PK’s NLL Power Rankings - Week 5

*Reminder these are Power Rankings. To see the Standings please head to NLL.com

1.       Buffalo Bandits - 2-0 (Last Week: #1)

Until they are dethroned, it’s hard to move this team, that has won 11 straight and 13 of their last 14, off the #1 spot. They look like the only fully put together team with no holes in their lineup. And that is not a biased opinion. Yes, it’s only 2 games into an 18 game season. But what holes have we seen? Team is averaging a league high 16.5 goals a game. They are allowing a league low 7 goals a game. Matt Vinc has a league leading 7.29GAA and 86 sv%. Dhane Smith is on pace for 45 goals, 135 assists and 180 points while Josh Byrne is on pace for another 135 point season. Oh and they are about to raise their 6th championship banner to the rafters in front of a nearly sold out Banditland to begin their 4 game home stand. The team appears fully healthy, and possibly even better structured than last year’s where they started the season 1-2. If you had to but it all on one game this season, the safest bet is likely this week vs Rochester. Not only due to the banner going up but the team is 8-1 vs the Hawks the last 4 seasons.

2.       Georgia Swarm – 3-0 (Last Week: #3)

2 years ago the Swarm started the season 0-7. This year they are 3-0 after their 11-8 win and season sweep of the Seals. Tied 4-4 at half, the Swarm would score 4 of 5 in the 3rd to give themselves the lead they would not relinquish. Lyle Thompson and Bryan Cole both led the Swarm with a 3/2/5 night while Brett Dobson went 40/48 in net vs one of the better teams in the league. In fact, Dobson went 81/101 or 80.2 sv% in both games vs the Seals. That sweep may pay dividends when playoff seeding gets closer. As much as this 3-0 start to the season is important, it does not come without concerns. As has been the case for every #2 team in these rankings, there are questions for this team. The depth scoring which was a major issue for them last year seems to be a problem once again. Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew are on pace for over 80 points. Bryan Cole is in at a 66 point pace. Even Brendan Bomberry is at a 54 point pace. None which are bad or below where you’d want them to be. But if you are not going to have that 100/110 point player, you need more guys helping provide that depth scoring threat. Shayne Jackson (3/4/7), Seth Oakes (3/3/6) and even Kaleb Benedict (0/2/2) need to be relied upon to chip in a few more points a night if the Swarm want to be legit title contenders in the league. They have the defense and goaltending to do it. They just need more guys on offense to step up their game. They get that shot in Colorado Sunday.

3.       Colorado Mammoth – 3-1 (Last Week: #4)

After their 19-14 win over Halifax on Saturday, the Mammoth move up 1 more spot into 3rd this week in our power rankings. It was a welcome back to Colorado game for Will Malcolm as socks were thrown for him netting 7 in his 10 point outing. Connor Kelly continues to be lethal for this group going 4/3/7 while Connor Robinson had another big outing tossing out 7 helpers in his 8 point night. But as expected in a 19 goal win. Everyone was involved. 14 of 17 field players netting at least a point in the victory. In net Dillon Ward made 40/53 saves in the victory moving his season numbers to 10.38 GAA and a 79 sv%. But just to revert back to the offense again. Although they have played the max amount of games so far this season in 4, 6 of their forwards are in the top 20 in scoring with all 6 averaging at least 4.5 a game. That’s a pace of 6 players all with 81 or more points on the year. Now those numbers are likely to come back as the season progresses, but this is exactly what I meant when I made my bold prediction of their offense prior to the season kicking off. They are capable of very special things as the season continues. They host Georgia Sunday at 4pm EST

4.       Saskatchewan Rush – 3-0 (Last Week: #5)

Up into the top 4 are one of the 4 unbeaten teams remaining in the NLL. The Rush moved to 3-0 after their 14-12 win in Rochester Saturday night. Without Robert Church in the lineup, Zach Manns (3/3/6) and Austin Shanks (4/3/7) stepped forward to provide the offensive output. The depth scoring came way of 3 rookies in Brock Haley (2/2/4), Josh Zawada (1/3/4), and Levi Anderson (0/3/3). The biggest question mark on this offense is what has happened with Ryan Keenan. In 2022 he had 63 points. 2023 he improved to 72 points. And last year he had his most points he’s had in a season with 90. This year through 3 games he’s gone 1/3/4 which is a 24 point pace. This team will need to get both Keenan and Church going if they want to make a serious push into the playoffs. But what has been on their side and working has been the defense and the play of Frank Scigliano. He was the main talking point all offseason. We said this team will go as far as Frankie can take them and through 3 games, that’s to a 3-0 record. He made 35/47 saves in this one and his season total stands at an 8.94GAA and an 81 sv%. Good Frankie has been on full display and if the offense can gel as a full unit, with their young pieces in place, this can be a team in contention for years to come. They host the 2-1 Philly Wings on Saturday.

