NLL Power Rankings: Week 14

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.

Buffalo Bandits 8-1 (1)

This team just keeps finding ways to win no matter the situation, and getting clutch production from so many different players. While it was Kyle Buchanan that bagged their Week 13 OT winner, the team secured some unlikley secondary support on Saturday too. With the Buffalo bus already bolting for MVP Arena (15 minutes early apparently), Connor Fields & Tehoka Nanticoka were left behind. Bandits fan Renee Snyder said, “Let’s go guys, you gotta get to the game,” and drove the duo downtown in time for shootaround. The forgotten forwards teamed up for 7 points in their 12-11W over the FireWolves.

Photo: Bandits Mafia Facebook Group

San Diego Seals 7-2 (2)

Not only did the Seals bounce back, they buried the Calgary Roughnecks with yet another four-goals-against outing courtesy of San Diego stopper Frank Scigliano, who had arguably his best start of the season. In those other two stingy showings, Scigliano needed to make just 33 (vs. Colorado 13-4) and 29 stops (vs. Panther City 10-4). This past weekend against Calgary, 50 saves were required. Only two other goalies in NLL history have allowed four or fewer three times, not one of them in a single season like Scigliano though. Bob Watson, the Seals’ current goalie coach, did it three times in his career, and Matt Vinc five.

Halifax Thunderbirds 8-1 (3)

There are few if any more positive people to have played in the NLL than Aaron Bold. There is nothing more touching than the tributes he often shares of his late wife, Michelle Fines, on his Instagram account, likely leaving many in tears after reading his heartwarming words. There is no one that deserved a success story more than Bold, whose second-half shot stopping (while subbing in for Warren Hill) against the Vancouver Warriors allowed his Halifax Thunderbirds to take an emotional 14-12 result. Well done, Aaron.

Cody Jamieson & Aaron Bold, Halifax Thunderbirds (Photo: Trevor MacMillan)

Colorado Mammoth 6-3 (4)

We’ve mentioned Ryan Lee as being a legit MVP candidate. Dillon Ward our #1 pick presently for GOTY, and also an MVP maybe. Robert Hope is always a contender for top defensemen, as he definitely will be again this year. But what about Pat Coyle for Coach of the Year? With a number of new names up front and their overall roster still relatively young & unproven, Coyle has guided the group to the second-best record in the West and the top penalty-kill unit in the league (76.3%) - a team tremendously better than the 11th seed we spotted them in during the preseason. Sorry :)

Toronto Rock 7-4 (5)

Even with just a single from top scorer Tom Schreiber, the Rock rebounded against the Riptide thanks to a stellar start from Nick Rose, Dan Dawson having arguably his most impressive game of 2022, strong secondary scoring, plus plenty of pop from their offensive press. The Rock also sit Top 5 in both PP & PK production. With one of the most dynamic defenses in the NLL, their short-man stats are somewhat expected. Their PP% was not. In the eleven games they got in during the pandemic shortened season, the Rock ripped just 11 PPGs all year (31.43%, ranked last in the league). After their first eleven this year, Schreiber alone has eight man-up markers, and the team a total of 23 (48.9%, ranked 4th in the league).

Albany FireWolves 5-7 (6)

Their placement in the Power Rankings remains high for a team sitting now two games under .500, but the FireWolves were just an OT snipe away from evening up their regular-season record, and looked legit against the #1 ranked Bandits (as they have against other top 2022 teams too). The battle for the East’s fourth spot & West’s wild-card entry looks like it will come down to Albany, Georgia, Philadelphia, and potentially Rochester too. Even though they impressively knocked off both San Diego & Halifax this year, the FireWovles are just 2-3 against those previously mentioned post-season maybes. Although they got Adam Bomberry & Jordan Durston back, Albany lost both Tony Malcom & Tanner Thomson to injuries. Past their previous player protocol placements, the FireWolves roster has rarely had all their pieces in place.

Georgia Swarm 5-6 (9)

A record-breaking night for Mike Poulin (6,000th career save + 99th career win), a typical outing for Lyle Thompson (4G, 3A) & Shayne Jackson (5G, 3A), continued quality production from their high-flying rookies, and some timely offensive touches by Adam Wiedemann led to arguably the Swarm’s biggest dub of the season (17-16in OT over Rochester). While they have a slight edge in present post-season positioning (see Albany above) the Swarm have also yet to string together back-to-back Ws this winter. Over their next five: Halifax, Albany, Toronto x2 and Buffalo.

