The top 30 stories of 2023

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Written By Paul Tutka

Last year we named the Colorado Mammoth’s massive underdog effort to capture the NLL Cup 2022’s top story.

Who’ll take the top spot a year later?

The Lax Mag examined our overall impressions on both TheLaxMag.com and our social media, plus the impact this year’s most talked about teams, players, events and otherwise had in person and online to order 2023’s top 30 box lacrosse stories.

Here’s what our site and social impressions told us were the Top 30 stories of 2023.

Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

30. Saskatchewan Rush on-and-off field refresh

New logo, neon turf and a significant Rush roster rework not seen since the team was in Edmonton, Saskatchewan was busier than most in 2023. Rush OGs like Kyle Rubisch and Mark Matthews were out with Derek Keenan committing to younger-gen players like Zach Manns, Patrick Dodds, Adam Jay and others. An issue area since Evan Kirk wasn’t re-signed after the 2020 season, the team has their most stable stopper since, after acquiring Frank Scigliano. The Rush have missed the playoffs the past two seasons (the first time ever for a Keenan-led lineup) and have started the current NLL season 1-2, but there are still most certainly signs for optimism.

Read: NLL Team-by-Team Offseason Trades, Signings, Re-Signings, Retirements, Releases, Hirings and Firings

Derek Keenan, Saskatchewan Rush GM (Photo: S. Hiscock)

29. Edmonton Warriors win Founders Cup

Since 1964, the Founders Cup (previously the Castrol Cup through most of the 60s) has been won by an Ontario-based Junior B team a total of 50 times. Over the past three years, a Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League rep has taken it twice, including this past summer when the Edmonton Warriors won it all. It’s just the fifth time a team from Alberta has won the Founders: Enoch Tomahawks (1980), Edmonton Miners (1999), Calgary Mountaineers (2009), Calgary Shamrocks (2019) and of course the Warriors this year. In fact, those five first place finishes are second behind only Ontario.

28. Albany FireWolves rebuild

It’s a story that started before this year and one that will end well into 2024 and beyond, but the Albany FireWolves commitment to as legit a roster rebuild as we’ve seen in this league is already starting to see some serious success late in 2023. Since their last season as the New England Blackwolves, the following names have either been traded, fled via free agency, never re-signed or retired: Callum Crawford, Joe Resetarits, Andrew Kew, Reilly O’Connor, Stephan Leblanc, Tony Malcom, Adam Bomberry, Greg Downing, John Lafontaine, Brett Manney, Jacob Ruest, Adrian Sorichetti, Connor Kelly, Kieran McArdle, Jake Fox, Justin Scott, Thomas Vaesen, Aaron Forster and Brent Mitchell. That is well above-average-mostly-vet-player movement, but the team has committed to a small yet stable core (Doug Jamieson, Colton Watkinson, Jackson Nishimura, etc.) and added quality prospects either through trade (Ethan Walker, Marshall Powless, etc.) or high in the draft (Alex Simmons, Tye Kurtz, Nicholas Volkov, etc.). Starting the 2023-24 NLL season 3-0, the team’s no-shortcut approach appears to be paying off in the short-term, but likely long as well.

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27. Mitch Jones traded midseason from Vancouver to Philadelphia

While the Albany FireWolves rebuild is already being applauded, the Vancouver Warriors roster restructuring has taken a bit (actually a lot) longer, and dealing franchise leader and always MVP contender Mitch Jones was a franchise shifter for sure. The long-term results of that high-profile trade are still TBD. Short term: neither Vancouver or Philadelphia made the 2023 playoffs, and the two teams are both 1-2 to start the current NLL regular season.

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26. Presidents Cup: Ladner Pioneers repeat

The Senior B circuit is starting to see what are essentially pro-quality teams competing for Canada’s Presidents Cup, and for the second straight summer, the Ladner Pioneers’ loaded lineup took the title. The tournament, which this year was entitled “Chase the Prezzy” and hosted at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario, featured Senior B sides from all across the country with the Edmonton Miners taking silver and the Oakville Rock collecting bronze. Here are a few of the high-profile pros that suited up for this year’s champs: Christian Del Bianco, Ryan Benesch, Tyler Pace, Austin Shanks, Matt Beers, Jeff Cornwall, Mike Mallory, Phil Caputo and Zach Herreweyers.

