Editor’s Note: Staying on the East Coast, today we’re pumped up to look at the New England Black Wolves! Thanks to the help of the innovative team at SISU Guard, the Official Mouthguard of the NLL, we are beefing up our National Lacrosse League coverage for 2016, starting with a preseason preview series! We hope you enjoy our look at the NLL season through a new lens with the aid of our partner SISU!
Earlier Mark debated whether or not the Rochester Knighthawks could make another Cup run. Now it’s time to let Ryan Conwell lead you through the examination of the furthest team to the east, the New England Black Wolves.
2016 NLL Preview: New England Black Wolves
2015 was a learning year for the New England franchise. Despite that they were a relocated organization instead of a brand new one, they still had to deal with a new arena, new logistics, and a new market. They had a late jump on the season, so it they had to do their learning during the season. Attendance lagged, but their opening night was very encouraging, showing that they can get seats sold. They also had large gaps in home games, at one point having only one from Monday, February 16 until Sunday March 29. In that time, the Black Wolves went from 2-3 to 3-6, only winning one more game for the rest of the year. This did not help maintain any early season momentum. They also had to deal with one of the worst winters in New England history. Being a destination arena (as opposed to being in the middle of or near a city), travel difficulties did not do them any favors.
Their 2016 schedule should be much more accommodating. They still have a large home gap in March, but they do get to play host to the defending champs Saskatchewan Rush and Calgary Roughnecks in their only meetings with those two teams. So long as weather cooperates, I would hope to see more fans in the stands. Oh, they also made some roster moves in the offseason, like signing the league MVP. That may help, too.
At a Glance
- Game 1: 1/9/16 @ Vancouver Stealth
- Arena: Mohegan Sun Arena
- 2015 Record: 4-14 (Regular Season)
- 2015 Attendance: 3,914
- Mascot: TBD (Naming contest underway)
- Dance Team: Black Wolves Dance Team
- Website: BlackWolves.com
New Faces
New England returns most of their 2015 lineup, but there are a few new wrinkles to this team. In their case, “wrinkles” does not mean they added a few rookies but rather grabbed some role players. The Black Wolves front office was very busy this offseason and made some major changes.
The first place to look when talking about offseason changes is the bench. Gone are head coach Blane Harrison and assistant Jim Milligan who ran the offense. In their place are new head coach Glenn Clark and assistant Jim Veltman. Tracey Kelusky will return as an assistant once again. Clark is no stranger to the NLL, who as a player, won five Champions Cups and was an all-star three times. His NLL coaching career is much shorter, with only two and a half seasons with the Toronto Rock under his belt, but he has also been involved with coaching Team Canada and CLax.
Veltman needs much less of an introduction as he finished his playing career as one of the most accomplished in the league. In his 16 years playing, he captured eight titles, was the first league MVP not named Gait or Tavares, and still holds the career loose ball record, despite only having a single season in the top ten of that category.
On the player side of things, the biggest addition is reigning league MVP Shawn Evans. In an unusual series of events, Kevin Crowley started last season as the main fixture in the Black Wolves’ offense. After 10 games, he was traded to the Toronto Rock for Garrett Billings. This past fall saw Billings get traded to Vancouver for Tyler Digby and a draft pick. This lasted for all of a day when Digby and a draft pick were sent to Calgary for Evans and a pair of first round picks. In a separate trade, Crowley was sent back to New England from Toronto for 2015 draftee Dan Lintner and a future pick. The end result of all this movement was New England losing two second round picks, two first round picks (all spread over 4 years), and Dan Lintner, while gaining both Evans and Crowley in addition to a third round pick and a second round pick. This shows us two things about the Black Wolves. The first is that their trades make my head hurt. The second is that this is a huge sign the Black Wolves are looking for wins right now.
Joining Crowley and Evans as new faces in 2016 are lone rookie Mike MacDonald and free agents Derek Suddons, Dan Ball, and John Ranagan. There was also a trade sending Drew Petkoff to Georgia for Shane MacDonald (no relation to Mike). Got all that, me neither, but let’s move on to the meat and bones of the Black Wolves.
Offense
New England’s strength out the front door is going to be with their righties. Shawn Evans will be joined by Kevin Crowley, Quinn Powless, Kyle Buchanan, and Brett Bucktooth. Evans and Crowley will capture most of the attention, but who takes that third spot is going to be interesting to watch as the season begins. Kyle Buchanan was an anchor all season long down in the corner setting picks, getting loose balls, and tying up the crease whenever he had to. It was no surprise at all to see him return for this season. Powless had his rookie season cut short by a knee injury, so we never got to see him fully develop over the 18 game schedule. Bucktooth is a player I was thrilled to see back. As the ultimate team player, he plays whatever role you need him to and is also the first on the floor to stand up for his teammates when the defense starts taking a few too many liberties with their checks. He has been very consistent throughout his career in the NLL and also spent the entire World Indoor Lacrosse Championships playing defense for the Iroquois Nationals. He eased his way into the offense and eventually found himself running things from the top for both man-up and most other offensive sets.
