NLL Player Rankings: Week 9
After the first six weeks of the 2022-23 National Lacrosse League season are complete, The Lax Mag will publish our weekly NLL Player Rankings, examining the league’s Top 30 players from Week 1 right up until the end of the regular season.
The rankings are based on our star-rating system (individual game analysis) and overall statistical positioning (full season analysis). For a full breakdown of how both areas are ordered, click here.
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Ben Green)
Last year, The Lax Mag examined a new & extremely exclusive group of players in the NLL: the 30-60-90 Club.
What is the 30-60-90 Club?
It’s actually pretty simple. The Club counts up the players that have amassed 30 goals, 60 assists and 90 loose balls in a single NLL regular season.
The Lax Mag’s goal of setting up the Club last year was to get a better idea of who some of the more complete offensive players were in the league: those that excel at producing high-end points, but also shine in a more defensive-heavy stat like loose balls, which highlights hustle, work ethic and often in-game IQ.
Since 1987, only eleven players have accomplished the rare feat, last year’s Rookie of the Year Jeff Teat the most recent to register a 30-60-90 total. It was a first for a first-year player too.
Future NLL Hall-of-Fame lock Shawn Evans & reigning MVP Dhane Smith are the only players to hit that significant slash three times during their careers, while the Georgia Swarm’s Lyle Thompson is the only other one to do it more than once.
John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits
Sure, when the league played as few as six (1987), eight (89-90, 92-95), ten (1991, 96-96) or twelve (98-99) game seasons, it was nearly impossible to hit that mark, but like other pro sports that celebrate various single-season milestones, records get busted because of expansion and increased season length. It would have been difficult for the Quebec Athletics’ Joe Malone to have matched Wayne Gretzky’s 92 goals in 1920 when he was playing 24 games a year in the NHL and “The Great One” got 82 in with the Edmonton Oilers, but guess what, Gretzky’s record still stands. Pro lacrosse is no different.
John Tavares was the only one to achieve a 30-60-90 season in as few as 14 games back in 2001 with Buffalo, the first time anyone ever nailed down those notable numbers.
Outside of two recent seasons, a player that hit the 30-60-90 mark has also been voted that year’s MVP, including the league’s most recent most valuable, Smith last year.
Below are those exclusive eleven that belong to the Club.
30-60-90 Club Members
Season: Goals/Assists/Loose Balls (Games Played)
Colin Doyle
2005: 42/69/94 (16)
Shawn Evans
2015 47/83/96 (18)
2016: 50/68/116 (17)
2017: 38/65/90 (17)
Gary Gait
2002: 50/62/120 (16)
Paul Gait
2002: 54/60/107 (16)
Cody Jamieson
2016: 35/64/102 (18)
Joe Resetarits
2018: 37/63/92 (18)
Josh Sanderson
2005: 37/71/112 (16)
Dhane Smith
2016: 72/65/111 (18)
2018: 37/68/95 (18)
2022: 41/94/93 (18)
John Tavares
2001: 51/64/159 (14)
Jeff Teat
2022: 37/71/111 (16)
Lyle Thompson
2017: 45/71/126 (18)
2019: 43/62/94 (18)
Last year, Calgary’s Jesse King missed becoming a 30-60-90 Club member by just a single goal: 29/66/104. Vancouver’s Keegan Bal (44/55/93) & Georgia’s Thompson (47/55/107) were both just five assists short. Neither of those three talented forwards are presently on pace this year, but…
30-60-90 Club Contenders: 2023
Just last week, we mentioned we’d wait a bit to allow those on pace to finish at 30-60-90 or better to dwindle. Well, since then, we’re already down to just seven players who have maintained a per-game average that would see them join the Club, which includes the same pair that did it last year: Smith & Teat.