25. Canada Games lacrosse inclusion confusion

Top 5 most-read topics on The Lax Mag in 2023

Why was Canada’s national summer sport welcomed back to the Canada Games after a 37-year hiatus, then soon after subtracted from their summer schedule, but months later again approved for inclusion, forever this time? Passion, politics and persistence: See The Lax Mag’s coverage of box lacrosse’s eventual confirmed return to the Canada Summer Games…

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24. Oakville Rock to return to MSL, Owen Sound future not as clear

Under the leadership of Major Series Lacrosse Commissioner Lynn Withers: the 2022 MSL was saved, the Brampton Excelsiors returned, Ontario has won two historically significant Mann Cups, and while the future of an Owen Sound expansion entry still remains unclear (The Sun Times), the Oakville Rock are set to return after a two-year hiatus.

23. Dean McLeod RIP

“From humble beginnings in 1967 as a game-day volunteer with the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, to the position he is most widely known for as commissioner of the Ontario Junior “A” Lacrosse League for 38 seasons until his retirement in 2018, Dean’s tireless involvement at the club, league and provincial level was the most defining part of his character. Known throughout the lacrosse community for his knowledge and experience, he continued in service to the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League after his retirement as commissioner, transitioning to the role of league historian and volunteering with the 2022 Minto Cup host committee.” (OLA)

22. NLL returning to Quebec for Rock vs. Riptide regular season game

After just a single season in 2002 in front of crowd sizes many current clubs would kill for, the Montréal Express left the league. Over two decades later, the NLL is returning to Montréal (well, nearby Laval) for a regular season neutral site game between the Toronto Rock and New York Riptide. Laval’s 10,000-seat Place Bell, which officially opened it’s doors just six years ago, has often been cited as an ideal arena for the NLL. Since the Express were extinguished, the Rock hosted an exhibition game at Montréal’s Bell Centre against the Rochester Knighthawks in 2012, and the 2013 Heritage Cup between Canada and the United States was held there too.

The upcoming game in Laval is being played as part of the NLL’s new UnBOXed initiative, the league announcing, “The NLL UnBOXed Series event platform will also include additional local activations throughout Montréal leading up to the game in Laval, including instructional clinics for young boys and girls, parents, and coaches, and gameday interactive fan experiences at Place Bell. Specific details will be announced at a later date.” The league’s Montréal-based group within the UnBOXed program are named the Castors de Montréal.

21. Royals win third straight NCBS National Championship

While the location (moved from San Jose to Utica) and format (some states were repped by league all stars instead of their playoff champion) were different, the results were largely the same with the San Diego-based Royals taking the National Collegiate Box Series National Championship for a third year in a row. USBOXLA’s NCBS features college-aged leagues in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Ohio, the Mid Atlantic, Upstate New York, and as of a few weeks ago, the Greater Philadelphia area, a new league that will be backed by the NLL’s Philadelphia Wings, NXT Lacrosse, the Penn Lax All Stars program, and Blaze Riorden’s BR10 Lacrosse.

20. Mark Matthews traded to Toronto in blockbuster offseason move

After spending a decade with the Rush (three years in Edmonton, seven in Saskatoon), Derek Keenan dealt future Hall of Famer Mark Matthews to the Toronto Rock for Zach Manns, Adam Jay and the Rock’s first round pick in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft, which ended up being used to take Levi Anderson (Saint Joseph’s University). The Rock rarely move notable names in deals like this (it’s more often just picks), while the Rush have lost most of their long-serving vets via free agency not trades like this one. After two games with Toronto (both sans Tom Schreiber due to injury), Matthews has easily been the team’s top forward. His 5.5 points per game would pretty much get him to 100 points again, a number he hasn’t hit since 2019.

19. RMLL results at Minto Cup in Edmonton

After almost winning their province’s & league’s first-ever Minto Cup in 2022, Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League reps failed to live up to the high expectations most had for their two teams (Edmonton Miners and Calgary Mountaineers) at this year’s Minto in Edmonton. Their only win this year came against one another (Miners over Mounties 12-10), getting swept by the OJLL’s Burlington Blaze and BCJALL’s Coquitlam Adanacs 0-5 in other games.

