This weekend has provided some clarity regarding the NLL’s impact on the opening day PLL rosters.
The following athletes have competed or are competing in the second round of the NLL playoffs.
San Diego Seals: Mac O’Keefe, Wes Berg, Brodie Merril, Tre LeClaire, Eli Gobrecht, Austin Staats*
Colorado Mammoth: Zed Williams, Dillon Ward
Toronto Rock: Tom Schreiber, TD Ierlan, Latrell Harris
Buffalo Bandits: Tehoka Nanticoke, Chris Cloutier, Ian MacKay, Connor Fields, Max Adler, Josh Byrne, Dhane Smith, Chase Fraser
*Staats is currently in the PLL player pool
The Redwoods and Archers made out the best thanks to Buffalo sweeping Toronto. Schreiber and Harris (Archers) and Irelan (Redwoods) can rest to a degree prior to June 4 and June 5 games respectively.
If you are coaches on those teams, do you tell the players to sit out of training camp? Do you tell them to sit out of training camp and the first week of games to sneak an extra bit of recovery?
Athletes from San Diego or Colorado will be released next weekend following Game 3. Will those athletes be thrust right into the PLL or will their coaches give them a week to recoup?
Can the Waterdogs win two games without Dillon Ward?
What impact does Brodie Merril have on the Cannons?
We’ll have to go back and check on the draft but perhaps some selections were made to cover up the loss of missing pieces for the opening weekends.
If you’re a Chaos fan, this weekend was almost as good as it could get. The Mammoth failed to eliminate the Seals which means Mac O’Keefe might not be available until June 4. However, he did not play in game 2 after registering 1 goal on 3 shots in the game 1 loss.
As good as it could get doesn’t necessarily mean good though. The bulk of the Chaos offense will not be available for the first two weekends of the PLL season due to the Bandits sweeping the Rock. The sweep is the best part. The Bandits will now be able to rest in between playoff rounds. They were milliseconds away from needing a deciding third game.
For some long term planning, the Bandits lost to the Mammoth 15-14 on April 2nd.
How the Chaos manage their roster this summer will be one of the major storylines of the summer. Imagine if the LA Rams were playing in the fan football league right now. What would the 2022-2023 Rams look like?
Rabil briefly touched on NLL players being unavailable at the start of the PLL season as one of the motivators for restoring the Championship Series.
Quick thoughts for summer 2023:
- Start after the NLL but also encourage them to start sooner
- Hold the all star game during the week so you don’t give up an entire weekend for a meaningless game
- Be confident that your playoffs can compete against the football regular season, start games in the later afternoon window
The league put their foot down on summer box leagues but until the PLL salaries double, you’re going to have to let athletes play both NLL and PLL. Starting the PLL season later to permit recovery time makes sense.
