Preseason NLL Rankings
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.
We start with our pre-power, pre-season edition, ranking the Saskatchewan Rush, who’ve finished first in the West every regular season since moving from Edmonton to Saskatoon, first in the 14-team NLL.
Saskatchewan Rush
Their defense is still the best in the biz, their off-season losses on offense are far from insurmountable, and the team has confidence in Adam Shute going from backup backstop to starting stopper.
Buffalo Bandits
They’ve been Cup finalist in two of the previous four full seasons, they’re healthy (outside of Ian MacKay, who is on the PUP for a bit with a groin injury), Dhane Smith looks set for huge season, plus Matt Vinc is still backstopping Banditland.
Toronto Rock
The additions of top-level defenders Mitch de Snoo & Jason Noble, plus the return of Latrell Harris & Tom Schreiber, give the Rock an even stronger group than the one that was already looking like they were ready for another run at the Cup.
Halifax Thunderbirds
They were maybe the hottest team in the league before the pandemic hit, and have since added a flurry of vets: Tyson Bell, Stephan Leblanc, Rhys Duch, David Brock and Aaron Bold. GM Curt Styres has turned similar off-season shifts into Cup-clinching success.
Philadelphia Wings
They’ve added some significant, pro-proven experience at either end of the floor. Alex Crepinsek & Brock Sorensen to the back, plus Ben MacIntosh & Corey Small up front. Another similar season of stops from starter Zach Higgins, and the Wings could find themselves in the Cup Final.
San Diego Seals
Even with Austin Staats sidelined for a full season, the addition of a player as offensively gifted as Dane Dobbie will see the Seals scoring at a super-high rate. They’ll need Frank Scigliano in year-one form to challenge for the top spot in the West though.
Calgary Roughnecks
Things went sideways after a suspension and key in-season subtractions, but the reigning (yes, still reigning) champs have one of the best goalies (Christian Del Bianco) & forwards (Curtis Dickson) alive today, plus sport a young yet super-charged backend.
Albany FireWolves
While they did lose Callum Crawford, this team’s bread & butter has always been their backend. With Doug Jamieson, who they also almost lost, still between the pipes and a potent offensive press, maybe it doesn’t matter that their top scorer split.
Rochester Knighthawks
An off-season haul that included Evan Kirk, Dan Coates, a seemingly forgotten about Matt Gilray, and really ready rookie, Ryan Smith, pushes the Knighthawks to potential post-season party crashers.
Georgia Swarm
Everyone in the East added a lot of significant players to their rosters, while the Swarm saw previously important players swapped or sidelined. The top-end talent is still there, most definitely, but their depth is unproven & inexperienced. Hard to get a handle on how they’ll look in a stacked East Division.
Colorado Mammoth
This feels way too low for the Mammoth, but they aren’t getting by the Rush and the realigned Roughnecks & offensively stacked Seals seem like a lot too. If Zed Williams can break out, their defense diverts from the departure of Dan Coates, and Dillon Ward just keeps being himself; then forget what was said in the first sentence.
Vancouver Warriors
The shedding of their Stealth skin has taken some time, a proper rebuild usually does, but the Warriors may still be a season away from challenging in the West. They have two absolute beast All-Rookie locks in Reid Bowering & Adam Charalambides, while Dan Richardson has had significant success shopping local on the second-hand rack. After years of chaos, this team is finally following a plan that will pay off.
New York Riptide
Callum Crawford has been producing at an MVP pace for the past two seasons, and Jeff Teat has had the 2022 ROTY reserved for a while now, but the consensus around the league is that Riptide still lack the depth needed to put a dent in the East, let alone do any serious damage.
Panther City Lacrosse Club
Their defensive unit is far from looking like a feeble expansion offering (they actually have legit depth back there), but with a young (yet promising) tendy tandem (Nick Damude & Kevin Orleman) and seemingly not a ton of pop up front, Ws might be hard to manufacture in Year 1.