The term “breakout player” is so vague that it is hard to define who truly have broken out this season in Major League Lacrosse. The way we’ve gone about it is selecting players playing better than expected and making more of an impact than they have for their team in the past. Obviously, rookies who came aboard two weeks ago cannot be considered.
Davey Emala- Boston Cannons
The Cannons were expected to fall into lacrosse oblivion after trading away Paul Rabil. Instead, they’ve hung around and are in a decent position to make the playoffs. At least, in as good position as the Denver Outlaws and Chesapeake Bayhawks are. Some of this is due to the secondary scorers who have stepped up in Boston. While Will Manny was expected to take this leap, former Charlotte Hound Davey Emala has stepped up to become a player all-star worthy. He’s tied for tenth in the league in scoring getting his first shot at being an everyday player.
Tyler Fioritio- Chesapeake Bayhawks
The Bayhawks goalie made his first all star roster after a solid first half to the season. The Bayhawks were putrid last season, and now they are a playoff contender and Fiorito is a big reason why. He has the fourth best goals against average in the league ahead of names such as Jesse Schwartzman, Brett Queener, and Jordan Burke. He’s already shattered his minutes total since this is his first year as a true starting goalie.
Michael Bocklet- Denver Outlaws
Tied for 19th in the league with his 18 point total. While the Outlaws for years have been Bocklet mania, Michael signed just before this season and he became a big part of an offense that missed NLL players for a long time.
Craig Bunker- Boston Cannons
The Cannons lost another star that went overlooked this off season when Chris Eck didn’t return to the team. Taking his place as the starting FOGO was Craig Bunker, who didn’t see much time the season before. The former Rattler has stepped up, being one of four faceoff men named to the all star team. Indeed, the Cannons haven’t missed a beat with Bunker replacing Eck.