For the lefties, things are a little more unknown. Returning are 2015 team leading scorer Pat Saunders and Team USA WILC captain Kevin Buchanan. Alongside them are Mike MacDonald and Shane MacDonald. Saunders and Buchanan are both very consistent, but bringing in a rookie and a second year player to join them gives the coaches plenty of options. Buchanan was in a feature role for USA back in September, so it will be interesting to see if any of the experience translates into a larger profile with the Black Wolves. Shane MacDonald had limited production with Minnesota last year, so he may be more of a role player on that side, trying to get the two shooters open. Mike MacDonald is a total wild card. He had a great NCAA career at Princeton, but his Juniors box background was not loaded with accolades.
When the Black Wolves take the floor, you will probably see veteran group of players who needs to make sure they can play off of each other well. I wouldn’t be surprised to see one of the MacDonalds, and either Buckooth or Powless as healthy scratches early on. There will be plenty of tinkering on this side of the ball to find the best combination, but that may also depend more on matchups that given week.
Defense
Two of the leaders for the Black Wolves defense are starting the season listed on the Injured Reserved list (Mike Manley and Andrew Suitor), while they are also joined by returner Mike McNamara. Fortunately, they still have some excellent talent out on the floor. Team USA’s Brett Manney and Brian Megill look to help fellow American John Ranagan transition back indoors. Ranagan played well for Philadelphia in 2014, which was his rookie year, scoring 10 points and collecting 55 loosies over 17 games. He showed plenty of promise which he hopes to build on.
Alongside those three are fan favorite and human siren Bill O’Brien, back for his second year in the league. He arrived in the league with a splash, showing off his great athleticism while making some solid improvements throughout the year. His man on man defense was excellent from day one, but his stick skills in transition and team defense concepts were what lagged. By the end of the season, O’Brien made you forget that he was a rookie. He’ll be an exciting player to watch going into year two.
Dan Ball, Sheldon Burns, Jimmy Purves, and Derek Suddons fill out the defensive side of the ball. Burns enters his second year in the league following his twelve game rookie campaign. He shows plenty of promise for the Black Wolves. Purves spent much of last year bouncing between the practice and active rosters for the team, helping fill in for injuries while providing some experience at the same time. Ball is a fifth year pro who spent his past two seasons in Colorado. Ever since his rookie year, he has played in nearly every game while being more of a stay at home defender than someone who will try to force the ball up the floor. Suddons spent the last three years in Buffalo of his long NLL career. Holding the title of the oldest player on the team, he has played nearly every game in every NLL season since 2002. This experience should help provide some more leadership to the defensive unit.
The biggest question for the defense heading into the season is how soon their IR players will become available. Having Manley, McNamara, and Suitor back in the fold will create a crowded defensive group. Without seeing what type of defense they run, how much they push transition, and what type of results they get, it will be tough to see which direction the coaches head in. They have a great blend of youth and experience, so it is impossible to tell right now where the coach’s preference will be.
Transition
The only player labeled as Transition on the active roster going into the season is Ryan Hotaling, the team’s primary faceoff guy. Hotaling is coming off a bronze medal run with Team USA in the WILC, and he had a solid 2015 season facing off just under 50%. He primarily plays defense, but is not afraid to stick around at forward if the situation presents itself. The other listed transition player for the Black Wolves is Suitor, who is starting the season on the IR.
In 2015, the transition game was a liability at times for the Black Wolves, and in both directions. They gave up too many goals by getting beat backwards and there were too many missed opportunities when trying to get it over the midline or when they had numbers. With the new coaching staff, I’ll be anxious to see how they view this part of the game. Most of their forwards are more than willing to play some defense, especially Bucktooth after his WILC performance. Suitor is a true threat when bringing up the ball, but the other defenders usually would defer to letting the forwards get on the floor and take the shooting opportunities.
Goaltending
Things are stable in the goaltending department for the Black Wolves. Evan Kirk returns with Tye Belanger. Kirk was the starter to begin the season and played very well as the team got off to a hot start. Unfortunately, opponents started getting cleaner looks and transition opportunities which hurt Kirk’s numbers quite a bit. In the only game where Belanger played the majority of minutes, he came away with a loss despite a solid performance. Kirk continued to be the primary goalie throughout the season.
Outside of injury or trade, I do not suspect that there will be much movement with the goalies. They both played solid in their time and show moments of being outstanding. If they get more of the shots they want to see and fewer fast breaks, I think the Black Wolves’ goals against column will look much better in the box scores.
Calling it Early
The Black Wolves have a legitimate chance at a big turnaround this year. Their offense is not a group of role players, but they all are scoring threats. Adding one of, if not the best player in the world will help with that. Their defense is one that I feel will really have a great shot at playing good team defense. They have great individual defenders, but their ability to pass players off and get through picks is where they had their problems last year. Returning the core players from 2015 will aid in their communication to make 2016 better.
Adding in the fact they will now be practicing together in the middle of the week, they have a real chance at making the playoffs. Once you get to the playoffs, anything can happen. Having a full season and offseason under their belts in Connecticut means all the off-field stuff should be much smoother. Fans in the area should be getting excited for year two of the NLL at the Mohegan!
What do you think, is Conwell off his rocker? Let us know if the Black Wolves have any hope of making a playoff run or if you think the rebranding will again get the best of them!
Up Next: Georgia Swarm