5.       San Diego Seals – 2-2 (Last Week: #2)

The back and forth season continues for the Seals as they drop down to #5 this week after their 11-8 loss to Georgia and fall to 2-2 on the season. Ryan Benesch netted 4 in the loss while Rob Hellyer and Wes Berg went 1/3/4 on the night. But this just felt like a game where their offense could not get into rhythm. It also seemed like it was Brett Dobson that learned more about the shooters from their first matchup than the shooters learned about Dobson. The issue like last year remains consistency with the goal scorers. You need to be able to rely on a guy to cash in when you need to score one. It felt like that was coming in the early 4th when Hellyer and Ben McIntosh got the team within 1, but Georgia would score 3 of the next 4 to end the game. The team needs to find that extra juice if they want to get past that final hurdle they have been unable to get over in the past. In net Chris Origlieri was solid in net going 33/43 and made some big time saves in the 2nd half to keep the team in it. Hopefully he is able to use these last 2 games to garner some of that electricity we saw last year. The team heads into their first bye of the season looking for health and consistency in the New Year.

6.       Albany Firewolves – 1-2 (Last Week #6)

The bye week is over as Albany looks to right their ship vs the 0-3 Thunderbirds to kick off week 5 in the NLL. You may be wondering how a 1-2 team is ahead of other teams that are 2-0 or 2-1 or even 1-1. Well it’s very simple. Albany at the moment, is still better than those teams for me. Everyone treats their power rankings differently. A lot of factors go into deciding where each team falls per week and past performances to me pay a factor. That is a big reason I have the Wolves still slotted in the top 6. They have just been on the losing end of 2 close losses. Week 1 being 10-9 OT loss to the Rush and week 3 being 13-12 OT loss to the Roughnecks. But if Albany plays this correctly they can be back on the right side of .500. They have Halifax this week, and the Desert Dogs next week. They could and should be sitting 3-2 heading into a date with Colorado on January 11th. A couple bounces away from being 3-0 instead of 1-2. But maybe next time…..DOUBLE DANE DOBBIE!

7.       Vancouver Warriors – 1-1 (Last Week: #7)

Another team that has had an unwelcomed amount of bye weeks to start the season are your 1-1 Vancouver Warriors. After losing week 1 11-7 vs Colorado, they went into the bye. Then a 10-7 win over Rochester, followed by a bye week. Next up is Calgary before, wait for it, another bye week. It’s very difficult to gain steam and momentum when you play once and then are off. But that’s something this team will need to handle. They get to head to Calgary in Curt Malawsky’s return for the first time since he left for Vancouver. Emotions will be charged and I expect this game to see a few extra shoves after the whistles. And while it is only their 3rd game of the year, to me, it feels like a must win if this team wants to get back into the playoffs. Although Calgary is 2-0, their defense and goaltending is suspect. Vancouver’s offense has been suspect. Of the 17 goals they have scored, 9 have been scored by forwards. That’s not good enough. They need it to be 9 per game. And this needs to be the week they get it right. Otherwise, I will have a hard time taking this team seriously as a playoff contender as the season progresses.

8.       Philadelphia Wings – 2-1 (Last Week: #10)

I moved the Wings into the 8th spot for similar reasons I moved Calgary last week. I believe they have earned that respect with the start of their season. They move to 2-1 after their 15-9 win in Vegas on Friday night. Joe Resetarits led the way with a 4/9/13 night, while Mitch Jones (1/6/7) and Holden Cattoni (3/2/5) continue to be that steady scoring presence. But beyond those 3, the Wings are getting depth scoring from their other offensive pieces. Blaze Riorden went 1/2/3, Phil Caputo 2/1/3, Sam LeClair 2/1/3, and rookie Brennan O’Neil was 2/2/4 on the night. 3 players are already over 20 points on the season, while their other pieces on offense are averaging at least 3 points a game. Although they are only 3 games into the season, they are 2nd in the league in scoring at 16.33 a game. In net, Nick Damude likely had his best outing in a Wings uniform. He made 35/44 saves in the win. Through 3 games he stands at a 12.59GAA and a 76 Sv%. In order for the Wings to get back into the playoffs, they will need to see those numbers be reduced especially with tougher teams beyond Vegas upcoming on their schedule. That begins Saturday when they head to the 3-0 Saskatchewan Rush.

9.       Calgary Roughnecks – 2-0 (Last Week: 8)

10.   Ottawa Black Bears – 1-1 (Last Week: #11)

11.   Rochester Knighthawks – 1-3 (Last Week: #9)

12.   Toronto Rock – 0-3 (Last Week #12)

13.   Halifax Thunderbirds – 0-3 (Last Week: #14)

14.   Las Vegas Desert Dogs – 0-4 (Last Week: #13)