As the 2013 MSL season approaches here is a first look at the 2013 Brampton Excelsiors. The Excelsiors finished fourth in the MSL last year in what can only be deemed as a disappointment for a team with such a storied winning tradition. The Excelsiors would meet the Kitchener Waterloo Kodiaks in the first round of the playoffs knocking them off in four games. The Excelsiors next met the Six Nations Chiefs who would beat them in five games. 2012 was definitely a disappointing year for the Excelsiors and 2013 looks to be just as difficult.
The Excelsior’s biggest problem in 2012 was their lack of scoring. While other teams had multiple players with over 30 points in the season Brampton did not have a single forward who registered over 30 points. Joe Resetarits was the team’s leading scorer with 28 points. Expect Resetarits to step it up this season as he will try to follow up on a successful 2013 NLL season in which he notched 10 goals and 17 assists. Joe Walters was also a key piece of the Excelsiors offense in 2012 he has performed well in the NLL this season notching 11 goals and 29 assists and will hopefully be able to carry over his play making skills to MSL action this season. The final piece of the Excelsior’s offense is Dan Dawson. Dawson only played seven games for the Excelsior’s last season. Dawson is a force to be reckoned with as shown by his 2013 NLL season as he notched 28 goals and 56 assists for 84 points. The Excelsiors will need Dawson to play the whole season as he is by far their best player.
In net the Excelsior’s also have some problems. Starting goalie Anthony Cosmo was solid at times last year as he put up a 7.23 Goals Against Average along with a.771 save percentage. Cosmo though has struggled in the NLL this season as he posted a 12.41 Goal Against Average and a .759 save percentage. The other unfortunate news for Excelsior’s fans is backup goalie Matt Vinc who was named the 2013 NLL Goalie of the Year has signed with the Victoria Shamrocks of the WLA.
The Excelsiors will also have a new head coach in 2013 in the form of Clem D’Orazio. D’Oraizio coached the Ajax Rock last season and finished with a dismal 1-13 record. D’Oraizio has 10 years of coaching experience and will hopefully be able to whip the 2011 Mann Cup Champions into shape. D’Oraizio’s plan is to keep it simple and to not drastically change the Excelsior’s system.
The Excelsiors will be able to see early how they will fare this season as they open their season against the Mann Cup Champions the Peterborough Lakers. Expect these two teams to come out motivated to open the season with each trying to make a statement