Mike Poulin, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Kyle Hess)

Vancouver Warriors 5-5 (7)

That three-game win streak has turned into a two-game slide, although a loss to Halifax, who has only handed out one W to opponents in 2022, is far from unforgiveable. Vancouver’s offense continues to build confidence while they wait for the return of Mitch Jones – experience that will only benefit them down the stretch. What will they look like when Jones hopefully returns in early April? Tough to say, but the rest of their March sked won’t makes things easy on them. The Warriors host the Rock this Saturday, and then see the Mammoth & Seals in the weeks following. Vancouver is just 1-3 against teams with a .500 or better record right now, that lone win coming against San Diego way back in Week 1.

Philadelphia Wings 5-6 (8)

We felt like they could end up in this year’s Cup Final in our preseason rankings, and obviously right now, that seems fairly unlikely, but in the NLL, ya never know. We’ve talked about how stiff the rest of their schedule is, plus the fact that it will be played mostly away from Wells Fargo. On paper the Wings are 110% an NLL playoff team, but do they flip the switch on a deal prior to next Tuesday’s trade deadline to improve their post-season potential? The team certainly seems like they’re in win-now mode, although their future isn’t as feeble as some seem to think. While their earliest pick will only be 23rd overall, Philly owns four selections in the first & second rounds of the 2022 draft, plus still have their firsts in 2023 & 2024. They’ve also got some interesting names sitting on their draft list, including recent first rounder, Hunter Lemieux.

Rochester Knighthawks 3-7 (13)

Even though they lost, we bumped them up, actually by a lot. Part of that is because after Week 13’s really unpredictable results, they kinda just fell here, but look, Rochester’s roster still looks really good, rookie Ryan Smith is shifting into power-forward mode, Holden Cattoni is heating up again, and the team has shown zero quit. If playoffs are a possibility, however, they’re going to have to start stealing some Ws starting ASAP. The Knighthawks next host a Riptide team that have made significant strides since their Week 1 encounter (a 13-12 OT W for Rochester), but like them, urgently need to start securing victories.

Saskatchewan Rush 3-7 (10)

The second it seems like Saskatchewan has flipped the script, they drop another desperate decision. Panic-button time has passed. With a number of high-profile UFAs hitting the market after this season, do long-time leaders like Kyle Rubisch, Chris Corbeil and others get moved to a contender for pro-ready prospects and/or picks? Even if they do somehow snatch a post-season spot, which looks increasingly unlikely as the season goes on, does a Cup win in 2022 help them in 2023 and beyond? Is it more important to rebuild the once mighty Rush by dealing in-demand & potentially departing pieces, or maybe make the playoffs and then maybe win the Cup? Keep in mind, they just got gut punched by Panther City. Panic is the last thing that should be present while making some extremely critical decisions over the next several days.

Calgary Roughnecks 3-6 (11)

Their greyed game-day threads and blinding-green turf are the least of the Roughnecks’ problems as Calgary continues to search for consistency and, well, wins during a turbulent 2022. They actually outshot the West-leading Seals and got a stunning performance from Christian del Bianco between the pipes, but their inability to finish with frequency foiled them again. An offense that not long ago was the envy of the league, Calgary is averaging the fewest goals/game across the entire NLL right now (9.78). Although they likely don’t want to hear it, they’re young. With the quality kids they’ve brought in though, their time will come.

Panther City Lacrosse Club 3-8 (14)

PCLC is the most exciting, high-energy, electric squad swinging their sticks today, and while much of the league will allot them an “atta boy” for their effort, that grade is not good enough for this glowing group. Although he was evidently buzzed a bit, Christian del Bianco’s assessment of 2022’s expansion entry was bang on, tweeting, “…I'm probably right Fort Worth works extremely hard.” While other sides will clearly be more skilled, Tracey Kelusky and his staff have these kids believing in themselves and hustling harder than anyone in the league. If teams are looking for an easy win in Fort Worth, they Fed up.

New York Riptide 2-8 (12)

The negative: they lost, again, and look unlikely to challenge for the playoffs. The positive: a lot… Dan Lomas coming back early from an Achilles injury and scoring a hatty in his 2022 debut. Steve Orleman, who has now gotta be a lock for an All-Rookie spot, stopping some of the biggest shots of the season. Jeff Teat & Callum Crawford piling up points, even in a single-digit L. Jack Kelly scoring four against Lafayette last week.