With the trade deadline only hours away we don’t expect to see anymore changes in the Colorado.
The Mammoth made a big move earlier in the week when they acquired 10 year veteran Casey Powell from the Rochester Knighthawks. They had to give up defensive specialist Jon Sullivan in the deal but this is considered a great trade for Colorado as Powell is one of the most talented american players to ever pick up a lacrosse stick.
Powell was the National Lacrosse League’s MVP in 2010 and has 22 points in 7 games so far this season. He will now join forces with arguably the best player in the world, John Grant Jr., which must be a scary thought for opposing teams.
The Mammoth currently sit tied with Minnesota for last place in the West but they have the talent to do some real damage.
Goaltending has been an issue this season for Colorado but with Tye Belanger back and healthy that should all change. He got a win in his first start last weekend and that should give his team some much needed confidence down the stretch.
If Belanger had not returned from injury prior to the trade deadline General Manager Steve Govett would have most likely went shopping for a starting tender. With the other GM’s knowing goaltending was their main issue though, Govett would have been hard pressed to find a team willing to make a deal with him. Belanger’s return could be the missing piece to their puzzle but only time will tell if the Mammoth’s struggles will continue.
The loss of Jon Sullivan is going to hurt Colorado’s defense but they have enough talent in the back end that his loss won’t be too evident to opponents. Rory Smith has been having a quiet season and needs to step his game in these last two month of the regular season. Smith would be good trade bait as he still has the potential to be a top defender in this league; he just needs to get back to his rough and tough style that we saw from him in his first few years playing in the NLL.
Chet Koneczny is another guy who could be on the trading block but after giving the Buffalo fans the double bird last weekend, no team will want the burden of having him in their line up.
On paper the Mammoth have one of the strongest lineups in the league but they need more consistency from their offense and Belanger has to be a wall in net if they hope to turn this season around.
Last weekend’s victory in Buffalo is a great start to a new beginning and if Colorado can string together a winning streak over the next few weekends, the rest of the league is in trouble.
We may see another trade from the Mammoth before the deadline but it would be surprising if we did as their lineup looks to be set. The Mammoth will host the Bandits at home this weekend in a rematch from last Saturday, a game that Colorado took by a score of 12-6
