Clutch Kings: The Consistently Clutch Colorado Mammoth Edition

Colorado Mammoth (Photo: John Harrison)

The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings tracks an individual player’s game-tying, go-ahead and game-winning goals, then weighs them based on when they’re scored (first, second, third or fourth quarter, plus OT), but also in what on-floor situation they’re finished (even-strength, power-play or short-handed goals). The Clutch Kings countdown calculates the league’s most money goal scorer all season long, crowning the king at the conclusion of the current NLL campaign. Click here for a more detailed breakdown of Clutch Kings scoring.

This week we’re taking a closer look at the Colorado Mammoth, a team whose forwards have consistently thrived in our Clutch Kings analysis for at least three of the past four seasons, which includes the one they’re currently competing in.

Zed Williams, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jonathan Tenca)

During the 2022 and 2023 seasons, the Mammoth just barely qualified for the playoffs with records of 10-8 (6th seed) and 9-9 (8th seed) respectively. Both of those years, the team also dealt with significant injury issues, during the regular season and playoffs, yet still managed to fight their way to the NLL Finals in each season, winning it all 2022.

While strong and usually spectacular goaltending courtesy of Dillon Ward plus reliable and often relentless defense helped get Colorado to those two Cups, what set the Mammoth apart from the rest of the league, however, was how incredibly clutch, and not only clutch but how consistently clutch, their offense was.

In 2022, Mammoth forward Eli McLaughlin was crowned our 2022 Clutch Kings winner. Tied for tenth in league goal scoring, McLaughlin’s 5 game-tying, 7 go-ahead and 4 game-winning goals were more than enough to make him that season’s most money goal scorer. Teammate Connor Robinson finished fifth overall in our countdown that year (5/4/3). Although McLaughlin himself missed the last two games of the playoffs, the pair led the Mammoth and the playoffs in point production, while Zed Williams elevated his game to career-best levels en route to capturing that season’s NLL Cup.

Eli McLaughlin, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)

Was their clutch touch and unexpected title in 2022 a fluke?

A year later, Robinson would win our annual money-scoring analysis with an even slightly stronger CK’s point total than McLaughlin a year earlier. Even more impressive, Robinson’s straight goal total only had him tied for 22nd in the NLL, meaning a high percentage of his goals that year, 40% to be exact (which is outrageously high), either tied, put the Mammoth ahead or won them the game. In comparison, 2023’s league leading goal scorer, Jeff Teat, saw just 16% of his goals counted in those three clutch-scoring categories. Williams would land on our year-end leaderboard that season too.

The Mammoth would again find their way to the NLL Finals in 2023, losing to the same team they beat a year earlier there, the Buffalo Bandits. How’d Buffalo’s forwards do in our pre-playoffs Clutch Kings analysis that year? Actually, really good. Josh Byrne (6/5/3) finished fourth overall, Dhane Smith (5/5/3) sixth, and Tehoka Nanticoke, who a year earlier led the league with 6 game winners which was also a new rookie record, made our year-end leaderboard for the second straight season too. A year later (2024), Byrne was our number one ranked Clutch King (11/7/3), winning rather easily, and then giving a repeat performance in the playoffs. Buffalo also of course won their second straight title.

Connor Robinson, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: John Harrison)

While last year was a bit of a write off for the last place Mammoth, who were dealing with injuries yet again – this time, too many key ones to overcome – our clutch analysis is certainly suggesting the team is very much back, and are looking criminally clutch up front so far.

Last year’s highest ranked Colorado Clutch King was Williams at 22nd overall. Leading into Week 10 this year, the Mammoth have three players scoring at a clutch rate higher than 22nd best in the NLL today: Connor Kelly (4/3/1) ranks fourth, Williams seventh (0/1/3) and Robinson (2/3/1) is 18th. Will Malcom, who had finished high in the Clutch Kings the previous two seasons while playing with the folded but not forgotten Panther City Lacrosse Club, is just a few points outside of our leaderboard behind his now-Mammoth teammates.

