As the Colorado Mammoth open their 11th season The Pepsi Center on Saturday December 28, 2013, Denver buzzing with all the changes to not only the team, but changes with the NLL. Mammoth fans want the team to bring home the Champion’s Cup again, which they haven’t done since 2006 when they defeated the Buffalo Bandits by a score of 16-9.
To give those of you who are not familiar with the Colorado Mammoth a bit of history on the team, they were formerly the Baltimore Thunder from 1987 to 1999, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000, and the Washington Power from 2001 to 2002, before moving to Colorado in 2003 and changing their name to the Colorado Mammoth. Their overall season record since becoming the Mammoth has been 95-81, and 4-9 in the playoffs. In 2004 they were the NLL attendance leaders, and in 2006 they had the honor of hosting fan number one million. This says a lot about the Mammoth fans and lacrosse becoming an up-and-coming sport in Colorado. The Pepsi Center is known as “The Loud House,” and Sections 124 & 126 host a group of highly intense Mammoth fans. This section is one of the loudest in the Pepsi Center and to the opposing players who enter the penalty box they are greeted with the fans screaming “Hey # , GET IN THE BOX!!!”. It’s a great place to play lacrosse and opposing teams dread stepping onto the field in The Pepsi Center.
This year has brought numerous changes to the league with reduced roster sizes, a new collective bargaining agreement, and teams with stronger and faster players making it more difficult to make a roster. So what does this mean for the Mammoth? They have acquired some great talent, but have also lost some key players.
New acquisitions include:
Drew Westervelt- Forward
Dillon Ward-Goal Tender
Dan Ball-Defenseman
Bob Snider-Face Off Specialist/Defenseman
Cameron Mann-Transition
Jackson Decker-Transition
Players Traded or Released:
Gavin Prout-Forward
Ilija Gajic-Transition
Jarett Park-Defenseman
Hold Out List:
Casey Powell-Forward
The current roster includes:
Transition players (5): Cameron Mann, Mat MacLeod, Cameron Holding, Joey Cupido, and Jackson Decker.
Defenseman (8): John Gallant, Bob Snider, Dan Coates, Dan Ball, Jamie Lincoln, Creighton Reid, John Orsen, and Colton Clark.
Forwards (5): John Grant Jr., Drew Westervelt, Sean Pollock, Adam Jones, and Jordan McBride.
Goaltenders (2): Tye Belanger, and Dillon Ward
Offense
This year the Mammoth have an outstanding offensive squad. John Grant Jr. has been a consistently high scoring player, and he is in the best shape he’s been in the last three to four years. Drew Westervelt was an amazing acquisition; also a high scoring and high intensity player. And you have the added talent of returning players Sean Pollock, Adam Jones, and Jordan McBride. These players are high scoring and intense players on the field, and their pre-season work outs for strengthening and speed are going to pay off.
Defense
With the acquisitions the Mammoth have made to strengthen their defense by signing Dan Ball, Bob Snider (who is also an amazing face-off guy and the 2nd best in the league on face-offs ), and returning players John Gallant, Dan Coates, Colton Clark, and Creighton Reid, teams are going to have a tough time scoring against these guys. The new transition players Cameron Mann and Jackson Decker are going to be exciting to watch.
When Steve Govett, GM of the Mammoth was asked who the standout players will be and if we would be seeing a lot of the new guys on the floor, he said “Junior is in great shape and raring to go, Adam Jones looks great, along with Westervelt and McBride. You will notice Bob Snider as we win a lot more face offs, and Tye Belanger has looked fantastic in pre season. Joey Cupido is always exciting and we expect great things from Cam Holding, Dan Coates and Matt MacCleod. I guess when you look at it that way, everyone, I think everyone will standout!!!!
“You will like what Bob Snider brings in possessions at the face off X, Jackson Decker is a really fun player to watch, Cameron Mann is much like Cupido, really fast. Look for a really nice addition in Dan Ball to our defensive end.”
Goaltending
Tye Belanger had an outstanding off season while playing up in Canada and really stepped up his game. He holds the record with 4th best in saves in the NLL and is ready to play hard again this year. Dillon Ward, the new acquisition who is the first goaltender to be selected in the top three picks in the NLL Entry Draft in 14 years, is extremely excited to be a part of the Mammoth organization and was welcomed by Belanger with open arms. The Mammoth now have two strong and knowledgeable goalies on the squad.
Prediction for the Season
When General Manager Steve Govett was asked how he felt about smaller rosters and if it was going to be an issue, he responded by saying, “I’m not fully sure yet how it will look, but our expectations are for more athleticism, players with versatility will be very important, the team that stays healthy and can fill in gaps on the fly will be successful. I don’t see it to be a huge deal, it wasn’t so long ago that we played with 16 runners and nobody saw the difference when it changed. I think the product will be as, if not more, excited”.
With the Mammoth improving their roster, signing key veteran players along with the strength and speed of the new players, I think the Mammoth are going to give their opponents a consistent 60 minutes of playing time each and every game. You can look forward to seeing them with a winning record this year, and moving past the first round of the playoffs.