18. World Lacrosse Box Championships taking shape

The pandemic pushed the World Lacrosse schedule around a bit, which included delaying the World Lacrosse Box Championships previously to have been played in 2023. In May, World Lacrosse confirmed that the tournament would be held in Utica, New York from September 20-29, 2024 at the Utica University Nexus Center. Next year’s event will also feature a women’s division for the very first time. World Lacrosse recently confirmed a lengthy list of participating nations:

WOMEN

Australia
Canada
England
Finland
Germany
Haudenosaunee
Hong Kong, China
Ireland
Netherlands
United States

MEN

Australia
Austria
Belgium
Canada (5x gold medalists)
China
Czech Republic
England
Finland
Germany
Greece
Haudenosaunee (5x silver medalists)
Hong Kong, China
Hungary
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Mexico
Netherlands
Poland
Puerto Rico
Scotland
Slovakia
Switzerland
Chinese Taipei
United States (5x bronze medalists)
U.S. Virgin Islands

17. Kyle Rubisch signs with the San Diego Seals

Securing his playing rights before hitting the open market, 4x Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Rubisch later inked a one-year deal with the San Diego Seals, who also re-upped former franchise UFA signings Dane Dobbie (one year) and Curtis Dickson (two years) over the offseason. The Seals, seemingly everyone’s favourite to capture last year’s NLL Cup, were eliminated from the 2023 playoffs in the West Conference Semifinals by the Colorado Mammoth. Rubisch, who missed both the 2022 and 2023 playoffs while leading the Saskatchewan Rush, is a 3x NLL Cup winner.

Kyle Rubisch, formerly Saskatchewan Rush and currently San Diego Seals

16. New York fires Jim Veltman after lacklustre start, many roster moves made

Top 5 most-read topics on The Lax Mag in 2023

Prior to the start of the 2023 NLL season, the New York Riptide seemed like frontrunners for most improved team. They were not. After starting the season 0-3 (eventually 0-4) and struggling to score and keep the ball out of their net, New York fired GM Jim Veltman and replaced him with the team’s Executive VP Rich Lisk. A lot more happened in the days and weeks to follow…

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15. NLL IR lists get crowded, team depth tested

While skill, timing and even a bit of luck are important factors when determining who’ll win the NLL Cup, over the last two seasons, the NLL final four and eventual Cup winner are actually the teams that have had their depth tested the most. Clubs like the Colorado Mammoth (2022 Cup winners), Buffalo Bandits (2023 Cup winners) and the Toronto Rock (division or conference finalists the last three playoffs) have seen an above average amount of injuries to key players, but still manage to secure success during the regular season and playoffs. With names like Ryan Lee, Latrell Harris, Tom Schreiber, Chris Corbeil, Joey Cupido, Rylan Hartley, John Lintz, Blaze Riorden, Holden Cattoni and others already on the IR or expected out for the full year, it’s happening again already.

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14. Curt Malawsky leaves Calgary for Vancouver

His post-game words after the Calgary Roughnecks were eliminated in the NLL’s West Conference Finals were most definitely interpreted by many as Curt Malawsky concluding his coaching career in Cowtown. Four days later he was voted the NLL’s Les Bartley Award Winner (Coach of the Year). In two more months, he would be named the Vancouver Warriors’ new GM and head coach. Soon after that announcement, a flood of high-profile free agents (Kevin Crowley, Matt Beers, Ryan Dilks and John Lintz) followed him to 800 Griffiths Way.

Curt Malawsky’s last game coaching the Calgary Roughnecks (Photo: Jenn Pierce)

13. Shawn Evans vs. Peterborough Lakers

Top 5 most-read topics on The Lax Mag in 2023

“It breaks my heart to see what the Lakers have done to Shawn. He’s been made a scapegoat in a situation he has no fault.” - Scott Evans

Read: Lakers announce transfer of Shawn Evans amid “…ongoing legal matters surrounding an insurance claim”

12. Nepean Knights denied OJLL entry not once but twice

Campaigning for a spot at the Junior A level for the past two years, the (Ottawa-area) Nepean Knights expansion bid to join the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League was voted down by a minuscule minority within the league’s board of governors which includes a representative from each of the league’s eleven clubs. Actually it happened twice; once virtually in late September when an alleged three teams said no, and then again several weeks later during an in-person presentation and league meeting when just two checked no thanks. In order for the bid to have been approved, at least ten teams would have needed to say yes, a ridiculously high 90% requirement for the vote to pass. On that second denial, the Knights outed their naysayers, sharing on social media that the Peterborough Lakers and Kitchener-Waterloo Lacrosse Club didn’t want them in the league.

