PLL 2024

[Lax Mouse]

There are definitely going to be some surprises, and so many truly talented players who get left off a roster. More so than other years, I feel like it's hard to get a read on who some of the cuts might be. Some players who I thought surely wouldn't be in contention are getting highlights in camp (shows what I know).

Each team had an official scrimmage today:
Redwoods 11, Atlas 8
Chaos 12, Archers 8
Cannons 15, Whipsnakes 13
Waterdogs 9, Outlaws 8

Teams are cutting down to 25 players tonight.

[DeepPocket]

There are definitely going to be some surprises, and so many truly talented players who get left off a roster. More so than other years, I feel like it's hard to get a read on who some of the cuts might be. Some players who I thought surely wouldn't be in contention are getting highlights in camp (shows what I know).

Each team had an official scrimmage today:
Redwoods 11, Atlas 8
Chaos 12, Archers 8
Cannons 15, Whipsnakes 13
Waterdogs 9, Outlaws 8

Teams are cutting down to 25 players tonight.

Nice! Thanks for that, I was wondering when the cuts were. Is it 19 man for game day still? Or 22 as lorin had mentioned?

[Lax Mouse]

There are definitely going to be some surprises, and so many truly talented players who get left off a roster. More so than other years, I feel like it's hard to get a read on who some of the cuts might be. Some players who I thought surely wouldn't be in contention are getting highlights in camp (shows what I know).

Each team had an official scrimmage today:
Redwoods 11, Atlas 8
Chaos 12, Archers 8
Cannons 15, Whipsnakes 13
Waterdogs 9, Outlaws 8

Teams are cutting down to 25 players tonight.

Nice! Thanks for that, I was wondering when the cuts were. Is it 19 man for game day still? Or 22 as lorin had mentioned?

Season rosters, to my understanding, are still 25 players total. 19 dress for game day but teams can list 2 additional rostered players as reserve/alternates for a given weekend. If a player isn't dressed or put on the reserve for 3 or more consecutive weeks, they can be claimed by another team.

[Lax Mouse]

Not sure what time official decisions are going to be released but it seems like players are being told now

[Lax Mouse]

Teams have released player moves + 25 player rosters on Twitter. Lots of thoughts to sort through!

[DeepPocket]

Teams have released player moves + 25 player rosters on Twitter. Lots of thoughts to sort through!

Yea. Will Manny. What!?!

[Lax Mouse]

Teams have released player moves + 25 player rosters on Twitter. Lots of thoughts to sort through!

Yea. Will Manny. What!?!

Truly a shocker! Led them in points and assists last year. Whips clearly feel good about Malone starting next to Rambo and Williams. Surprised Manny was the casualty while Winkoff stayed (no offense to him but Manny is Manny). Though I imagine Winkoff is just a holdover until Dordevic and/or Brad Smith come back from injury.

[Lax Mouse]

While Manny was the big surprise, a few other moves caught my eye.

Tierney keeping the Copeland approach of no true FOGO and released his former player Stathakis.

Ierlan is a great FOGO for the Woods but I'm surprised they got rid of Naso completely when he could learn and wait in the wings.

I was clearly wrong about Szuluk, but interesting to see that Conlin and Parlette (two undrafted rookies out of ND who probably haven't made it to camp yet) made the 25-man rosters. Could be that the coaches still want to assess them before making a second round of moves.

Whipsnakes also jettisoned Haus which has left their SSDM corps thin and a bit uninspiring. I'm hearing they might try and use some middies more as two way guys, but that's clearly a position of weakness for the team at the moment.

Chaos let Rogers go - I was curious to see how he'd do in an Andy Towers offense, even if they are changing their approach a bit.

We also got some injury news. Kielty and Shoemay are both out for the season. A blow for the Cannons but they have the depth to cope. Archers . . . I'm not convinced.

A number of rookie Canadians who were put on unable to travel due to Visa processing times means that more moves will be made down the road.

It's a tired take but wow, so many good players not on rosters.

[DeepPocket]

Man, with 7 players listed at attack and 3 listed at midfield the Denver roster looks an awful lot like my Men’s League squad, just with a lot less grey hair and a lot more talent.

[stupefied]

Man, with 7 players listed at attack and 3 listed at midfield the Denver roster looks an awful lot like my Men’s League squad, just with a lot less grey hair and a lot more talent.

