Every year we make predictions at year’s end for the NLL, MLL, and other things. As we end the 2014 year, with no game play beginning again until 2015, let’s take a look at what we got right and wrong.
What Was Right
Outlaws Curse Broken- Brendan Staudt
On January 22nd in Brendan’s MLL predictions post he mentioned this could be the year the Outlaws break the streak, led by John Grant Jr. How right that was!
Harder for Rookies to Make Rosters- David Ashby
David predicted in our Ten NLL Stories to Watch post that with the shortened rosters, rookies might struggle to make NLL teams. Sure enough, only a select few rookies (Leung, Schuss, Church, Loewen) were impact stars right away.
Knighthawk Champions- Marisa Ingemi, Brendan Staudt, Rocco Granato
Marisa, Brendan, and Rocco all predicted that the defending champs would win their third straight in the NLL seasons predictions post on December 27th.
Cody Jamieson MVP- Alex Urquhart, Brendan Staudt
Brendan and Alex predicted correctly that the Rochester Knighthawks star forward would be the most valuable player in the league.
Logan Schuss Rookie of the Year- Dan Pattison, Jim Flannery, Marisa Ingemi, Brendan Staudt, Brian Davies
As the first overall pick, this was an obvious prediction to make as the Swarm rookie stepped up his game all season.
Matt Vinc Goalie of the Year- Ian Neadle, Dan Pattison, Marisa Ingemi, Alex Urquhart, Brian Davies
Once again, an obvious pick every single season as Vinc has become the elite goaltender in the NLL.
What Was Almost Right
Eastern Standings- Marisa Ingemi, Dan Pattison
While nobody completely got the order correct (Rochester, Toronto, Buffalo, Philadelphia, Minnesota), a few people came close. Marisa got it all correct except for switching Minnesota and Philly around, and Dan had the same result.
Garrett Billings MVP- Marisa Ingemi, Dan Pattison
Garrett Billings was on pace to be the NLL MVP before he tore his ACL. He would have ultimately been the winner possibly if not for the injury.
What Was Way Wrong
Ohio Machine in Last Place- Brendan Staudt
On January 22nd, Brendan posted his MLL season predictions with the Ohio Machine in last place. They ended up in the playoffs and battled Rochester for a chance to go to the finals.
Swarm As a Top Team- Alex Urquhart
In the 10 NLL stories to watch post, Alex Urquhart predicted the Swarm rookies would make them a top team in 2014. They finished last in the east.
Coach of the Year?- Everybody
Nobody ever predicted that Derek Keenan, who led the Edmonton Rush to the best season in their history, would win the head coach of the year.
