The Buffalo Bandits Look to Three-Peat
There has only been one team in NLL history to win back-to-back-to-back championships, the former Rochester Knighthawks. Their goalie? Matt Vinc. Now, we look to the current Buffalo Bandits, champions of the last two seasons. Do they have what it takes to win again, for a third straight time, and the second time ever in NLL history? Let’s take a look.
The offense is where everything always seems to start. This year the Bandits are running their offense back, except for Brandon Robinson. On the right side, there is depth for days with everyone returning, including the second highest scoring player in the league last season, Dhane Smith. The left side of the offense scares me a bit this year. On one hand, the Bandits are returning the reigning NLL point leader, Josh Byrne, back to the offense. On the other hand, I believe one of the reasons he had the greatest season of his career was because of Brandon Robinson. He was a great lane setter for Josh and did a lot of the dirty work that opened options up. Without him, or any third lefty forward on the active roster, it will be interesting to see how the Bandits and the offense handle getting Josh open. The simple answer is Ian MacKay. Two seasons ago the offense had a lot of injuries, including injuries to Byrne and Chris Cloutier. At that time, MacKay stepped up and played shifts out the front door. The problem with this solution was that MacKay was not playing as much defense or transition. He was recently voted as the pre-season transition player of the NLL. If the Bandits take that part of his game away from him, it could hurt the team. Clay Scanlan is the only other lefty forward on the roster. As time goes on, the Bandits will have to see if Scanlan can make an impact on the active roster. One injury on the left side of the offense and the Bandits will need to make some moves. If the offense remains healthy, it should once again be one of the best in the league.
The defense, on paper, should be as good as ever. Last season when Paul Dawson was brought in, I incorrectly assumed that he was simply going to be veteran depth for the Bandits playoff run. What he ended up being was much more than that. Dawson was an incredible leader for rookies Cam Wyers and Zach Belter. He was also able to settle down the entire defense and turned them into shot blocking machines. I am excited to see what a full season with Dawson will look like. Speaking of Belter and Wyers, they both took great steps forward in the second half of last year. With a full rookie season and full off-season under their belts, the Bandits will be looking for them to take the next step in their careers. Two rookies made the practice squad this season in Taylor Dooley and Trent Robertson. I think it will take an injury for them to crack the line-up. However, they are great young insurance defenders for the team and will have a chance to learn firsthand from some of the best defenders in the league. The rest of the defense returns from last year to round out the squad, headlined by Steve Priolo who received a three-year extension.
Next up, the transition players. This is the smallest group of players, outside of the goaltenders, but a group with some new and returning faces. Ian MacKay once again leads this group as the aforementioned pre-season NLL transition player of the year, voted on by head coaches and GM’s. Connor Farrell also returns to the Bandits as he will continue his role inside the faceoff circle. Matt Spanger is returning after spending most of last season injured. By all offseason accounts, he looks strong and back to the player he was before the injury. Thomas Witty, the newest addition to the transition group, was traded for in the offseason. Arguably the best thing about his game for the Bandits is that he is lefty. Whitty has played 44 games and has 1 goal and 12 assists. He is only 25 years old, there is room for his game to grow, but the Bandits will be hoping for more offensive production from the young transition player.
Finally, we get to arguably the most important position and player on the team, the goaltenders. Matt Vinc is back, thank goodness, for at least one more season. The greatest goalie in NLL history looks to continue making history as the only player to win the NLL cup three times in a row, twice. Last season, he got off to a slow start as he and the defense struggled with injuries and first year starters. After Paul Dawson joined the team, a player who won two of the three championships with Vinc during the historic run (and one more in 2018), Vinc and the defense played on another level. Vinc’s numbers in the eleven games with Dawson on the team were the best in the league. He had an 82.33 save percentage and a 9.09 goals against average. It will be tough to repeat such incredible numbers, but to see the success for more than half of a regular season is promising. Steve Orleman will be the uncontested backup goalie this season. Hopefully he is doing nothing more than helping the team avoid too many men penalties from the bench. However, in the one full game he was asked to play last year, he played well.
Can the Bandits win their third straight title? That is the big question headed into the season. The Bandits have gone to four straight championships and won the last two. The target on their backs could not possibly be any bigger, unless they win again, that is. A lot of teams across the NLL had big off-season’s and greatly improved their rosters. Last season showed just how competitive the unified standings can make the league. It will not be an easy road for the reigning champions, but it is a road they have crossed many times before. If the Bandits remain healthy, they have as good of a chance to win the title as anyone else. In my preseason predictions I had them winning the NLL cup once again, and I truly believe they can do it.