NLL Player Rankings: Defensive Player of the Year
During the 2021/22 National Lacrosse League regular season, The Lax Mag listed the Top 30 players weekly by highlighting each games’ top six players (for both teams), attaching a point value to their in-game rank (1st = 6 points, 2nd = 5 points, etc.), and averaging that out over the entire season.
For those that haven’t been following, here’s a bit more on how we calculate our Top 30, plus why we’re doing it.
With the regular season complete, over the next several weeks The Lax Mag’s NLL Player Rankings will examine the top contenders for the NLL’s major year-end awards, starting with Rookie of the Year and ending with MVP. The most valuable rundown will also include our final take at the Top 30 too.
Robert Hope, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
Defensive Player of the Year Analysis
Keeping things simple this week. No stats, outside opinions, etc. We’re counting down this year’s Top 10 defensive players in the NLL, #1 our pick to be named the league’s 2021/22 Defensive Player of the Year.
Anyone we included as a notable Transition Player of the Year nominee, well, we’re not including here. We won’t go into the league’s chaotic classification of players past goalies and full-time forwards (it’s all here if you’re interested), but excluding those excellent players would nix names like Zach Currier, Reid Bowering, Mike Messenger and a few others who were outstanding in various defensive areas (hell, Currier led the league in caused turnovers, by A LOT, and Bowering in shots blocked), but with the way the league nominates and votes, it’s highly unlikely they’ll be DPOTY finalists this year.
Also, as was our rule all season in the Player Rankings, only players that have played in at least two-thirds of their team’s season will be included. Typically NLL award winners play a full or pretty close to complete season.
Brodie Merrill, San Diego Seals (Photo: Everything San Diego)
10. Brett Mydske, Vancouver Warriors
He took over from Matt Beers (who just missed this list) as the Warriors’ defensive leader, and although rookie Reid Bowering hogged the headlines (for good reason), Brett Mydske quietly put together an outstanding season for the often-depleted Warriors. Vancouver’s defensive unit has a distinct Western vibe and few play that hard-hitting, punishing style as well as Mydske does and did.
9. Brodie Merrill, San Diego Seals
Only the Toronto Rock (166) gave up fewer goals/game this season than what the San Diego Seals allowed out West (183). While we gave goalie Frank Scigliano credit for some of that stingy play, San Diego’s often underrated defense deserves praise too. Leading that unit are two vets: Cam Holding, who like Beers just missed mention today, and Brodie Merrill. No longer a full-time transitional threat, 40-year-old Merrill has become an important pure defensive presence with the Seals, whose positional play, toughness and leadership helped lead San Diego to those impressive per-game defensive totals.
Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)
8. Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds
It’s unlikely that Graeme Hossack will win a record-trying fourth straight DPOTY Award this year. His defensive stats were down slightly, he didn’t bring quite as many extras to the table on the press (which has been important for voters in the past), and even Halifax’s head coach seemingly bumped him down their team depth charts for Scott Campbell, another talented defender that finished just outside today’s Top 10. With that said, in 2022 there were few defensemen as physical, aggressive and abusive as Hossack, who still sits among the league’s defensive elite, easily.
7. Ryan Dilks, Saskatchewan Rush
The last Rush defender to win this award (2016), Ryan Dilks is as clever as he can be cutting, still one of today’s most precise turnover-causing defenders (34) inside Saskatchewan’s suffocating defensive unit. One of a number of key unrestricted free agents in Saskatoon this summer, Dilks will undoubtedly be in high demand.
Latrell Harris, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
6. Latrell Harris, Toronto Rock
Missing four games this season and playing alongside two deserving DPOTY Toronto teammates (see them below) will likely cost Latrell Harris year-end love from league voters. Those are the two reasons most convinced themselves not to submit third, second or first place votes on him here, but honestly, there may not have been a defender that played as athletic, as pounding, as relentless, and as dynamic a defensive game as Harris did in 2022, especially during the Rock’s league-leading second half.
5. Robert Hope, Colorado Mammoth
Like Harris, Robert Hope too missed a handful of starts, which will likely cost him his third DPOTY finalist mention since 2018. With that said, Hope continued as Colorado’s quietly composed defensive leader (the first without Dan Coates in Denver, yes, minus the season their former captain was sidelined), playing steady shutdown minutes coupled with above-average awareness and anticipation, resulting in strong loose ball (128) and caused turnover totals (27), again. If you missed the Mammoth during the regular season, make sure to watch this year’s NLL Finals, because Hope is giving a repeat performance during the playoffs.
Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
4. Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits
A five-time finalist for this award, Steve Priolo did the same things this year he has in all of those previous seasons. The Buffalo captain has an insane work rate, is relentless but also defensively responsible, and forces forwards to fire from less-than-ideal shooting lanes regularly. While teammate Matt Vinc seems likely to win another GOTY, that might not hinder Priolo’s chances of doing the same for this year-end honour. The NLL has awarded the top goalie and defensive player prize to players on the same team three times, all involving either Vinc or the Bandits: Billy Dee Smith & Kenny Montour (Buffalo, 2009), Pat McCready & Vinc (Rochester, 2011) and Hossack & Vinc (Rochester, 2018).
Brad Kri, Toronto Rock (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
3. Brad Kri, Toronto Rock
If you still consider Brad Kri underrated, well, you’re likely blind, deaf or both. From his peers to the small pool of press the league possess, Kri has been a DPOTY favourite since the start of the season (we already had him as the 5th ranked NLL defenseman in our pre-season Top 100). From a pure defensive standpoint, there are very few at Kri’s crippling level in today’s game. A turnover-and-loose-ball-causing shit stirrer, Kri continued to be a pain in the ass to play against, but still managed to register his best offensive totals yet (5 goals this year vs. 3 goals in his previous seven seasons combined). Few top-rated defenders today elevated their game after hitting pro like Kri did in recent years. He was underrated, yes. He isn’t anymore.
Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush
2. Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush
Kyle Rubisch was one of just a handful of players to register in our weekly Top 30 from edition one to our eventual last list coming out next week. While many throughout the league want to continually recognize new names, the reality is, Rubisch is still one of the league’s absolute best pure defenders, period. Again this season, Rubisch balanced a body-bruising, smash-mouth game with one of elite-defensive IQ. Even though the spotlight for much of the season in Saskatoon was centred around their uncharacteristic results and record, their defense, led by Rubisch, was still one of the best anywhere in the NLL.
Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
1. Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock
He was so dynamic and versatile this year, you could easily argue him for TPOTY too, but without a doubt, the off-season addition of Mitch de Snoo not only made the Rock’s defensive end better, it made them the NLL’s best. Few defenders played with the same electrifying edge that de Snoo showcased all season, and like teammate Kri, he was a pestering pain in the ass that made the Rock so incredibly difficult to penetrate offensively. On paper, his cause turnovers (39) and loose-ball figures (185) were both near the top of the charts, but he was also one of this year’s top point-producing defenders too (20). When it comes to this year’s most complete defensive package, it’s gotta be de Snoo, our pick for this year’s NLL Defensive Player of the Year.