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 19

Dhane Smith still leads and our first nine went unchanged too: Smith, Lyle Thompson, Zach Currier, Jeff Teat, Joe Resetarits, Reid Bowering, Callum Crawford, Kyle Rubisch and Ryan Lee.

Rookies Teat & Bowering have been hanging around the top third of our Top 30 for a majority of the season, speaking volumes of the high-level impact both players have had this year.

With two draft years looking for lineups after the 2021 season never took place, rookies having been playing pivotal roles all over the league this season.

We pulled every rookie that has played this year, added up each team’s rookie total, and highlighted a few of this year’s top first-year pros. Here’s how many rookies have been rostered on game days in 2022…

Patrick Dodds, Panther City Lacrosse Club (Photo: Dylan Nadwodny)

1. Panther City Lacrosse Club 11

2. Calgary Roughnecks 9
2. Georgia Swarm 9
2. New York Riptide 9
2. Rochester Knighthawks 9

6. San Diego Seals 8

7. Buffalo Bandits 6
7. Toronto Rock 6

9. Albany FireWolves 5
9. Colorado Mammoth 5

11. Philadelphia Wings 4
11. Saskatchewan Rush 4

13. Vancouver Warriors 3

14. Halifax Thunderbirds 2

While the above adds up to 90, the total game-day rostered rookies is actually 87 when you subtract a few that have appeared for two teams in 2022. But still, 87!! And here are all of ‘em…

Albany FireWolves

Rookies (5): Charlie Kitchen, Tanner Thomson, Curtis Conley, Curtis Romanchych, Brad Smith

Kitchen has clearly been their most relied on rookie, providing some quality secondary scoring production and also recently bagging one of this year’s most spectacular goals too.

Buffalo Bandits

Rookies (6): Tehoka Nanticoke, Brad McCulley, Max Adler, Sam La Rue, Dalton Sulver, Jordan Stouros

While Nanticoke, who leads the league in game-winning goals, will likely be named to the All-Rookie Team, the Bandits have also received solid minutes from Stouros, while Adler has been a regular since being signed to take over their face-off duties.

Calgary Roughnecks

Rookies (9): Tanner Cook, Kyle Waters, Harrison Matsuoka, Ethan Ticehurst, Carter McKenzie, Nick Scott, Cole Pickup, Landon Kells, Andrew Mullen

Cook is one of only two forwards who’ve played all 15 games for the Roughnecks this year (the other is Jesse King). He also impressively sits fourth in points for Calgary. The only other rookies to rank that high for their club: Jeff Teat, Patrick Dodds, Nathan Grenon, Ryan Smith and Adam Charalambides. If the NLL had an All-Rookie Second Team, Cook would likely crash it.

Colorado Mammoth

Rookies (5): Sam LeClair (traded to Philadelphia), Erik Turner, Jalen Chaster, Ron John (traded to New York), Brett McIntyre

Their overall rookie impact has been light, the team trading two of them at this year’s trade deadline. With that said, Turner has been a tremendous transitional asset for the Mammoth. The Albertan is a full-time force in Colorado’s own end and has also added some pop on the press (2G, 6A), plus filled in at the face-off dot too (32 FOs).

Georgia Swarm

Rookies (9): Ethan Walker, TJ Comizio, Connor Kirst, Jeff Henrick, Tanner Buck, Thomas Semple, Brad Voigt (released, signed by Rochester), Robert Hudson, Ethan Riggs

He won’t get ROTY consideration, but Comizio could potentially grab an All-Rookie Team spot based on his incredibly impressive rookie run with the Swarm. He’s a LB hound (63), is one of Georgia’s top caused-turnover talents (18), and has produced some huge goals pushing on the press too. Barley even mentioned by media (us included) heading into the season, Comizio has easily been one of 2022’s top rooks.

Halifax Thunderbirds

Rookies (2): Connor Wilson, Ryan Terefenko

Halifax has had the fewest rookies crack their lineup this year, although Terefenko has been a truculent & troublesome force throughout 2022. He’ll likely be one of four rookies to break the 100 loose-ball barrier this year: Bowering (184 LB right now), Ierlan (101), Teat (96) and Terefenko (96).

New York Riptide

Rookies (9): Jeff Teat, Larson Sundown, Andrew Borgatti, Ron John, Steve Orleman, LeRoy Halftown, Ty Thompson, Bryce Tolmie, Matt Marinier

Teat, who has been hanging around the NLL Player Rankings Top 5 for most of the year, is largely a lock for ROTY honours now. Orleman should become just the seventh goalie to be named All-Rookie after being one of the rare rookies to start a majority of a season for their squad.

Panther City Lacrosse Club

Rookies (11): Patrick Dodds, Nathan Grenon, Dean Fairall, Taite Cattoni, Josh Medeiros, Dylan Hutchison, Patrick Foley, Jack Jasinski, Harrison Smith, Jordan Trottier, Liam Phillips

Not surprising, expansion Panther City has had the most rookies on their roster of any team this year. What may surprise some, though, is the significant impact many of those first-year players are having for PCLC. Dodds is clearly a guarantee on the All-Rookie Team. As we pointed out last week, Medeiros has been a team & league leader in blocks. Foley is one of their top CT producers (16). Although he’s only played half the year, Fairall has been a huge mid-season addition and one of over a dozen Albertans who’ve broken into the big leagues in recent regular seasons.

