I know you can’t play everybody on the roster, but (still) these guys deserve a shot.
The Premier Lacrosse League is a professional lacrosse league featuring 150+ of the world’s best players divided up among six teams that play against each other at one location each weekend.
The fascinating thing about the league is this: despite having some of the best players in the world, only 20 players are active per game. That means over 30 talented guys watch from home.
In this piece, I highlight players who are currently inactive (as of the Week 5 game-day rosters), but whom I believe should be active every week.
Archers LC-Jerry Ragonese/ Brendan Fowler, Faceoff Specialists. Right now, the Archers only have one F/O specialist active each week (Stephen Kelly). Even though Kelly scored the first goal in PLL history, he has struggled this year–winning only 39.6% of face-offs, which ranks at the bottom of the league. Ragonese and the recently acquired Fowler have played together before. They could provide a 1-2 punch for a team that’s currently on a three-game losing streak. Ragonese, a fan favorite, could also help grow the PLL, which is vital for any inaugural league.
Atlas LC-Pat Young, Midfielder. Young was active Week 1 and, when he played, he offered a nice change of pace for the Atlas. Before their last win, the Atlas was struggling on offense– primarily due to turnovers–but also because it was difficult to score when Rabil, Buzek, or Brown wasn’t on the field. Young could be another scoring option and also supplement the emergence of Joel Tinney and John Crawley. If you are a scorer in this league, which Young is, then you belong.
Chaos LC-Curtis Dickson, Attack. This may have been the hardest coaching decision to make. Coach Andy Towers has done an excellent job at giving every guy a shot on game days. Age is the only reason why (I imagine) Dickson is inactive. He played in the long indoor season and also just played in the NLL. When asked by a fan on Twitter when Dickson would be active, Towers replied: “TBD-hopefully in a few weeks.”
Chrome LC-John Lade, Defenseman. The Chrome is winless (0-5) mainly because of weak defense. There was hope with the addition of Joe Fletcher, but, at this point, this team needs more help. Lade is a capable defenseman (indoors), who deserves a look on this struggling Chrome team.
Redwoods LC-Chazz Woodson, Attack. By Week 2 (and definitely by Week 3), it was easy to see that the Redwoods were close to breaking through. They needed one more piece on offense. That’s when I thought Coach Nat St. Laurent would activate Woodson. But, instead, he traded for Jules Heningburg. Yes, the Heningburg trade has worked out, I still think Woods should give Woodson a shot. Kyle Harrison, Joe Walters, and Matt Kavanaugh are not getting any younger–and even with Woodson being in his late 30s–he could come in for a few possessions a game and give the Redwoods another threat. Woodson, who can play both attack and midfield, can operate as both a scorer and distributor. His lacrosse IQ is off the charts, too. As I said earlier, you can never have enough scorers in this league, and Woodson is just that.
Whipsnakes LC-Kevin Cooper, Midfielder. This is once again an ’embarrassment of riches’ situation. Cooper is a guy who can help the Whips on offense and defense–even though this team has a lot of guys who can do both. Still, though, I’d activate Cooper on game days as a way of protecting Mike Ehrhardt. Despite the fact Ehrhardt has good range on offense, he is primarily known as a defender. The worst thing for the Whips would be for Ehrhardt to get hurt on offense. With Cooper being a short stick middie, he could come in quickly in transition and could also pair well with Mike Chanechuck, who currently leads the league in 2-point shots.
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The bottom line? There are a lot of talented players in this league, and coaches have the tough task of coming up with the best game-day roster. Still, though, the guys I just named could really help their respective teams. I hope they all get shots at some point in the final five games of this inaugural PLL season.
All stats for this story are courtesy of https://stats.premierlacrosseleague.com/
