With their defeat in the opening round of last year’s Eastern Conference playoffs to rival Rochester Knighthawks still on their minds, the Buffalo Bandits are looking forward to wiping the slate clean during training camp and beginning the new season with a fresh start.
On Saturday, the Bandits banded together once again at the First Niagara Center as they prepare for the 2016 NLL season. With 31 runners and four goaltenders on the training camp roster, there will be stiff competition for each and every spot on the final team roster.
In an interview with the media before the start of training camp, Bandits head coach Troy Cordingley addressed his expectations for the team during training camp with “We know we have to be better. Close isn’t good enough anymore. We have to take the next step and it starts today. That’s why we have training camp. To find out which guys are the real deals and who wants to be on the Buffalo Bandits.”
Concerning the competition aspect of training camp, Bandits GM Steve Dietrich believes that “It’s going to be competitive. A lot of the young guys that are coming in here do have a legit fair shot. So we’re looking forward to seeing what a lot of them can do.”
Before heading into the upcoming Bandits training camp, Cordingley took time out to review each and every game during the 2015 NLL campaign and analyzed every bit of game footage to ascertain what went right, what went wrong and where the team needs to improve in order to have a shot at regaining the Champion’s Cup.
In the 2015 season that was, Cordingley saw an offense that can truly go shot to shot with the best that the league has to offer. Bandits forwards Ryan Benesch, Dhane Smith and Mark Steenhuis were ranked third (55 G, 58 A 113pts), fourth (39 G, 68 A 107pts and seventh (36 G, 59 A 95 pts) respectively in league scoring with the team ranked second overall in goals scored with 236.
Hoping to improve on last season’s success in the offensive aspects of the ball is former Bandits captain and new Offensive assistant coach John Tavares.
The transition from player to coach will be a challenging role for Tavares but with his experience and lacrosse IQ, his new role on the team should also prove to be fulfilling as well.
“It’s going to be interesting to learn how to help the team offensively and not being able to be on the floor,” Tavares said. “Communication is going to be a big key with talking to the players and seeing what’s working for them. I’m just going to try and put in a team game plan where the ball is being shared. everybody feels equally important and yet knowing their role on the team.”
Bandits players like leading scorer Ryan Benesch believe that Tavares will be a major boon to the coaching staff for the journey ahead stating that “I’m really excited to see what J.T. brings. He’s the best player to have ever played this game so you’ve got to figure he’s going to have the most knowledge as well.”
While five on five scoring for the Bandits came at a fast and furious pace for the team in 2015, their power play was rendered ice cold with a dead last ranking in the league with 27.69%.
Bandits GM Steve Dietrich concurred with the fact that the team “Needs to be a little stronger with secondary scoring”. That’s why during the Bandits offseason he addressed that with the signings of a new two year deal in August with unrestricted free agent forward Daryl Veltman from the Calgary Roughnecks and the second round draft selection of Anthony Malcolm from the WLA’s Langley Thunder.
The 30-year-old Veltman had played the last five seasons with the Roughnecks while recording 407 career points (144 G, 263 A) in 108 regular season games and 54 points (18 G and 36 A) during 18 playoff appearances.
Regarding Veltman, Cordingley believes that “He’s a very smart lacrosse player with his lax IQ being through the roof. We know that he can play any style of offense, see the floor real well and especially create space for the guys on the floor.”
While the offense was the shining light of the regular season last year for the team, the other half of their game regarding their defense (which ranked dead last in shots allowed as Cosmo led the league in saves once again with 681) left the team in desperate need for an upgrade.
Addressing the defensive troubles of last year, Dietrich believed the reason to be that “A lot of the guys out the back door I think need to get better and mature. I think we’re young and the guys will eventually come into their own and help take a little pressure off of Cosmo.”
During our interview with Cordingley, he did say that he was working on trying to implement a new defensive style to the team. Dietrich added more fuel to the fire by hinting that it may be back to a more pressure-based style and hopes the new implemented changes will help their goaltenders.
Even if the team does come together and firing on all cylinders, the two biggest obstacles that stand in their way of them winning another championship comes in the form of the Rochester Knighthawks and last year’s eastern division winners the Toronto Rock.
For the 2015 regular season, Buffalo was a combined 1-6 against Rochester and Toronto including another loss in the opening round of the playoffs to Rochester. Over the past two seasons, Buffalo has ranked third in the NLL Eastern division race.
“It’s frustrating. You think you’re close and you think you’ve got the right pieces and then it doesn’t come to fruition, especially the Rochester thing,” Dietrich said. “The Rochester thing just burned me and has burned me since I’ve been here.”
Dietrich continued with “Nobody hates losing to Rochester more than I do. Nobody hates losing to Toronto more than Troy does. It’s time to take the next step. The pieces are in place and there are no more excuses.”
The Bandits will begin the season with their home opener Saturday January 9th against the Calgary Roughnecks at the First Niagara Center.