Philadelphia Wings

Rookies (4): Sam LeClair, Jackson Suboch, Kyle Marr, Blake Gibson-McDonald

When we reviewed rosters much earlier this year, the Wings were easily one of this season’s oldest teams. They got a bit younger after this year’s trade deadline, which included adding LeClair. The 22 year old started the season with back-to-back hat tricks for the Mammoth, and has still managed to produce points behind a very vet-heavy offense in Philadelphia. The Wings have four picks inside the first two rounds of this year’s draft.

Rochester Knighthawks

Rookies (9): Ryan Smith, Charlie Bertrand, Tyler Halls, Brad Voigt, Mitch Ogilvie, Jared Conners, Joel Watson, Lucas Nagy, Lukas Coote

Between players unavailable or injured, the season has not gone smoothly for the Knighthawks. It has, however, allowed their prospects to play many more minutes than was likely planned back in December. Smith is an All-Rookie surely, and if there was an All-Rookie Second Team, Watson would likely get heavy consideration after going from third stringer to starter this winter.

San Diego Seals

Rookies (8): Tre Leclaire, Mac O’Keefe, Patrick Shoemay, Jacob Dunbar, Justin Geddie, Devyn Mayea, Chris Origlieri, Mathieu Boissonneault

If the All-Rookie Team isn’t loaded up with first-year forwards, Shoemay might get enough votes to land the six spot. Rarely talked about, Shoemay has been an integral piece of the team’s underrated defensive unit, owning a high LB (79) & CTO (18) total that most vets would envy. And don’t be shocked when Origlieri is one day named an NLL GOTY. It’ll happen.

Saskatchewan Rush

Rookies (4): Bobby Kidd, Marshall Powless, Connor McClelland, Clark Walter

While there is worry of departing defensive pieces during the upcoming offseason (via free agency), a Rush rebuild will benefit from the continued pro development of Kidd, whose athleticism, decision making and energy have been turning heads since training camp at the TRAC. The same can be said of McClelland, who has been solid all season too. Although it hasn’t been a memorable season in Saskatoon this year, Derek Keenan has already been planning for coming-soon seasons.

Toronto Rock

Rookies (6): Justin Scott, TD Ierlan, Phil Mazzuca, Chris Weier, Jordan McKenna, Troy Holowchuk

The addition of Ierlan gave the franchise their first-ever face-off freak, but Mazzuca has quietly become a very relied on defensive rookie with the Rock too. After first seemingly simply filling in, Mazzuca keeps making a case for keeping him in the lineup.

Vancouver Warriors

Rookies (3): Adam Charalambides, Reid Bowering, Tyrell Hamer-Jackson

The first-year impact Teat is having up top for New York, Bowering is arguably equalling on the defensive end out West. He’ll likely break Zach Currier’s rookie CTO record (currently 30 to Currier’s 33), and should become only the third rookie ever to scoop 200 or more loosies (Brodie Merrill & Currier are the other two). As we pointed out last week, Bowering is already leading the league in blocks and is second in LBs (behind, again, just Currier). He’s been inside or just out of our Top 10 all year too. Look, Teat is the ROTY frontrunner, but making a legit case for Bowering isn’t overly difficult to do either.

NLL Player Rankings: Week 19

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

1. (1) Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits, F (5.19)
2. (2) Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm, F (5.07)
3. (3) Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks, T (5.00)
4. (4) Jeff Teat, New York Riptide, F (4.92)
5. (5) Joe Resetarits, Albany FireWolves, F (4.63)
6. (6) Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors, T (4.56)
7. (7) Callum Crawford, New York Riptide, F (4.54)
8. (8) Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush, D (4.53)
9. (9) Ryan Lee, Colorado Mammoth, F (4.50)
10. (11) Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock, F (4.36)
11. (13) Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks, F (4.33)
12. (14) Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock, T (4.25)
13. (12) Austin Staats, San Diego Seals, F (4.25)
14. (10) Wes Berg, San Diego Seals, F (4.14)
15. (15) Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth, G (4.13)
16. (17) Jesse King, Calgary Roughnecks, F (4.13)
17. (18) Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm, F (4.07)
18. (16) Kiel Matisz, Philadelphia Wings, T (4.00)
19. (20) Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds, D (3.87)
20. (19) Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits, G (3.81)
21. (21) Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush, T (3.80)
22. (27) Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors, F (3.67)
23. (25) Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits, F (3.63)
24. (24) Mitch de Snoo, Toronto Rock, D (3.56)
25. (28) Kevin Crowley, Philadelphia Wings, F (3.56)
26. (26) Brad Kri, Toronto Rock, D (3.38)
27. (NR) Tony Malcom, Albany FireWolves, T (3.38)
28. (NR) Ryland Rees, Rochester Knighthawks, T (3.33)
29. (29) Frank Scigliano, San Diego Seals, G (3.31)
30. (23) Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits, D (3.29)

NR = not rated in previous week’s Top 30

*Rookie

NLL Player Rankings: Week 19 + Rookie Report

THE LAX MAG

NLL Player Rankings: Week 19 + Rookie Report

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