Calgary) 51
Ian MacKay (Buffalo) 51
Joe Resetarits (Philadelphia) 50
Zach Manns (Saskatchewan) 50
Connor Kelly (Colorado) 47
Lyle Thompson (Georgia) 46
Mitch Jones (Philadelphia) 46
Jack Hannah (Las Vegas) 45
ASSISTS
Single-season Highs
Dhane Smith (2024) 101
Dhane Smith (2023) 96
Dhane Smith (2022) 94
Ryan Lee (2022) 85
Mark Matthews (2018) 84
Shawn Evans (2015) 83
Josh Sanderson (2015) 83
Callum Crawford (2016) 83
Garrett Billings (2012) 82
Mitch Jones (2023) 82
Josh Byrne (2024) 82
Not only is Dhane Smith on pace to set a new assists record for an unfathomable fourth straight season, he’s on pace to pulverize last year’s 101. Josh Byrne and Mitch Jones look like they’ll make a run at the record too, but it’s hard to see anyone stop Smith’s pursuit.
Projected 2025 Totals
Dhane Smith (Buffalo) 135
Josh Byrne (Buffalo) 102
Mitch Jones (Philadelphia) 102
Joe Resetarits (Philadelphia) 94
Randy Staats (Halifax) 86
Ryan Lanchbury (Rochester) 79
Jesse King (Calgary) 79
Connor Fields (Rochester) 77
Alex Simmons (Albany) 74
Holden Cattoni (Rochester) 68
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Caroline Sherman)
POINTS
Single-season Highs
Dhane Smith (2016) 137
Jeff Teat (2023) 136
Dhane Smith (2022) 135
Josh Byrne (2024) 135
Dhane Smith (2024) 134
Dhane Smith (2023) 132
Jeff Teat (2024) 131
Shawn Evans (2015) 130
Mitch Jones (2023) 126
Connor Fields (2024) 120
Based on his projected assists alone, Smith could top his 2016 record total, which would be absolutely insane. On pace to net nearly 40 goals this year, unless his present pace significantly slowed down – like really, really, really significantly slowed – Smith looks likely to smoke that long-standing 2016 sum, a year he was easily voted MVP.
Projected 2025 Totals
Dhane Smith (Buffalo) 174
Josh Byrne (Buffalo) 165
Mitch Jones (Philadelphia) 148
Joe Resetarits (Philadelphia) 144
Alex Simmons (Albany) 114
Connor Fields (Rochester) 113
Curtis Dickson (Calgary) 113
Randy Staats (Halifax) 110
Ryan Lanchbury (Rochester) 108
Jesse King (Calgary) 108
Holden Cattoni (Philadelphia) 108
Jake Withers, Halifax Thunderbirds (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)
LOOSE BALLS
Single-season Highs
Jake Withers (2024) 282
Jay Thorimbert (2015) 246
Geoff Snider (2010) 245
Geoff Snider (2008) 244
Jake Withers (2023) 238
Zach Currier (2022) 237
Geoff Snider (2013) 234
Geof Snider (2012) 232
Zach Currier (2023) 228
Jim Veltman (2006) 226
It's looking highly unlikely that anyone will comes close to catching Jake Withers’ tremendous 282 loosies from last year. Withers, who missed a game due to a first game suspension this year, is still on pace to finish first here. The Halifax defender was voted 2024’s Transition Player of the Year, likely largely due to his ball scooping stats.
Projected 2025 Totals
Jake Withers (Halifax) 216
Zach Currier (San Diego) 192
Justin Inacio (Calgary) 182
Robert Hope (Colorado) 182
Connor Farrell (Buffalo) 174
Connor Fields (Rochester) 169
Mitch de Snoo (Toronto) 164
Jake Boudreau (Saskatchewan) 162
Joe Nardella (Albany) 156
Mike Messenger (Saskatchewan) 151
Connor Farrell, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Bill Wippert)
FACEOFF WINS
Single-season Highs
Trevor Baptiste (2019) 362
Jake Withers (2023) 360
Jake Withers (2024) 360
Jay Thorimbert (2015) 338
Bob Snider (2012) 319
Jake Withers (2022) 319
Peter Jacobs (2005) 318
Geoff Snider (2008) 318
Geoff Snider (2014) 317
Joe Nardella (2024) 311
It would be difficult to win many more faceoffs per game than Connor Farrell (61.0%) and Joe Nardella (65.9%) are already getting, but at their world-class level, ya never know. With that said, most teams across the league are running with an (usually) American dot dominator, which makes winning 70%+ a night more difficult than ever. It feels unlikely that anyone will touch Trevor Baptiste’s 2019 record, which he accomplished as a rookie. Baptiste, who left his first game of the 2024-25 season with an injury and has not been back since, had gone 16/16 in that game.
Projected 2025 Totals
Connor Farrell (Buffalo) 324
Joe Nardella (Albany) 324
Justin Inacio (Calgary) 322
Jake Withers (Halifax) 270
Alec Stathakis (Vancouver) 268
Jake Naso (Saskatchewan) 233
Jay Thorimbert (Ottawa) 223
Jeremy Thompson (Georgia) 214
TD Ierlan (Toronto) 205
Tim Edwards (Colorado) 184
Matt Hossack, Saskatchewan Rush
CAUSED TURNOVERS
Single-season Highs
Zach Currier (2022) 62
Kyle Rubisch (2014) 61
Ryan Dilks (2016) 51
Graeme Hossack (2023) 49
Ryan Dilks (2024) 46
Kyle Rubisch (2019) 45
Kyle Rubisch (2013) 44
Kyle Rubisch (2012) 43
Zach Currier (2023) 43
Joey Cupido (2015) 40
Averaging nearly 3 caused turnovers a game, Matt Hossack has been this year’s CT king, no one really all that close to his current pace. Whether he’s able to pump up that pace a bit and catch Zach Currier’s really high record or not, he’s looking likely to finish with one of the all-time best single-season CT totals ever. Will Hossack be a contender for this year’s Defensive Player of the Year? If he keeps up this pace, he better. Of the Top 10 CTs in a single season above, eight of those instances saw those players win either the Defensive or Transition Player of the Year award that year.
