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 right now 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 8

It was a relatively quiet week with only three games on the schedule and just four teams competing, but this week’s NLL Player Rankings had some significant movement due to those Week 8 performances.

We have a new number one… Lyle Thompson. Although the Georgia Swarm got goal production from nine different scorers, Thompson was involved in half of the team’s 12 goals (1G, 5A). He’s currently tied for second in NLL point scoring (32), having played two fewer games than the league leader, Kevin Crowley (39). Thompson also ranks high in The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings countdown and continues to potentially be the most complete & dynamic offensive player playing professional today.

#1 Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Nicole Palombo)

Interestingly, the previously mentioned Crowley, who finished just outside of the Top 30, has yet to receive a first start here. He’s been a second star twice (vs. New York on Dec. 10 and vs. Rochester Jan. 22) and a third two times (vs. Toronto on Dec. 18 and vs. New York on Jan. 23) though. Lower or no star points in games against Panther City, Georgia and Albany keeps him out of the Top 30. As mentioned in our opening edition, the TLM Player Rankings grade top players in every game, not just their best ones. Side note, we’ve given game first stars (the max points a player receives in the TLM Rankings) to the following Philadelphia Wings so far this season: Zach Higgins x2, Corey Small x2, Brett Hickey, Eric Penney and Steph Charbonneau. Kiel Matisz, who is the only Wing to receive a star rating in every game so far this season, sits 23rd in this week’s rundown.

With Jeff Teat now playing approximately two-thirds of the New York Riptide’s games, he appears in the Player Rankings for the first time, and debuts pretty high (6th). In the three games he’s played so far this season, he has been an easy Top 3 on the team in each of those appearances, including this past weekend. Teat’s 7 points (1G, 6A) in New York’s first win of the season (second in franchise history) led all players in points on either team, the Riptide rookie quarterbacking an offense that had a season-high 13 goals in their dramatic win over the Wings. Although he missed two games after being placed in protocol, the consensus around the league is that he’s still the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year honours (maybe more). The only other rookie to appear in the TLM Player Rankings this year is Vancouver Warrior’s defensemen, Reid Bowering, who has been on the list since we started sharing it after Week 6.

Connor Kearnan has also slipped into this week’s Player Rankings after another strong performance for the Riptide, arguably even stronger than Teat’s Week 8 wizardry (although the official game sheet had Teat as the game’s #1 star, we actually gave it to Kearnan here). With four more goals this past weekend, Kearnan has been scoring quantity (16 this season, second best in the NLL behind only Dane Dobbie) and quality (ranked second in last week’s TLM Clutch Kings and had more game-swaying goals in Week 8, stay tuned), especially over the team’s last three games. We’ve ranked Kearnan as New York’s first start over their last two games, where he’s produced more than half of his full-season goal total (5 vs. Panther City and 4 vs. Philadelphia). The former first rounder has most definitely heated up since Teat’s return (5 of his recent 9 have been assisted by Teat).

With all teams in action this upcoming Week 9, which TLM has dubbed the NLL’s Super Saturday, there should be much more movement in the Player Rankings next week.

NLL Player Rankings: Week 8

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

1. (2) Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm (5.40)

2. (3) Dane Dobbie, San Diego Seals (5.00)

3. (4) Mitch Jones, Vancouver Warriors (4.75)

4. (5) Warren Hill, Halifax Thunderbirds (4.67)

5. (6) Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks (4.67)

6. (NR) Jeff Teat, New York Riptide (4.67)

7. (7) Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock (4.60)

8. (1) Holden Cattoni, Rochester Knighthawks (4.40)

9. (8) Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors (4.33)

10. (9) Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits (4.25)

11. (10) Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits (4.25)

12. (11) Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth (4.25)

13. (12) Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush (4.00)

14. (13) Kyle Rubisch, Saskatchewan Rush (4.00)

15. (14) Jesse King, Calgary Roughnecks (4.00)

16. (NR) Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock (4.00)

17. (15) Steve Priolo, Buffalo Bandits (4.00)

18. (16) Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors (4.00)

19. (18) Shayne Jackson, Georgia Swarm (3.75)

20. (19) Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (3.75)

21. (20) Doug Jamieson, Albany FireWolves (3.75)

22. (22) Matt Hossack, Panther City Lacrosse Club (3.75)

23. (17) Kiel Matisz, Philadelphia Wings (3.71)

24. (23) Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds (3.67)

25. (24) Austin Staats, San Diego Seals (3.67)

26. (25) Curtis Dickson, Calgary Roughnecks (3.67)

27. (NR) Connor Kearnan, New York Riptide (3.60)

28. (26) Robert Church, Saskatchewan Rush (3.60)

29. (27) Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan Rush (3.60)

30. (28) Wes Berg, San Diego Seals (3.60)

NR = not rated in previous week’s Top 30

NLL Player Rankings: Week 8

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NLL Power Rankings: Week 8

THE LAX MAG