Doug Jamieson, Albany FireWolves (Photo: Asher Greene)

This past weekend, the Albany FireWolves won their eighth game of the season after defeating the Buffalo Bandits 13-10. The team’s 8-2 record currently has them tied with the Toronto Rock for first in the standings too.

It wasn’t as smooth sailing a season ago.

In 2023, Albany finished with one of the worst records in National Lacrosse League history, going just 3-15 and not shockingly sitting dead last in the league.

With eight games left on their schedule and already improving their win total by five so far this season, the NLL record books might need to get dusted off due to this FireWolves W column comeback campaign.

Only ten teams in league history have improved their regular season record by more than five from one season to the next. The biggest record upgrade ever actually occurred in Albany, when the long-ago-relocated Attack went from 5-9 in 2001 to 14-2 a season later. Albany went on to barely lose the NLL Cup by just a single goal courtesy of a crazy comeback effort by the Rock (13-12).

Before we dig a bit more into these two really rare regular seasons in Albany, here are the ten teams that have seen six-or-more-win improvements to their seasons, starting from Year 1 in 1987 to today…

Albany Attack

2001: 5-9
2002: 14-2
📈 +9 W (+0.518 W%)

Detroit Turbos

1990: 1-7
1991: 8-2
📈 +7 W (+0.675 W%)

Edmonton Rush

2013: 9-7
2014: 16-2
📈 +7 W (+0.325 W%)

Baltimore Thunder

1997: 2-8
1998: 8-4
📈 +6 W (+0.467 W%)

New York Titans

2007: 4-12
2008: 10-6
📈 +6 W (+0.375 W%)

Colorado Mammoth

2011: 5-11
2012: 11-5
📈 +6 W (+0.375 W%)

Rochester Knighthawks 1.0

2013: 8-8
2014: 14-4
📈 +6 W (+0.278 W%)

New England Black Wolves

2015: 4-14
2016: 10-8
📈 +6 W (+0.333 W%)

Buffalo Bandits

2018: 8-10
2019: 14-4
📈 +6 W (+0.333 W%)

Rochester Knighthawks 2.0

2022: 4-14
2023: 10-8
📈 +6 W (+0.333 W%)

Albany FireWolves GM and Head Coach Glenn Clark is no stranger to these type of turnaround seasons.

Clark actually played for the Toronto team that took down Albany in the 2002 NLL Cup Finals. His offensive production in transition (1G, 2A) along with Rock defenders like Daryl Gibson (current Albany assistant coach), Ian Rubel (current Philadelphia assistant coach), Ken Millin (current Las Vegas assistant coach), Steve Toll (current Panther City assistant coach), Dan Ladouceur (current New York head coach) and Drew Candy (probably pounding on someone somewhere) – all of whom scored in that game – were a big reason why the Rock won the Cup that year (Bob Watson and Dan Stroup played pretty pivotal roles too).

Clark also took over the New England Black Wolves bench at the conclusion of the 2015 season and improved the team’s win total by six. Unless the FireWolves go 0-8 to close out their current campaign, he’s about to do it again.

Since 2001, when the NLL first awarded the Les Bartley Award for Coach of the Year, the coaches on teams who have seen sizeable record improvements (like the ones above) almost always win the award. See how those since-2001 most improved records match up with the Bartley Award over that same stretch.

Les Bartley Award Winners vs. 6+ Win Records

2002: Bob McMahon, Albany Attack (+9 W)

2008: Adam Mueller, New York Titans (+6 W)

2012: Joe Sullivan, Minnesota Swarm (+1 W, over Bob Hamley’s notable +6 in Colorado)

2014: Derek Keenan, Edmonton Rush (+7 W, over Mike Hasen’s +6, both significant seasons rankings above)

2016: Glenn Clark, New England Black Wolves (+6 W)

2019: John Tavares & Rich Kilgour, Buffalo Bandits (+6 W)

2023: Curt Malawsky, Calgary Roughnecks (+3 W, over Mike Hasen’s +6 in Rochester)

Only Bob Hamley and Mike Hasen had +6-win seasons and weren’t voted COTY, although in one of Hasen’s high-improvement seasons, Derek Keenan managed to out win him in that category by one. Either way, these types of colossal comeback campaigns almost always guarantee that team’s coach gets voted the league’s best bench boss.

John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images)

The FireWolves will surely get to six shortly, but can they catch Albany 1.0 for a nine-win improvement?

Of their remaining eight games, they’ll only play a team with a better than .500 record twice: Toronto on April 6 and Panther City on April 14. A total of twelve wins this year would match the Attack’s +9 W, which means the FireWolves would need to go just 4-4 the rest of the way. It’s definitely doable.

And while we’re on the topic of team win percentages, this year’s FireWolves already ranking pretty high there too.

Colton Watkinson, Albany FireWolves captain

In NLL history, there have only been four teams to see a .500 or more improvement in their regular season win percentage at the end of the year: the Detroit Turbos (+0.675 in 1991), the New England Blazers (+0.625 in 1990), the Albany Attack (+0.518 in, of course, 2002) and the Philadelphia Wings (+.500 in 1993).

While there is a lot of lacrosse to go, this year’s FireWolves have so far seen a massive 0.633 W% improvement versus last year.

And one last thing…

The first overall pick in 2023’s NLL Entry Draft, Dyson Williams, gets added to this already significantly improved squad next year.