Projected 2025 Totals
Matt Hossack (Saskatchewan) 52
Zach Currier (San Diego) 38
Eli Gobrecht (San Diego) 34
Nick Weiss (Buffalo) 30
Liam Patten (Philadelphia) 30
Kyle Rubisch (San Diego) 30
Mike Messenger (Saskatchewan) 29
Ryan Dilks (Vancouver) 28
Graeme Hossack (Halifax) 27
Jake Boudreau (Saskatchewan) 27
Colton Armstrong (Halifax) 27
Paul Dawson, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Bill Wippert)
BLOCKS
Single-season Highs
James Barclay (2023) 29
Robert Hope (2024) 28
Reid Bowering (2022) 26
James Barclay (2024) 26
Paul Dawson (2024) 25
Matt Marinier (2024) 24
Ethan O’Conner (2024) 24
Steve Priolo (2024) 24
John Ranagan (2024) 23
Adam Wiedemann (2024) 23
The league started tracking defensive blocks just a few years ago, and saw a spike in individual player highs in 2024. A season later, that trend continues, with several players on pace to smash James Barclay’s record-high 29. Paul Dawson and Ian Llord, both 39 years of age and two of 2025’s eldest NLLers, sit first and second respectively in the below projected totals.
Projected 2025 Totals
Paul Dawson (Buffalo) 39
Ian Llord (Rochester) 36
Mitch de Snoo (Toronto) 34
Mike Messenger (Saskatchewan) 29
Owen Grant (Vancouver) 28
Jordan MacIntosh (Georgia) 28
Robert Hope (Colorado) 27
Jake Withers (Halifax) 24
Graeme Hossack (Halifax) 23
Trevor Smyth (Halifax) 23
Jeff Teat, Ottawa Black Bears (Photo: Reuben Polansky-Shapiro)
TURNOVERS
Single-season Highs
Mitch Jones (2023) 100
Jeff Teat (2023) 97
Mark Matthews (2016) 88
Jeff Teat (2024) 83
Curtis Dickson (2015) 82
Lyle Thompson (2023) 82
Mark Matthews (2015) 82
Curtis Dickson (2017) 81
Mark Matthews (2023) 79
Jesse King (2023) 78
The season Mitch Jones hit one hundred giveaways was also the year he played 19 games courtesy of a mid-season deal that saw him sent from Vancouver to Philadelphia. Jeff Teat, who last week slipped out of our weekly Top 30 for the first time ever since starting in the NLL in 2022, in on pace to turnover the ball 99 times this year, which would actually be a higher TO/GP than Jones two years ago.
Projected 2025 Totals
Jeff Teat (Ottawa) 99
Adam Charalambides (Vancouver) 80
Mitch Jones (Philadelphia) 78
Tye Kurtz (Albany) 72
Zach Manns (Saskatchewan) 72
Connor Kelly (Colorado) 68
Keegan Bal (Vancouver) 68
Jacob Dunbar (Ottawa) 65
Jonathan Donville (Las Vegas) 65
Curtis Dickson (Calgary) 65
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Bill Wippert)
NLL TOP 30: WEEK 12
TW. (LW) Player, Team (Pos.)
1. (1) Dhane Smith, Buffalo (F)
2. (2) Josh Byrne, Buffalo (F)
3. (4) Mitch Jones, Philadelphia (F)
4. (3) Joe Resetarits, Philadelphia (F)
5. (5) Zach Higgins, Ottawa (G)
6. (6) Matt Vinc, Buffalo (G)
7. (9) Zach Currier, San Diego (T)
8. (10) Alex Simmons, Albany (F)
9. (11) Curtis Dickson, Calgary (F)
10. (7) Robert Hope, Colorado (D)
11. (8) Jesse King, Calgary (F)
12. (12) Connor Fields, Rochester (F)
13. (13) Kyle Rubisch, San Diego (D)
14. (14) Holden Cattoni, Philadelphia (F)
15. (15) Randy Staats, Halifax (F)
16. (18) Connor Kelly, Colorado (F)
17. (20) Lyle Thompson, Georgia (F)
18. (21) Zach Manns, Saskatchewan (F)
19. (22) Ryan Lanchbury, Rochester (F)
20. (16) Aden Walsh, Vancouver (G)
21. (19) Owen Grant, Vancouver (T)
22. (23) Jake Boudreau, Saskatchewan (F)
23. (17) Clarke Petterson, Halifax (F)
24. (24) Matt Hossack, Saskatchewan (D)
25. (28) Jake Withers, Halifax (T)
26. (27) Mitch de Snoo, Toronto (D)
27. (25) Jack Hannah, Las Vegas (F)
28. (29) Dillon Ward, Colorado (G)
29. (26) Ian MacKay, Buffalo (T)
30. (NR) Dane Dobbie, Calgary (F)