Still dont get their roster mix or moves

[DeepPocket]

Man, with 7 players listed at attack and 3 listed at midfield the Denver roster looks an awful lot like my Men’s League squad, just with a lot less grey hair and a lot more talent.

Still dont get their roster mix or moves

I’m thinking there will be a lot of position shifting for Denver. They did it last year, and I cleaned up in fantasy. When Ferrara was listed at midfield, I’d play him as such and get to have what was actually an extra attackman on my weekly roster.

[Lax Mouse]

Kevin Brown has released his power rankings for Inside Lacrosse: https://www.insidelacrosse.com/article/ ... pot-/63559

I'll compile my thoughts in the next day or so but I have some disagreements with his list . . .

[Lax Mouse]

Gameday 19 man rosters are up. Some surprises for sure.

Boston
Reserve: Craig Chick & Alex Vardaro
Not dressed: Adam Charalambides, Carter Parlette, Zac Tucci, and Max Wayne

This mostly makes sense. Cannons going for the same faceoff-less strategy they used a year ago, though it does beg the question of why use a 25-man roster spot on a faceoff guy you don't plan on using. Maybe they're reserving judgement until after they see how this weekend and the ever changing faceoff rules go. Charalambides, Parlette, and Wayne are all casualties of one of the deepest rosters in the league - they just got squeezed out with so many talented players ahead of them. Vardaro will have some game reps this year for sure, but there's no rush with this roster. Cannons only going with one LSM, but both Van Raaphorst and Pulver can and have been used at that spot. I imagine the versaility is what gave them the edge over Chick.

California
Not playing this week. As a result of the "home" teams getting a double header, one team will be squeezed out of the lineup each week there's a home venue. Not playing in week 1 isn't ideal for a variety of reasons, especially because this is the only week with a full week of practice leading up to the games. That bonding and chemistry building going into a game can't be replecated elsewhere in the season. Also a bummer having to wait an extra week to see the team in action.

Carolina
Reserve: Greg Coholoan & Mark Glicini
Not dressed: Ryan McNulty, Eric Dobson, James Reilly, and Jack Posey.

Fairly straightforward here as I imagine they're giving Dobson some time to rest and get up to speed. He's not on the reserve so maybe he has some other commitment. Who knows, but he'll see time. Glicini on reserve does raise an eyebrow, but they're relatively deep at the position.

Denver
Reserve: Greg Weyl & Connor Farrell
Not dressed: Alex Smith, Dalton Young, Dylan Gergar, and Saam Olexo

Wierman getting the nod over Farrell. Smith is out but the Outlaws also have depth there. I feel like they dressed four SSDM pretty consistently last season. Could be a new approach this year, rotating players, or that Soudan wants to squeeze some more of the newer offensive personnel in to test as many of them out as possible. They'll have a lot of former attackmen running out of the box.


Maryland
Reserve: Joe Nardella & Kevin Winkoff
Not dressed: Grayson Sallade, Elijah Gash, Brett Kennedy, and Will Mark

I'm not terribly suprised they're sticking with LaSalla as Nardella slowly comes back from injury. Zupicich instantly getting some game action over Kennedy was a bit surprising based off of some of Stagnitta's comments that he still has some defense to learn, but it's clear the coaching staff is excited about what he can do in the middle of the field. The Whips go even thinner than they already were at SSDM by not dressing Sallade. They must have confidence in the ability of guys like Leadmon and Jackoboice to play both ways, but this is the big area of concern for this team.

New York
Reserve: Dylan Molloy & John Geppert
Not dressed: Eric Law, Lance Tillman, Peyton Smith, and Drake Porter

Troutner has seemingly won the ability to compete with Entenmann for the starting spot for now. The headliner here of course is team captain Eric Law not making the gameday roster. Pressler seems all in on the younger guys. We'll see how this changes the team dynamic, not just the offense (which still certainly has the talent to play at a high level without Law).

Philadelphia
Reserve: Michael Boehm & Marcus Hudgins
Not dressed: Mikie Schlosser, Alex Mazzone, AJ Mercurio, and Charlie Hayes

Mazzone and Mercurio suffer from the insane depth at pole on this team, as does Hayes at SSDM. Schlosser missing the cut is also suprising, but who would you take out of the lineup for him? He's also still recovering from injury, but this team is loaded everywhere.