After losing their 9-2 majority vote (yes, losing), the team released a statement, which in part read:

Our proposal was solid with clear and sustainable financial and player resources. Our minor program is strong. Our Jr. B team has been at the top of the league for years. The next logical and merited step should have been to create an opportunity for Nepean, eastern Ontario, western Quebec, and Indigenous players from the area to compete at home in the highest-calibre junior lacrosse league in the province but unfortunately, two teams have veto power to stop this progressive step to grow the sport of lacrosse.

A few weeks later, the Junior B Knights somewhat surprisingly switched their OJLL affiliation from the Burlington Blaze to the Toronto Beaches. “It’s no secret the strength of the Nepean organization. They have been an integral part of the past couple of National Championships,” Beaches Head Coach Reilly O’Connor said in a team statement. “We are very excited about this partnership and looking forward to welcoming a solid core of Nepean boys to the Beach this summer.”

11. NLL divisional alignment dropped for unified standings

Although with far fewer teams than today’s 15, during the league’s first four years (1987-1990), unified standings were also used. In 1991, then known as the Major Indoor Lacrosse League, they split their six-team league in half forming a National & American Division. That lasted until 1995, when the league went back to no divisions and just a single standing for the next several seasons. The NLL has had a North, Central, East and West Division, and more recently stopped defining them as divisions but rather conferences (neither of which had divisions within them, which was weird, right?). After this week’s official announcement, we’re back to just the one league table, seemingly making things more straight forward for not only the teams, but the schedule maker as well. Read the rest: 2023-24 NLL schedule analysis: byes, breaks, rests and repeats

10. Orangeville Northmen unbeaten run

The Orangeville Northmen became just the eleventh team in OJLL history (going all the way back to the 30s) to have a perfect 1.000 season, their 20-0 regular season record easily seeding them first heading into the playoffs. They went on to win their first two series without a loss (7-0), but could not get past the Burlington Blaze in the provincial finals. It was the first time in Canadian Junior A history that a team went undefeated during the regular season, but then failed to make the Minto Cup.

9. GOATS gone: Dan Dawson, Brodie Merrill and Shawn Evans retire

Last year, a lot of all-time top players hung ‘em up: Stephan Leblanc, Scott Campbell, Scott Carnegie, Jordan Hall, Joel White, Jeff Shattler, and Mike Poulin, who actually returned a season later.

During 2023’s offseason, a way-above-average amount did it again: Rhys Duch, Kieran McArdle, Brett Manney, Curtis Manning, Dan MacRae, Marty Dinsdale, plus three players that you could easily argue Top 10 all-time in Dan Dawson, Brodie Merrill and Shawn Evans.

8. Dyson Williams taken first overall in NLL Entry Draft

Although Adam Poitras’ performance at the 2022 Minto Cup likely had some teams positioning him as a potential number one, the name most had at the top of this year’s draft was Dyson Williams, who went, well, with that first pick to the Albany FireWolves. Williams will play his fifth and final season at Duke University this spring before going pro next year.

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7. NLL Hall of Fame inductions finally return

The National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame virtually vanished during Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz’s reign. For the first time since 2016, the league held an actual induction ceremony, catching up on a 2021 class that had been placed on pause since the pandemic. While not all were able to make it, a total of eight players and two officials were officially welcomed into the NLL’s HOF. That longer than usual list (they had a lot of catching up to do) included 17-year forward and current Las Vegas Desert Dogs GM & HC Shawn Williams, who less than 24 hours later, would see his son, Dyson Williams, taken first overall in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft. The class included: Colin Doyle, Kevin Finneran, John Grant Jr., Casey Powell, Pat McCready, Regy Thorpe, Steve Toll, Williams, plus officials Roy Codron and Bill Fox.

Dyson Williams and Shawn Williams, 2023 NLL HOF Induction Ceremony (Photo: Christian Bender)

6. Six Nations Chiefs win seventh Mann Cup

They snapped the Peterborough Laker’s streak. They won their seventh Mann Cup, their first since 2016. They dominated BC’s best, taking the title with a 4-1 series win over the New Westminster Salmonbellies. And they did it all with a roster that was as stacked and skilled as there’s ever been. The Six Nations Chiefs were by far senior lacrosse’s best team in 2023 (26-4 across all competition), and honestly, it wasn’t even all that close.

