The New England Black Wolves finished the 2015 campaign with a league-worst 4-14 record. They won their first two games, meaning they went a horrible 2-14 after the quick start.
Their last win of the season came on Apr 4 when they squeaked past the Buffalo Bandits 12-11 and then they wrapped up the season with six straight losses.
Needless to say, the team has some things to work on to get back into contention.
Offensively, they might actually be in pretty good shape, in spite of scoring the second-fewest goals in the NLL last year (186). A full season with a healthy Garrett Billings is bound to pay dividends. In eight games last season, Billings averaged better than four points per game, en route to a 36-point year. As one of only two players in NLL history to reach the 100-point mark in three consecutive seasons, 18 games with Billings will almost certainly improve their fortunes.
Pat Saunders had a breakout season for the Black Wolves, scoring 38 times and amassing a team-leading 68 points, both career highs. If Saunders continues to build on his 2015 season, he’ll be a constant threat.
Kyle and Kevin Buchanan also provided solid efforts. Kyle was second on the team in points (62) and an impressive third in loose balls (98)—his loose ball total was the second-most in the NLL among forwards, making him a real two-way asset. Kevin finished third on the team in points (56) and fourth in loosies (89), giving the Wolves two excellent two-way players coming out the front door.
Picking up another strong piece or two via the draft to supplement the offense is not out of the question with a very deep rookie class expected to arrive in 2016, but New England doesn’t pick until eighth overall and then they wait until the third round to get their next selection, so they may be limited in their ability to improve that way.
The biggest troubles for New England are at the other end of the floor where they gave up the second-most goals in the league (249). Goalie Evan Kirk (13.55 goals against average, .728 save percentage) had a terrible season and needs to rebound back to his historical numbers.
The Black Wolves might need to go shopping for help here. Who knows? Maybe the Calgary Roughnecks might be willing to part with Mike Poulin now that Frankie Scigliano has proven he can be the starter….
Defensively, they have some work to do as well. They don’t have a top-10 guy in loose balls and their best caused turnovers guy, Mike McNamara (21) was tied for 20th best in the NLL. They’ll have to hope that a full season with Andrew Suitor will address some of that as well as looking to youngsters like Bill O’Brien, Brian Megill and Mike Diehl to mature quickly.
Mid-season acquisition Suitor will also need to pump up the transition game. The Black Wolves have very few players listed as transition players—in the modern, fast-paced NLL that can be a serious problem. A reclamation project like Calgary’s Tor Reinholdt—who hasn’t been able to make the impact the Roughnecks were hoping for when they took him in the first round two years ago—might be an option. If he’s just a late bloomer, someone like that might be a real find.
Maybe a Poulin-Reinholdt package deal could be a good fit for New England?
