As the Denver Outlaws head into training camp in 2015 the question on most fans’ minds is whether the team can sustain the success of recent campaigns. This is the organization that went undefeated in the regular season in 2013 before falling in the semifinals, and that hoisted the Steinfield trophy in 2014.
There are two items to keep your eye on as training camp starts: 1. How will the defense respond to the retirement of Lee Zink and 2. Who will step up in the absence of the team’s NLL players?
Replacing a two-time defensive player of the year in Zink is no easy task. The team needs to fold off-season acquisitions Tim Henderson and Max Schmidt into their system as quickly as possible to allow everyone to get comfortable with their respective role in the defense. Athleticism doesn’t seem to be an issue for the Denver defense, and the primary corps, which also includes Dillon Roy and Chris O’Dougherty are MLL veterans so it’s not like they need to get rookies up to speed. At this point it’s more about recognizing individual strengths and role and gelling than anything else.
The scheduling conflicts that exist between NLL and MLL are no secret and the sheer number of Canadians on the Outlaws’ roster means that some big names likely won’t be available for training camp due to NLL commitments. This is an opportunity for players like Noah Molnar, Aaron Prosser, and Jeff Froccaro to build on impressive college careers and establish themselves as viable MLL options. Clearly the Outlaws see value in each of these players, electing to keep them on their roster or reclaiming them in the supplemental draft. Like a rookie quarterback in the NFL it can be beneficial to watch from the wings for a season to get a feel for the pace of the league and its expectations.
Looking through the 2015 Outlaws roster there are some interesting position changes listed. Whether these are indicative of management’s intended use of these players is still to be seen, but last year both Cam Flint and Zach Greer ran out of the box for the Outlaws. They’re both listed as attackmen on the 2015 roster. This move would put Greer back in his natural position where he dominated at the NCAA level. Teaming Greer up with John Grant, Jr., a fellow Canadian, and Eric Law (who had plenty of experience playing with Canadians at the University of Denver) could be a potentially lethal combination.
Mixing in Chris Bocklet provides midrange and outside shooting from the attack with any combination of these three only increases the dangerousness of the attack line. If the Flint move to attack is put into action, he would bring a similar shooting skill set as Bocklet. Depending on the opponent the Outlaws could force teams to defend the perimeter and then take advantage at close range or vice versa.
