The Rochester Rattlers lost Roy Lang in a trade with the Ohio Machine, but they brought in a strong veteran in Dan Groot. Overall, Rochester has been one of the most active teams this Major League Lacrosse off season.
After a horrendous 2011 campaign, Rochester had a chance to be a playoff team last season, finishing a game back of Long Island for post season play. Their young roster saw some breakout stars to go along with their established players.
They bring in Groot, and earlier in the month, they traded Kevin Drew to Charlotte for Billy Bitter. Though he was one of the faces of the expansion team, Bitter wasn’t the super star that Hounds expected.
After a terrific season in Denver in 2011, Bitter has become one of the biggest names in lacrosse, and of course he has loads of talent. Add him in with Ned Crotty and all of a sudden, the Rochester offense looks dangerous.
Other young players look like they will have impacts with the Rattlers. Jordan MacIntosh looked fantastic in this 2012 season. So now they have an attack unit of Crotty, Bitter and Steven Boyle, who was fourth on the team in points, and a midfield offense led by MacIntosh.
Mat Striebel and Brad Ross will also be forces on that midfield offense. The Rats acquired Ross from Boston midway through last season, and it looks like Rochester won that trade with Martin Cahill not performing with the Cannons.
Add the strong goaltending from John Galloway and some solid defenders like Steve DeNapoli and Joel White, and the Rattlers could be a contending team in 2013.
