Compiled and Written by “Muffler” Mike Kostiuk
2019-2020 Record: 7-4, T-2nd place North Division
New Faces:
F Connor Fields, F Kyle Buchanan, F Brad McCulley. F Tehoka Nanticoke, D Justin Robinson, D Jordan Stouros
Key Losses:
F Corey Small, F Dan Lintner, D Matt Gilray, D Jon Harnett, D Mitch deSnoo, D Liam Patten
“We Want Five!”
This was the rallying cry for Banditland back in 2016, as they were considered a heavy favorite to win the franchises 5th championship. The Bandits appeared in the finals that year and again in 2019, sporting a consistent playoff-caliber team with a plethora of talent on both ends of the floor. However, championship five has continued to remain elusive, and the Bandits now have the third longest active cup drought in the league (only Colorado and Philadelphia have gone longer since their last Cup victory). Could this finally be the year? Let’s find out as we look at the roster in Buffalo entering the 2021-2022 season…
Offense
The core of this dynamic offensive unit – Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Chris Cloutier, and Chase Fraser – remains. Corey Small departed for Philadelphia in free agency, and Dan Lintner was traded to Saskatchewan (more on that in a bit), but GM Steve Dietrich was busy obtaining suitable replacements in Kyle Buchanan (signed in free agency) and 2020 Rookie of the Year Finalist Connor Fields (trade with San Diego). Further firepower arrived with the drafting of Brad McCulley and Tehoka Nanticoke. There’s no reason to believe this unit couldn’t potentially break the single-season team goal scoring record set by the Georgia Swarm in 2017.
Defense
The Bandits’ defensive unit ranked 3rd in the NLL in Caused Turnovers, 1st in Transition Goals, and 3rd in Transition Points, but struggled at the X, ranking last in both faceoff wins and faceoff win percentage. The core group includes veteran mainstays Steve Priolo, Kevin Brownell, Nick Weiss, Bryce Sweeting, and Frank Brown. Since the team last played, former 1st-round draft pick Matt Gilray was traded to Rochester, Mitch de Snoo was traded to Toronto, and Liam Patten was taken by Panther City in the Expansion Draft. Justin Robinson was acquired from Saskatchewan in the Dan Lintner trade and will join a group of young players, including Matt Spanger, lan MacKay, Justin Martin, Brent Noseworthy, and 2020 draft pick Jordan Stouros. whose talents could easily form the future defensive core of the franchise.
Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
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