Last week the National Lacrosse League announced the six finalists for the hall of fame to be voted on by the media, coaches and teams.To be elected to the hall, the individual (or team) needs 75% of the ballot voting in their favor. Below we will take a look at the nominees and why or why they should not make it.
Kaleb Toth
Toth is arguably the greatest Roughneck of all time. He played for 13 seasons, 11 in Calgary and scored 713 career points in a Calgary uniform. He is the Calgary all time leader in games played, points and assists and has two championships with the Riggers.
Why he should make it: A franchise leader in almost every category possible, has his number retired and brought two championships to Calgary.
Why he shouldn’t: It might be able to be argued that Toth was never the top player of his time in a league with Casey Powell, John Grant Jr, Shawn Williams and others. However, this is a tough argument.
Pat McCready
A 17 year player, McCready was one of the best defensemen of his time. He played with just two teams, Buffalo and Rochester, and registered 384 career points and 1,593 loose balls. He is a former NLL defensive player of the year and a fpur time NLL champion.
Why he should make it: There is no doubt he was a top three defensive player of his eraand has helped win four championships in his career. He has played in eight championship games.
Why he shouldn’t: The only argument that can be made is he is 4-4 in championship games and some would argue a player like him isn’t an “impact” player.
Pat O’Toole
O’Toole spent his entire career in Rochester and Buffalo as a goaltender. He was the 2003 goalie of the year, has the second most saves in league history, and is a two time championship winner. He has a career 11.40 goals against average.
Why he should make it: He is obviously one of the best goaltenders in league history, and has won two championships.
Why he shouldn’t: He is 9-9 in the playoffs in his career, which might be a black mark. However, it is hard to argue when he has a better goals against average than any hall of famer other than Bob Watson.
Chris Drsicoll
Driscoll played for 19 years with Rochester and Toronto. He had 488 points in his career and has won three championship titles in the league.
Why he should make it: The longevity alone is impressive, and reached the playoffs 12 of his 19 years.
Why he shouldn’t: At no point was Drsicoll one of the top five players in the league.
Regy Thorpe
Thorpe was a 15 year defenseman in the NLL. He played his entire career with Rochester, something rare in this league, and scored 76 points in his career. He has won two championships out of six appearances and was their captain in 2007.
Why he should make it: An all time great in franchise history for the Knighthawks who was a captain and brought two championships to the team.
Why he shouldn’t: Just like Driscoll, at no point was Thorpe a top five player in the league.
1993 Buffalo Bandits
The league has never inducted an entire team before, but the Bandits at 8-0 in 1993 are the only team to ever go through an entire season undefeated.
Why they should make it: As the only undefeated team in league history, they are a historical landmark for the league.
Why they shouldn’t: Because in most hall of fames an entire team being elected is rare, and in 1993 there were only two other teams in the entire league that were over .500.
