NLL Player Rankings: Week 18 + 30/60/90 Club
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 Rankings: Week 18
We’ve got a new #1 and just the third player to be place at the top after 18 weeks of action. Dhane Smith, who in two games last weekend registered a-kind-of-ridiculous 19 points for the Buffalo Bandits, joins Lyle Thompson & Zach Currier as TLM’s only #1s so far this season.
As many have mentioned in recent weeks, Smith is surging to some spectacular single-season record rewrites. The 2016 NLL MVP is likely to break his own record for points during a regular season, ditto for defeating Mark Matthews’ single-season record of most assists in one year too.
#2 Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Kyle Hess)
Smith is also on course to again add his name to an extremely exclusive list: The 30/60/90 Club.
Only ten players in NLL history have amassed 30 goals, 60 assists and 90 loose balls or more in one NLL regular season. Smith first achieved that during his previously mentioned MVP campaign six seasons ago, and then again in 2018.
He’s bettered the goals & assists total for 30/60/90 club entry, already sitting at 38G & 79A, and is on pace to post 94 loosies too.
In addition to Smith, the elite club includes: John Tavares, Gary Gait, Paul Gait, Colin Doyle, Josh Sanderson, Shawn Evans, Cody Jamieson, Joe Resetarits and Lyle Thompson.
Below are the seasons each of those stars achieved this remarkable accomplishment, players like Smith, Evans and Thompson the only ones to do it on multiple occasions. We also included who was voted MVP that season, plus how many games each player played too. A 30/60/90 slash has only happened in eight NLL seasons, the first six times a player achieving that feat was also named most valuable. And of course, had the EPBLL, MILL and early NLL seasons been longer, players like Tavares, the Gaits, Tom Carmean, John Grant, Tom Marechek and many others surely would have cracked a season-long club like this more often, but we’ve drawn the line at what was produced, not per-game potential.
#1 Dhane Smith, Buffalo & #5 Joe Resetarits, Albany (Photo: Ben Green)
Goals/Assists/Loose Balls (Games Played)
2019
Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm 43/62/94 (18)
MVP: Dane Dobbie, Calgary Roughnecks 47/68/69 (18)
2018
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits 37/68/95 (18)
Joe Resetarits, Rochester Knighthawks 37/63/92 (18)
MVP: Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan Rush 32/84/67 (18)
2017
Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm 45/71/126 (18)
Shawn Evans, New England Black Wolves 38/65/90 (17)
MVP: Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm 45/71/126 (18)
2016
Shawn Evans, New England Black Wolves 50/68/116 (17)
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits 72/65/111 (18)
Cody Jamieson, Rochester Knighthawks 35/64/102 (18)
MVP: Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits 72/65/111 (18)
2015
Shawn Evans, Calgary Roughnecks 47/83/96 (18)
MVP: Shawn Evans, Calgary Roughnecks 47/83/96 (18)
2005
Josh Sanderson, Toronto Rock 31/71/112 (16)
Colin Doyle, Toronto Rock 42/69/94 (16)
MVP: Colin Doyle, Toronto Rock 42/69/94 (16)
2002
Gary Gait, Washington Power 50/62/120 (16)
Paul Gait, Washington Power 54/60/107 (16)
MVP: Paul Gait, Washington Power 54/60/107 (16)
2001
John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits 51/64/159 (14)
MVP: John Tavares, Buffalo Bandits 51/64/159 (14)
So, this year it’s looking likely that Smith will go 30/60/90 for a third time, but will anyone else?
The only player whose per game totals have him joining the club this year is New York Riptide super-rookie, Jeff Teat. Even with two games missed due to being placed in COVID protocol, the versatile forward is on pace to surpass all three single-season stat standards. With fewer games played than most, he leads all forwards with 91 LBs right now too.
Teat would be the first rookie to register a super-high slash like that, but not the youngest. When Smith first joined the 30/60/90 Club in 2016, he was just 23 years old. Teat will turn 25 before the 2022 season is complete.
#4 Jeff Teat (51), New York Riptide (Photo: Isaiah J. Downing)
Teat’s teammate, Callum Crawford, who has just missed out on club entry in previous campaigns, was on pace to do it this year, but it’s looking less likely after the forward missed this past Monday’s game in Denver.
Thompson, whose had a 30/60/90 slash twice before, has the Gs & LBs to do it, but his As average have him a handful of helpers away from achieving it a third time this season. Had he not missed that recent Swarm start, he’d likely be a lock right now.
Vancouver’s Keegan Bal is in the same boat. Having missed a game due to COVID-protocol placement, his per game average, right now at least, sees him finishing with 55 assists.
With that said, it wouldn’t be shocking to see the three vet forwards bumping their per-game averages in any of the those slash-stat columns to crash the club in 2022.
Here’s this week’s updated NLL Top 30…
NLL Player Rankings: Week 18
Rank. (Previous Week) Player, Team, Position (Average Star Rating)
1. (4) Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits, F (5.13)
2. (1) Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm, F (5.07)
3. (2) Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks, T (4.92)
4. (3) Jeff Teat, New York Riptide, F (4.83)*
5. (5) Joe Resetarits, Albany FireWolves, F (4.63)
6. (9) Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors, T (4.60)*
7. (6) Callum Crawford, New York Riptide, F (4.54)
8. (8) Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush, D (4.50)
9. (11) Ryan Lee, Colorado Mammoth, F (4.47)
10. (10) Wes Berg, San Diego Seals, F (4.33)
11. (14) Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock, F (4.31)
12. (7) Austin Staats, San Diego Seals, F (4.30)
13. (13) Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks, F (4.20)
14. (16) Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock, T (4.20)
15. (15) Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth, G (4.13)
16. (17) Kiel Matisz, Philadelphia Wings, T (4.13)
17. (18) Jesse King, Calgary Roughnecks, F (4.08)
18. (12) Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm, F (4.07)
19. (19) Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits, G (3.87)
20. (20) Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds, D (3.79)
21. (24) Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush, T (3.64)
22. (27) Warren Hill, Halifax Thunderbirds, G (3.62)
23. (29) Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits, D (3.62)
24. (28) Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock, D (3.60)
25. (25) Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits, F (3.53)
26. (26) Brad Kri, Toronto Rock, D (3.53)
27. (23) Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors, F (3.50)
28. (NR) Kevin Crowley, Philadelphia Wings, F (3.47)
29. (21) Frank Scigliano, San Diego Seals, G (3.45)
30. (40) Patrick Dodds, Panther City Lacrosse Club, F (3.38)*
NR = not rated in previous week’s Top 30
*Rookie