NLL Player Rankings: Week 11

After the first full month (four weeks of completed games more specifically) of the 2021/22 National Lacrosse League season were completed, The Lax Mag started publishing weekly updated NLL Player Rankings, examining the league’s Top 30 players from Week 1 until the end of the regular season.

The rankings only take into consideration how a player has performed for this specific season. TLM ranks the top six players from each team for every completed regular season game, utilizing an average star rating system. For a full breakdown of how players are evaluated and more on our scoring system, click here.

NLL Player Ranking Highlights: Week 11

We’ve got a 5.33-point tie at the top between Lyle Thompson & Zach Currier, with the Georgia Swarm’s MVP frontrunner stealing #1 through our tie-breaker rule (more higher star ratings throughout the season).

Thompson touched up the New York Riptide for three helpers & four finishes, including a brilliant game winner in a relatively tight affair. He currently leads the NLL in goals & points, plus has pushed the Swarm into playoff contention.

Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Kyle Hess)

Currier played a critical role in Calgary’s victory over a heavily favoured Colorado side. In fact, the Roughnecks’ tremendous transitional talent dropped one of the most impressive individual stat lines of any player this year: 2G on 3SH, 14LB, 5CTO and 1BLK. Although Currier currently claims one of this year’s top face-off win rates (one of only six players this year with a 60% or better FOW%), since full-time face-off taker Tyler Burton has returned, it’s allowed Currier to be even more focussed on his more pressing game-day duties on either side of centre. While he again got snubbed for any inclusion in the league’s official three star selections, we had him as Calgary’s clear-cut #1 vs. Colorado.

New names on the Top 30 leaderboard this week: Alex Buque (Vancouver), Matt Hossack (Panther City), Zach Higgins (Philadelphia) and Ryland Rees (Rochester). To make room for this week’s biggest risers, players whose season-long star rating sank them slightly: Austin Shanks (Halifax), Robert Church (Saskatchewan), Doug Jamieson (Albany) and Tony Malcom (Albany).

As mentioned in this week’s Power Rankings, Buque is playing easily the best lacrosse of his NLL career currently, and if votes were cast for right now vs. reputations (which they often aren’t), the Warriors’ so-far-stunning stopper would garner some GOTY consideration. Shocked? You shouldn’t be.

Alex Buque, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jordan Leigh)

Chirped courtesy of a half-heated Brett Hickey for not having Higgins in our weekly regular season rundown, Philly’s talented tendy has now officially crashed our countdown. Season-long Top 30 sitter, Kiel Matisz, and Higgins have easily been the two most consistent and relied on regulars in the Wings’ lineup. We’ve selected Higgins as the Wings’ first star four times this season, including his 44-save performance against the Thunderbirds last weekend. As has been the norm this year, Philadelphia hung around late against Halifax largely due to Higgins’ heroics. In the league’s official three-star selections, Higgins has been named a star just once, sadly just a second one at that.

In our TLM Top 100 published just before the start of the 2021/22 season, we said this about Hossack…

“From a depth defender in the Saskatchewan Rush’s highly regarded D-dominating lineup to a key defensive piece of Fort Worth’s back-end build, Matt Hossack could very well be a Top 15 defender in the NLL this upcoming season.”

So far, Hossack has definitely earned a Top 15 title in 2022. This past weekend Hossack had one of his most impressive & impactful games to date, albeit in disappointing loss to the #1 seeded San Diego Seals.

#23 Kiel Matisz, Philadephia Wings

Rochester’s Rees has gone from breakout rookie to a top two-way threat, one that is clearly playing with more confidence, composure and command, especially when cruising the carpet. In just eight games this season, Rees has already bettered his goal total (6) from his first year (4) and is on pace to smash his loose-ball & caused-turnover counts too.

Including the four that fell just outside of the Top 30 this week (Shanks, Church, Jamieson and Malcom), other players’ point totals that are close to cracking the countdown (although some had previously placed) in coming weeks, include: Jake Withers (Halifax), Robert Hope (Colorado), Shawn Evans (Rochester), Jordan MacIntosh (Georgia), Jeremy Noble (San Diego), Keegan Bal (Vancouver), Mark Matthews (Saskatchewan), Mitch de Snoo (Toronto), Kevin Crowley (Philadelphia), Matt Vinc (Buffalo), Rob Hellyer (Toronto), Connor Kearnan (New York), Dan Craig (Toronto) and Eli McLaughlin (Colorado). Players who have played in less than two-thirds of their team’s season or on the LTIR are not included.

#17 Callum Crawford and #4 Graeme Hossack (Photo: Ryan McCullough)

NLL Player Rankings: Week 11

Rank. (Previous Week) Player, Team, Position (Average Star Rating)

1. (1) Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm, F (5.33)

2. (2) Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks, T (5.33)

3. (5) Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth, G (4.71)

4. (4) Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds, D (4.67)

5. (6) Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits, F (4.57)

6. (3) Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors, D (4.57)*

7. (8) Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock, F (4.50)

8. (9) Jesse King, Calgary Roughnecks, F (4.50)

9. (11) Austin Staats, San Diego Seals, F (4.40)

10. (15) Jeff Teat, New York Riptide, F (4.33)*

11. (14) Ryan Lee, Colorado Mammoth, F (4.14)

12. (12) Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush, D (4.14)

13. (7) Dane Dobbie, San Diego Seals, F (4.14)

14. (24) Wes Berg, San Diego Seals, F (4.14)

15. (23) Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits, D (4.14)

16. (21) Joe Resetarits, Albany FireWolves, F (4.13)

17. (16) Callum Crawford, New York Riptide, F (4.13)

18. (19) Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm, F (4.13)

19. (13) Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock, T (4.00)

20. (17) Warren Hill, Halifax Thunderbirds, G (4.00)

21. (10) Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush, T (4.00)

22. (22) Holden Cattoni, Rochester Knighthawks, F (4.00)

23. (20) Kiel Matisz, Philadelphia Wings, T (4.00)

24. (25) Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks, F (3.75)

25. (NR) Alex Buque, Vancouver Warriors, G (3.57)

26. (NR) Matt Hossack, Panther City Lacrosse Club, D (3.57)

27. (NR) Zach Higgins, Philadelphia Wings, G (3.56)

28 (NR) Ryland Rees, Rochester Knighthawks, T (3.50)

29. (18) Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits, F (3.43)

30. (29) Brad Kri, Toronto Rock, D (3.25)

NR = not rated in previous week’s Top 30

*Rookie