NLL Power Rankings: Week 21

Every week during the 2021/22 National Lacrosse League season, The Lax Mag will publish updated NLL Power Rankings reflecting the previous week’s performances, as well as a team’s overall regular season rep, status and success rate.

With the Chase for the Championship regular-season chapter almost complete, this week we looked at which vets on every roster have played the most games (regular season + playoffs) without having captured an NLL Cup. Who’ll end their drought in 2022? See the Cup-hopeful contenders…

Buffalo Bandits 14-3 (1)

Team captain Steve Priolo has played 197 games (182+15) but has yet to lead the Bandits to a championship. Since Buffalo last won a Cup in 2008 (vs. Brodie Merrill and the Portland Lumberjax), the team has been to the final twice since, losing to Saskatchewan in 2016 and Calgary in 2019.

Toronto Rock 12-5 (2)

While the Rock have a handful of defenders who’ve played in excess of 100 regular season + playoff games without winning an NLL Cup (Billy Hostrawser, Brad Kri, Sheldon Burns and Mitch de Snoo), it’s goalie Nick Rose (206: 190+16) who leads this list. One of only five active players to have played in more than 200 games and still chasing that first championship, Rose joined the Rock the season after the team’s last title in 2011.

Colorado Mammoth 10-7 (4)

It’s been a bit for the Mammoth, who last won a Cup in 2006, so it’s not surprising they too have a number of names with over 100 games garnered and no Cup. Joey Cupido’s 157 (147+10) total is tops, followed by Dillon Ward at 143 (134+9), Robert Hope with 124 GP (116+8) and Eli McLaughlin one behind him (115+8).

Calgary Roughnecks 9-8 (3)

The Roughnecks are still your reigning NLL Champions, so it’s no shocker that most players on their present roster have a ring. The team has lost several key soldiers since, but have promoted prospects versus obtaining much veteran help. With just 30 games played in the NLL to date, Zach Herreweyers is Calgary’s most experienced player (30+0) without a Cup.

Halifax Thunderbirds 10-7 (6)

One of the older rosters in the NLL this year, Halifax has a lot of Cup-winning experience up and down their lineup. David Brock, who reached the Cup Finals with the Bandits in 2016, has 167 games (155+12) on his resume but no titles, yet.

Albany FireWolves 8-9 (7)

Ryan Benesch is one of only two active NLLers with over 250 games played in the bigs without a single Cup clinched – 252 to be exact (236+17). For his FireWolves to force their way into this year’s playoffs, a win on Saturday and Albany is in. Like the just-mentioned Brock above, Benesch came close to a Cup in 2016 with the Bandits. Also up there is Greg Downing, the American one of the few today that have played over 200 games (203: 193+19) in the league yet still chasing that elusive first championship. And if you thought Joe Resetarits won a ring in Rochester, the Mann Cup winner actually joined the Knighthawks a season after their swing of Cup-winning success. He’s played 160 so far (144+16).

San Diego Seals 9-8 (5)

With 276 games played and counting (258+18), 40-year-old Brodie Merrill has played the most games of any current NLLer still chasing that first title. With six straight losses leading into their regular-season finale on Saturday, San Diego doesn’t have the last-month resume nearly all eventual Cup winners owned, but as we’re all aware, anything is possible in the never-easy-to-script NLL playoffs.

Georgia Swarm 9-8 (9)

Like the Roughnecks, the Swarm won it all not long ago (2018), and have rebuilt sections of their roster with promising rookies instead of proven-veteran players. Most either have a ring on their mitt or have played minimal minutes. In just their third NLL season, Brendan Bomberry’s 47 total games (46+1) tops Adam Wiedemann’s tally by a single start (45+1) to lead today’s list. Both have played pretty pivotal roles for the almost-there Swarm. While they can clinch a playoff spot a few different ways this weekend, winning would be the easiest and most rewarding route to go.

Philadelphia Wings 8-9 (10)

When we calculated roster ages earlier this season, the Wings were easily the oldest. Traded during the Edmonton’s Rush’s eventual Cup-winning campaign (2015), Corey Small has played 187 games (176+11) in the league but still lacks a Cup. His still-searching streak is the seventh longest amongst active players. Teammate Kevin Crowley, who came so close with the Rock in 2015, is second on the squad sitting at 176 (164+12).

Panther City Lacrosse Club 7-10 (8)

With the youngest roster in the league, the expansion Panther City LC have many players with low games-played counts. Their most experienced non-Cup winner is Travis Cornwall at 129 GP (119+10). He came super-close with Calgary in 2014, and was a regular on the Rush’s 2020 Cup-worthy roster, but the pandemic put a stop to their promising post-season push.

Saskatchewan Rush 7-10 (12)

It’s the Rush’s newbies that top the list, most vets on their team with multiple Cup-winning campaigns completed. With that said, their total games-played total is tiny in comparison to most team toppers today: Eric Penney (90: 90+0), Dan Lintner (86: 81+5) and Josh Currier (81: 76+5).

New York Riptide 6-11 (11)

It’s somewhat shocking that Callum Crawford has never been named an MVP (players thought he was the MVP in 2020, the league felt differently), and also that the Riptide forward has never won a title over his soon-to-be 16 full seasons in the league. One of only a handful of players to have over 1,100 regular-season points, Crawford currently sits at 244 games played in the pros (230+14). This past weekend, New York was officially nixed from the 2022 playoff picture.

Rochester Knighthawks 4-13 (14)

After recently giving both Halifax & Toronto legit tests and then snapping Calgary’s stunning streak last weekend, we jumped the short-handed Knighthawks for their extremely admirable effort down the stretch. Who is their Cup-less leader? Off-season score Dan Coates, who up until this year spent his entire career in Colorado, has played 155 games (145+10) with no Cup. Since the Mammoth won in 2006, they’ve yet to return to the NLL Final.

Vancouver Warriors 6-11 (14)

Officially joining their active roster a few seasons after their 2010 Cup victory, Justin Salt just missed playing for an extremely strong Washington Stealth side. His 148 total games (144+4) puts Salt ahead of Logan Schuss, Garrett McIntosh and Alex Buque, who all sit at 124 regular season + playoff games combined.