The New England Black Wolves retained two of their restricted free agents this week when they re-signed Kevin Buchanan and Ryan Hotaling to one year contracts.
The Black Wolves, who missed the playoffs in 2015, will start with a far different roster than they began with last year. With Andrew Suitor and Garrett Billings to build around, Hotaling and Buchanan are both important pieces as a part of that structure.
Buchanan, who is local and plays for MLL’s Boston Cannons, was third in scoring on the Black Wolves roster with 56 points. Those are his most points since he scored 57 in 2011 with the Boston Blazers.
Hotaling, a transition player, was the Black Wolves regular transition man. Hotaling has not played regularly in the NLL since 2011 with the Blazers despite a brief stop in Colorado, but he has proven he can be a starting face off man in the NLL.
New England still has a lot of roster building to do. Their biggest free agents are Brett Manney and Brett Bucktooth, and it will be tough to retain them and add more players. Quinn Powless, a rookie last season, will also be returning from ACL surgery to add a boost to the offense.