Last week, of the 21 goals scored between the Mammoth and their Week 9 opponents, the Rochester Knighthawks, 15 of those goals either tied the game, put a team ahead or of course won the game. That’s well above average for a typical NLL game. All the Mammoth names we’ve mentioned above contributed significantly to that back-and-forth affair. Down 8-10 with above five minutes to spare, McLaughlin pulled the team within one, Malcom knotted the score, and with just 2.3 seconds left on the scoreboard, Williams buried the winner. It was his one and only goal that game, but none mattered more.

Of William’s co-league leading three game winners, all have been scored in the fourth quarter, all in even-strength situations. In comparison, Vancouver’s Keegan Bal also has three winners this year, but come courtesy of just one ES fourth quarter goal, one PP fourth quarter goal (which are worth less in our scoring system, found at the bottom of this article), and one three minutes into the third quarter. Still super impressive, just not at the same clutch-level as Williams so far.

Early Clutch Kings point comparisons suggest that this year’s Mammoth may be even more money than either their 2022 or 2023 roster delivered, again, both of those seasons ending in the NLL Finals.

Many years ago, current Saskatchewan Rush General Manager and Co-Head Coach Derek Keenan said something to the effect of, “In this league, the regular season doesn’t matter much as long as you make the playoffs. From there, any team can win it.”

Although their 2025 regular season resume is so far stronger than previous recent seasons, the Mammoth long learned that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and this lineup is again loaded with some of today’s most consistent clutch finishers.

Zach Manns, Saskatchewan Rush

In this week’s updated Clutch Kings leaderboard, Saskatchewan’s Zach Manns goes back to number one, overtaking Dane Dobbie, who was held to just one goal total in Calgary’s loss to Toronto last weekend. Dobbie still leads the league with 7 game-tying goals, while Manns, Mitch Jones, Rob Hellyer and Jacob Dunbar lead with 5 go-ahead goals, and the previously mentioned Williams and Bal top the table with 3 game-winning goals.

NLL Clutch Kings: Week 10

CKs Rank. Player (NLL Gs Rank), Team, CKs Points (GTG/GAG/GWG)

1. Zach Manns (T5), Saskatchewan, 24.50 (5/5/2)
2. Dane Dobbie (T7), Calgary, 19.50 (7/0/1)
3. Mitch Jones (T3), Philadelphia, 19.25 (2/5/2)
4. Connor Kelly (T1), Colorado, 16.50 (4/3/1)
5. Alex Simmons (T9), Albany, 15.50 (5/3/1)
6. Connor Fields (T9), Rochester, 15.25 (5/3/1)
7. Zed Williams (T34), Colorado, 13.50 (0/1/3)
8. Keegan Bal (T14), Vancouver, 13.00 (3/1/3)
9. Rob Hellyer (T29), San Diego, 12.75 (2/5/1)
10. Jack Hannah (T12), Las Vegas, 12.50 (4/3/1)
11. Austin Shanks (T36), Saskatchewan, 12.25 (2/1/2)
T12. Holden Cattoni (T9), Philadelphia, 12.00 (3/0/2)
T12. Andrew Kew (T39), Georgia, 12.00 (2/0/2)
14. Lyle Thompson (T1), Georgia, 11.00 (5/2/1)
15. Ryan Smith (T3), Rochester, 10.75 (4/3/1)
16. Tye Kurtz (T14) Albany, 10.50 (4/2/0)
17. Jacob Dunbar (T22), Ottawa, 10.25 (2/5/1)
18. Connor Robinson (T29), Colorado, 10.00 (2/3/1)
T19. Dyson Williams (T34), Albany, 9.75 (2/4/0)
T19. Ian MacKay (T17), Buffalo, 9.75 (3/3/0)
T21. Wes Berg (T22), San Diego, 9.00 (4/2/1)
T21. Adam Poitras (T45), Las Vegas, 9.00 (2/0/1)
T23. Chris Boushy (T17), Toronto, 8.75 (3/3/0)
T23. Curtis Dickson (T7), Calgary, 8.75 (4/1/0)

Scoring System

First 3 Quarters (GTG/GAG/GWG)

Even-Strength Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Power-Play Goal: 0.50/0.75/1.00
Short-Handed Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00

Fourth Quarter (GTG/GAG/GWG)

Even-Strength Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00
Power-Play Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Short-Handed Goal: 4.00/6.00/8.00

Overtime (GWG)

Even-Strength Goal: 6.00
Power-Play Goal: 3.00
Short-Handed Goal: 12.00