Utah
Reserve: Colby Barsz & Jacob Morin
Not dressed: Jack VanOverbeke, Challen Rogers, Eli Fisher, Troy Hettinger

Rogers clearly the odd man out this week on offense. Once Dyson Williams is available, the fight for offensive spots will only intensify. The undrafted DiBenedetto has grabbed a roster spot ahead of Barsz, definitely something to keep an eye on. This team will go as far as their defense can take them this year.

[Lax Mouse]

I feel like they've had three different versions of the injury report come out over the last few days.

Schlosser is officially out with an injury, as is Law, Challen Rogers, and Dobson. Other guys on there I think I've talked about already.

[Lax Mouse]

Time got away from me a bit, but going into the season, I'd rank the teams:

1. Waterdogs
2. Cannons
3. Chaos
4. Archers
5. Atlas
6. Whipsnakes
7. Redwoods
8. Outlaws

In a league with this much concentrated talent, I truly think any of these teams could win it all this year (even the Outlaws). Preseason rankings are always a bit meaningless, but that doesn't make them fun to think about. This can all be turned upside down 48 hours from now.

I think the Waterdogs and Cannons are the most complete teams, and there's not much separating them. I'll give the edge to Philly because their defense already has established chemistry, whereas Boston may have some growing pains together. The loss of Kielty for the year hurts, but they can overcome it.

The Chaos and Archers are almost mirror images of each other to me. Carolina has established excellence on defense and in goal, while the Archers have proven talent on offense and at the FO dot. With so many teams in flux or breaking in new players defensively this year, I'll give the edge to the team that's already solidified that position. Their defense will keep them in games while their offense adjusts, and they certainly have the offensive talent to compete once they get comfortable. I have some doubts about whether or not the Archers have done enough to strengthen the defensive end of the field. We'll see.

Everything after this point feels like a bit of a tossup. I think the Atlas may start slow but they've accumulated enough talent all over the field to show marked improvement in year 2 under Coach Pressler. I'm still worried about their lack of depth on defense. Legs get tired as the season wears on. I'm very concerned about the shortstick position for Coach Stagnitta's crew. They should be solid everywhere else, but deficiencies here can turn competitive games on their head. I'm very high on the Redwoods despite this ranking. They did well in their scrimmage with Atlas, but again, their defense gives me pause. It could be, like many teams, ultimately very good, but there's a lot of unproven professional talent at close. Coach Nat said he wanted guys who had something to prove, and they'll certainly have a shot. The Outlaws are better than a year ago, but so is everyone else. How long will it take for the young offense to find its groove? I think they'll be a factor late into the season.

Should be a super competitive and fun season!

[Lax Mouse]

Pulver now out for the Cannons with an injury, Chick will replace him in the lineup.

[stupefied]

Looking forward to watching most games either live or on replay. Bit frustrating that most sport buds who follow club, hs and college lax dont really extend interest and discussion into PLL. Summer just may be a season hard to exponentially increase given more outside activities.

Anyway, question some opening day rosters , realize cognitive biases and affiliations partly factor but play ahead should begin to sort as season progresses

LM' views and points on teams are spot on , appreciate him , Dan Arestia as well as CC for the color and insight they provide.

[Lax Mouse]

Archers up 3-0 a little over halfway through the first.

FO strategy backfiring so far for the Waterdogs. Limited offensive touches have made it hard for them to get into a rhythm. They've been taking low angle shots off individual dodges and Dobson is standing tall. The young Archers defense isn't being tested that much so far - they've had plenty of time to rest and Philly ball movement isn't really putting pressure on them.

Archers getting a lot of looks with extended possession time. Ament has 2 goals; he's absolutely feasting from the midfield on a short stick matchup.

[Lax Mouse]

Conrad catches the Archers defense sleeping at the end of the first to get the Waterdogs on the board.

Fields (3g) and Ament (2g) are winning their matchups as the Archers take a 5-1 lead into Q2.

[lorin]

Conrad catches the Archers defense sleeping at the end of the first to get the Waterdogs on the board.

Fields (3g) and Ament (2g) are winning their matchups as the Archers take a 5-1 lead into Q2.

This is embarrassing to watch. They are losing viewers