Projected Goals/Assists/Loose Balls (Max Games Played)
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits
34/108/106 (18)
Jeff Teat, New York Riptide
48/84/102 (18)
Robert Church, Saskatchewan Rush
61/68/97 (18)
Wes Berg, San Diego Seals
30/87/108 (18)
Will Malcom, Panther City Lacrosse Club
46/67/118 (18)
Andrew Kew, Georgia Swarm
32/63/126 (18)
Mitch Jones, Philadelphia Wings
30/65/114 (19)
Smith & Teat are obviously no surprise to see here, neither is Robert Church, who has come close before. Was Berg is seeing personal-best assist & loosie totals playing in San Diego’s star-studded attack, while 23-year-old Will Malcom is having a magical run with Panther City right now. Andrew Kew’s LB scoops have skyrocketed playing for the Swarm this season. Mitch Jones, who was acquired by the Philadelphia Wings earlier this week, may play as many as 19 games this year because Philly has more games to go than Vancouver.
Robert Church, Saskatchewan Rush (Photo: Brent Just)
There are a handful of players that are just behind in a stat column or two from reaching that elusive 30-60-90 status.
Mark Matthews (Saskatchewan Rush) should have the goals & assists, but would need a few more loosies per game to make it: 29/104/72
Curtis Dickson (San Diego Seals), who currently has the highest goals-per-game average in the NLL (3.67) and ranks fifth in points too (6.67), might get his helpers up enough to garner 60, but like Matthews, he’s on pace for low 70s in loosies: 66/54/72
Seals teammate Dane Dobbie is in a similar spot: 57/57/72
The Toronto Rock’s Tom Schreiber, who clearly has the goals & scoops needed, might fall short on assists: 54/51/123
Ryan Benesch (Halifax Thunderbirds), who has come incredibly close to becoming an official Club member during a number of his past seasons, may be in the mix again this year: 33/51/113
Connor Fields (Rochester Knighthawks) will only get 17 games in max after missing one earlier this season, but even with that said, he’s on pace to be just 9 assists short of 30-60-90 Club entry: 60/51/116
Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
And that’s probably about it, but things clearly could & should change. Maintaining some of the high per-game averages players have earlier in a season is hard to maintain, most of the above names likely dropping off in one or two statistical columns in coming weeks. A massive night for others could sneak them into contention too.
After reviewing the projected data above, although there is still a lot of lacrosse to go, Smith (108) & Matthews (104) are on pace to break Smith’s own assists-in-a-single-season record (92), and Dickson (66) could give Smith’s 72 goals record a run, especially since San Diego has a bunch of games against the West’s lower seeded sides to go.
Our updated NLL Players Rankings coming of our Week 9 are below…
NLL Player Rankings: Week 9
TW. (LW) Player, Team, Position
1. (6) Dhane Smith, Buffalo, F
2. (5) Curtis Dickson, San Diego, F
3. (3) Nick Rose, Toronto, G
4. (1) Connor Fields, Rochester, F
5. (8) Robert Church, Saskatchewan, F
6. (4) Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan, D
7. (2) Josh Byrne, Buffalo, F
8. (12) Dane Dobbie, San Diego, F
9. (15) Jeff Teat, New York, F
10. (16) Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan, F
11. (7) Mitch de Snoo, Toronto, D
12. (17) Wes Berg, San Diego, F
13. (11) Dillon Ward, Colorado, G
14. (9) Rylan Hartley, Rochester, G
15. (14) Tom Schreiber, Toronto, F
16. (10) Randy Staats, Halifax, F
17. (13) Christian Del Bianco, Calgary, G
18. (19) Zach Currier, Calgary, T
19. (21) Graeme Hossack, Halifax, D
20. (18) Reid Bowering, Vancouver, D
21. (25) Jake Withers, Halifax, F
22. (28) Will Malcom, Panther City, F
23. (20) Lyle Thompson, Georgia, F
24. (23) Brad Kri, Toronto, D
25. (26) Jesse King, Calgary, F
26. (24) Matt Gilray, Rochester, T
27. (30) Tyler Pace, Calgary, F
28. (NR) Matt Vinc, Buffalo, G
29. (27) Rob Hellyer, Las Vegas, F
30. (NR) Ian MacKay, Buffalo, T