Ross McLoughlin
The San Diego Seals are looking to Build Momentum off the biggest Free Agent Signing of the
Offseason, of signing Dane Dobbie and a great Draft 2021 draft.
Head Coach Patrick Merrill has
his work cutout for him. It’s not a bad thing, having such a strong Group of players to build a
team out of.
Counting on a talented returning Transition/defense and a fired up more balanced Offense. The
team is not without weak links. Last time this team took the floor, there were many questions
going on in the goalie position.
If Frank Scigliano is on the top of his game he should be more
than capable. The Seals are hoping to catch lightning in a bottle with Scigliano who has
yet to shine to his full potential.
That’s what this all comes down to: Winning.
Certain players on this team are nearing the end of
Their careers, Brodie Merrell, Zach Greer and Dane Dobbie are all near the end of the road playing professional
. They are all great players, But father time waits for no man.
Brodie Merrell, one could say he is the greatest Defensive player of all time. He is now 40 and it
would be hard to imagine him playing many more seasons
. Zach Greer has already retired
once. Dane Dobbie is out to cement his place among the greats with another Championship.
Lets review the rest of the western Division.
The Roughnecks are Gutted with the losses of Tyson Bell and Dane Dobbie. Curtis Dickson for
years has had Dobbie to play with, but he also can’t do it alone.
On defense, Christian Del
Bianco is one of the most talented Goalies in the league but is that enough? Lets face it, the
Roughnecks dont win a lot of games, but they were able to win IMPORTANT Games. T
They were
the team that won ENOUGH games to just make it to the playoffs then win out. But without
Dobbie, Dickson’s act of running into traffic and drawing a penalty will be a tired one.
I predict
the Roughnecks have a record of 4 wins and 14 losses
The Warriors have Mitch Jones but the rest of the offense is lacking the firepower to back him
up. And the Defense has many holes that even the signing of Garrett Mcintosh will fill.
The
Warriors picked one of the best Defensive Draft Picks in the last ten years, Reid Bowering. But
with so many holes I don’t see much of a chance with this team. I predict the Warriors will have
a record of 5 wins and 13 losses.
The Rush are a team that has been Very good in the past, but they lost a lot of talent since the
last time they took the floor. They replaced a lot of that veteran talent with draft picks.
The team
got a lot younger and more inexperienced. That has seldom bodes well for teams. I predict the
Rush will Finish at a Respectable 8 wins, 10 losses.
The Mammoth have a hard time against the Seals, and have not done well the past few
seasons overall. But with some mediocre drafts the team has not gotten better. I expect the
Mammoth will win 3 with 15 losses.
Panther City is the newest kid on the block. They have some talent but they also have some
holes. But they also have a fantastic set of Young Goalies who should be able to pull them out
of a jam.
ELet’s see if the offense gives them enough fireworks to win some games. My
prediction is Panther City won’t fair as bad as other expansion clubs in their first year, with only
one of the previous expansion club having a winning record in their debut. I say Panther City has a record.of 6-12.
The Seals with a weak division where they play each team mentioned, three times because of a restructured schedule.
At the same time, San Diego is not playing the Bandits, Thunderbirds, Knighthawks or Swarm this season.
They actually only face three teams outside of the West.
San Diego should finish the year with a record of fifteen wins and three losses.
The real real question is…what happens when this team reaches the playoffs? That is anyone’s guess but, San Diego is the team to beat in the West.
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
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