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Six Nations Chiefs, 2023 Mann Cup Champions (Photo: Darryl Smart)

5. Lyle Thompson opts for a summer in Six Nations over playing in the PLL

Top 5 most-read topics on The Lax Mag in 2023

In the weeks following the conclusion of Lyle Thompson’s National Lacrosse League season with the Georgia Swarm, the Premier Lacrosse League confirmed that Thompson, who is also one of the field pro league’s marquee players with their Cannons franchise, would be taking a one-year sabbatical for their 2023 season.

Within their announcement came a quote directly from Thompson, who stated, “For me, the game should always be medicine, and it comes with instruction to be played with respect, a clear mind, and enjoyment. I want to follow those instructions and sometimes that requires rest.

“So this summer, I will direct that energy to myself, my family, and my communities.”

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4. San Diego hosts Las Vegas outdoors at Snapdragon Stadium

Since the NHL Heritage Classic in 2003 between the Montréal Canadiens and Edmonton Oilers, the league has held nearly 40 additional outdoor games as part of the Heritage Classic/Winter Classic/Stadium Series brand. Many often wondered what an NLL game outdoors would look like, but due to finances alone, knew it could never happen. Well, until it did. The San Diego Seals and Las Vegas Desert Dogs (both Joe Tsai-owned teams) would play in the NLL’s first-ever outdoor game at Snapdragon Stadium on March 4, 2023. The game was entitled the 2023 NLL Stadium Showdown, with the Seals winning 15-12. Even just a few years ago, an NLL match of this magnitude was an impossibility. Tsai and his staff made it a reality.

Read: Seals to host first-ever outdoor game against Desert Dogs at Snapdragon Stadium on March 4

Curtis Dickson, San Diego Seals (Photo: Mike McGinnis)

3. Goalie Christian Del Bianco voted NLL MVP

The Lax Mag’s tracks the NLL’s top-performing players starting in early January (so everyone can get a few games in) and right up until the last weekend of the regular season. In 2023, our weekly rundown of the Top 30 players essentially narrowed down last year’s best to Dhane Smith, Jeff Teat and Christian Del Bianco. While Smith took our #1 spot for the season straight season (we also had him at the top of our annual Top 100), Del Bianco was officially voted the NLL’s MVP. Why is that important? Well, it’s just the second time in NLL history that a goalie was so outstanding he was voted both the Goalie of the Year and Most Valuable - the other was current Buffalo Bandits GM Steve Dietrich in 2006. Dietrich and now Del Bianco account of just 7% of the NLL’s MVP total, which is even a percentage point lower than the NHL, who had had just eight goalie MVPs in 99 seasons of awarding their Hart Trophy. It’s also the first time ever that players like Smith (36G, 96A) and Teat (56G, 80A) posted almost unheard of offensive totals and were not voted the league’s most valuable.

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2. Burlington Blaze win first-ever Minto Cup

Top 5 most-read topics on The Lax Mag in 2023

History has shown us that teams do not overtake record-setting unbeaten runs in their provincial playoffs. Those same record book also confirm that modern-era Minto Cups are rarely won by a club that has never hoisted Junior lacrosse’s holy grail. Clearly, the Blaze aren’t history buffs, because Burlington bucked both those overwhelming trends and captured their first Minto Cup this past summer - first getting by the mighty Orangeville Northmen in Ontario and then running their own perfect record (5-0) at the Minto by beating the Coquitlam Adanacs, Calgary Mountaineers and host Edmonton Miners.

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Burlington Blazer, 2023 Minto Cup Champions (Photo: Goat Sport Pics)

1. Buffalo Bandits win the NLL Cup

Yes, we had 2022’s NLL Cup win by the Colorado Mammoth at #1, but no, we’re not taking the easy way out by running with the same headline at the very top of 2023’s top stories too. Why? The Buffalo Bandits could have easily succumb to a series of significant injuries during the regular season. Instead, they got stronger. After regularly finishing as Cup runners up in three of the previous six seasons, their snakebitten streak was a mental mountain many likely could not climb. To make matters worse, they lost Game 2 of this year’s Cup Final to Colorado, handing the Mammoth much needed momentum going into the same game they lost a year earlier - a Cup-deciding Game 3. Not only did they conquer those last-match demons, Buffalo’s Game 3 performance was one for the ages, crushing Colorado 13-4 in one of the most one-sided playoff games in NLL history. Plus, they pulled it off in front of 18,296 freaking-out fans in Banditland. As Buffalo Head Coach and Bandits legend John Tavares said in his post-game comments, “Finally.”

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Paul Tutka
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