In the Roughnecks Sunday afternoon matchup against the Minnesota Swarm they didn’t dress their full compliment of players, as big names like Shawn Evans, Jeff Shattler, Curtis Dickson, Jon Harnett, Greg Harnett and Tor Reinholdt were missing from their lineup. With that being said it’s fairly easy to see what the Roughnecks coaching staff is looking to do with team this season.
The offense ran through Dan Dobbie with Evans and Shattler out. While it’s likely to continue to run through Dobbie or Evans when the regular season kicks off in January, the Roughnecks were fairly effective on offense on Sunday. The pick and roll game was very effective for them at times, as were the quality inside screens for players to get off quality outside shots.
Going off what I’ve seen from Calgary in their first two preseason games, we can expect Matt Dinsdale to replace Scott Ranger’s offense on the right side. Dinsdale looked great over the weekend, potting eight goals in two games.
Casey Jackson didn’t stand out like, say, a Matt Dinsdale or a Miles Thompson from the Swarm in Sunday afternoon’s game, however he did a lot of the little things right. He was scooping up loose balls, setting good, hard picks, getting open and kept his feet moving. He put the ball in the back of the net once when given the opportunity, however it’s clear he’ll be a depth option on the left side if he is to crack the final roster.
Pat Henry and Connor Goodwin remain long shots to make the final roster, however the two did not look out of place. They both show potential and a great understanding of the game, however as of right now they need some more seasoning before being able to impact the game at the NLL level. It would not surprise me at all if one or even both where given practice roster positions.
Defensively, the unit looked good on Friday night, but with a number of key pieces to that unit missing on Sunday the defense looked rather sloppy at times. Mammoth rookie Tyson Roe looked fairly good for the Roughnecks; he didn’t do much to stand out, but as a defender that’s not always a bad thing. He showed good composure, a strong understanding of the defensive schemes and was able to scoop up his fair share of loose balls and transition the ball well on the few occasions he did so.
Second year, 6’3″, 220 pound defender Garrett McIntosh stood out most to me during Sunday afternoon game. He played an intimidating, physical game, but played under control, remaining in good defensive position at all times. He was able to anticipate the play well, slip pick and roll attempts, as well as scoop up a few loose balls and transition well at times.
Veterans Andrew McBride, Geoff Snider and Dan MacRae, Travis Cornwall and Scott Carnegie were all clearly a step above the other Roughnecks defenders, and that’s not surprising as the aforementioned players have long been considered top defensive players in the NLL. With the exception of Tyson Roe it’s going to be very hard for any rookies or free agent defenders to make this veteran-based defensive unit.
In goal Mike Poulin struggled early on in the game, allowing five goals in just under five minutes of play. He did rebound well when inserted back in the game to start the second half. While Poulin has proved himself as a top NLL goaltender, and is the unquestioned starter in Calgary, Frankie Scigliano has improved again since my last viewing of him. He’s a big bodied goalie who takes up a lot of the net, he’s become a lot better on shots at his feet and he’s really looking like a capable NLL goaltender. I expect Scigliano to see way more then the 146:28 of action he saw last season.
Overall, its getting fairly easy to predict what Calgary’s final roster will look like at this point, and with that being said they are looking like a team who should once again get back to the Champion’s Cup Final in 2015.
