Team Acquisitions:
(F) Joe Resetarits—Calgary Roughnecks
(F) Ryan Benesch—Minnesota Swarm
(T) Andrew Watt—Minnesota Swarm
(D) Rory Smith—Colorado Mammoth
Team Losses:
(T) John Harasym
(D) Mike McNamara
(F) Luke Wiles
(F) Derek Hopcroft
(F) Mike Hominuck
Offense: Grade C+
The Buffalo Bandits off-season acquisitions of Ryan Benesch and Joe Resetarits proved to be just what the team needed to help boost their sagging scoring output from last year. Benesch lead the Bandits this year in scoring with 78 points (25 G, 53 A). 2014 was also a banner year for Resetarits. While playing for the Calgary Roughnecks last year, Resetarits recorded 24 points in 14 games (8 G, 16 A). This year with the Bandits, Resetarits recorded nearly doubled his point total from last year with 42 points in 17 games (25 G, 17 A). Resetarits was fifth on the team in scoring.
One of the big changes this year to the offensive lineup was the addition of former transitional player Mark Steenhuis. Mark relished at the opportunity to showcase his offensive skills once again and was truly put to the test this year. Steenhuis was second in the team in scoring and saw his stats nearly double from 39 points last year (13 G, 26 A) to 63 points (31 G, 32 A).
Many offensive career milestones were achieved during the 2014 season. The highlight of the year was Bandits legend John Tavares recording his 800th goal and 900th assist in front of the home crowd in Banditland. Benesch recorded his 300th assist and 500th point this year for the Bandits. While the legends may have had their day this year, possible future Bandits superstars in the making received their first goals ever in the NLL with second round draft pick Mitch Wilde and Joel Matthews.
Overall: The offense itself did score 19 more goals than last year (190 compared to 171 from 2013) but unfortunately that was also due to the fact that two extra games were added to the schedule. Next year, the Bandits will need some help to find a young, solid, left-side scoring threat to balance out the offense. The additions of Benesch and Resetarits this year was definitely a very good step in the right direction but two or three more solid scorers will be needed. The Bandits goal average this year was a little over 10 goals per game. For the wins this year the Bandits were scoring 11-12 goals per game but in their losses were only able to muster 8-9. If the Bandits next year can increase their scoring output to possibly 12-13 goals per game, then, hopefully this will lead to at least a couple more wins per season and a better standing for the playoffs.
Transition: Grade A-
Jay Thorimbert and David Brock returned from last year’s squad while offseason acquisition Andrew Watt, 2014 second round draft pick Mitch Wilde and 2013 rookie sensation Dhane Smith were brought in to help bolster the Bandits transitional game.
In 2014, the Bandits bread and butter was their transitional game. Their ability to utilize each transitional player’s special abilities (from Wilde’s speed to Smith’s scoring touch) was their key to success. Every team in the league was put on notice with the Bandits’ transitional play and every team focused much of their energy to disrupt it. Thorimbert’s 2014 season was just as successful as last season as he once again placed third in the league in the loose ball category with 191 and was third in faceoffs won with 253. The addition of Dhane Smith to the transitional side of the ball proved to the league how much he has excelled in all aspects of his game. He was a complete threat to every opponent with his ability to push the ball forward, deflecting the pass and using his scoring prowess when the time was called for. Smith was third on the team in scoring with 59 points and exceeded his scoring total of 44 points during his rookie season.
Overall: With the stellar play of Thorimbert and Smith combined with the addition of Watt and Wilde, the Bandits have an incredible combination of youth and experience at transition and hope to see that same success return next season.
Defense: Grade B-
The Buffalo Bandits defense that allowed a league-tying 211 goals from 2013 was seen for a while to be a specter from the past. The 200 goals allowed during 18 games of play was definitely a major step in the right direction.
The off-season acquisition of 2012 NLL West Division All-Star Rory Smith from the Colorado Mammoth helped to solve the defensive woes the team suffered last year. Smith’s stature and grit definitely made the opponent’s offense think twice before trying to get past him. His ability to make the hit, slide and at times block a direct shot or two to prevent goals were the highlight of the 2014 campaign.
By most accounts the Bandits defense were big and bad and definitely a force to be reckoned with. Their tall stature and incredibly physical play were definitely something that opponents feared and respected. The only bad side to being big and physical is their ability to be noticed when penalties are called.
Steve Priolo was third in the league this year with 65 penalty minutes. Unfortunately for Priolo, his ability to draw penalties put the Bandits defense in too many short-handed situations that led the opponent’s offense back into games when they were down a goal or two. Priolo though did help his standings with the team by being a true defensive scoring threat. Priolo more than tripled his offensive output this year (26 points) compared to last (seven points) and was nick-named coast to coast Priolo for his ability to take the ball deep into the opponent’s zone and rip a goal or two.
Overall: The Bandits defense has made leaps and bounds in the right direction. Unfortunately their ability to grab the loose ball led to opponents being able to have second and sometimes third scoring chances. Goaltender Anthony Cosmo made a league leading/league record 752 saves. The defense can be better than this with the right upgrades of a player or two.
Goaltending: Grade A-
The last line of defense for the 2014 Buffalo Bandits was starting goaltender Anthony Cosmo. With the addition of the bigger, stronger and tougher defense for the Bandits, Cosmo’s confidence in his himself returned. His belief in his defense helped take a lot of the pressure off him and led to his career resurgence with the NLL regular season record breaking total of 752 saves. Cosmo was fourth in the league in wins with eight and third in the league in GAA with 10.77. Cosmo’s head coach all season believed that Cosmo was the true MVP of the team this year and kept the team in a lot of games that without him would have been lost.
Overall: As long as Cosmo puts most of the pressure on the defense and less on himself, this will lead him to do what he does best. Cosmo excelled this year with focusing one-on-one with the shooter at hand or the long distance shot from 20 feet away. He will be a force to reckon with next year.
Season Outlook: (B)
After the dismal performance of the 2013 NLL season, the Bandits definitely took a major step in the right direction toward becoming the team to reckon with in the near future.
The only problem though was the fact that the team was inconsistent and the season was a tale of two teams. The Bandits dominated the first half of the season by going 8-2 through their first 10 games. The 8-2 record did give the team some swagger, a jump in their step and they relished at facing the then-undefeated Edmonton Rush in Week 11. Unfortunately for the Bandits, the 14-5 drubbing they took at the hands of the Rush knocked the wind out of their sails and the loss to last-place Minnesota Swarm in overtime the week after completely knocked the team off the rails. The Bandits tried their best to recover but the losses kept piling up. In the end, the Bandits tried their best to recover but ended the season with a franchise worst eight losses in a row.
The Bandits backslid into the playoffs and were helped with the fact that they were the underdog headed into each series with the Rock and Knighthawks. Unfortunately, just like last season, it was the Knighthawks who ended the Bandits season once again with the last goal.
I believe that Buffalo Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich, Head Coach Troy Cordingley and the Bandits scouting staff did an incredible job in the offseason to assess the problems that the organization had in terms of their roster and effectively plugged in the players that are the most effective to fill those vacancies. The additions of Benesch and Resetarits brought additional firepower to a lagging offense. The addition of Rory Smith on defense brought a return to a tougher, brutal and punishing defense that made opponents pay for cutting to the net. I hope the Bandits will be able to improve in the offseason. Unfortunately, without a first round draft pick and the questionable return of John Tavares, this leaves me with more questions than answers.
