With the 2015 National Lacrosse League regular season hitting the stretch run with six weekends left, Bob Chavez from IL Indoor has posted his updated NLL Rookie Report following four Week 12 games. While the likes of Ben McIntosh and Miles Thompson have been on the scene since preseason, others such as Jeremy Noble and Tyler Melnyk have recently emerged as impact players.
“You get the feeling Jeremy Noble feels the need to prove something? A week after making his National Lacrosse League debut with a 7-point game, the No. 2 overall draft pick came back and scored 4 goals to help the Colorado Mammoth win their second straight and, more importantly, keep pace with first-place Edmonton in the West Division,” Chavez writes. “The Mammoth are just half a game behind the Rush in the standings and with the season’s stretch run almost upon us, there’s no room for error. But with Noble carding 13 points in 2 games, it looks as though that margin of error has been drastically reduced for Colorado. Let’s see how Noble and the rest of the NLL rookies did in Week 12.”
1) Ben McIntosh (Edmonton Rush): The right-handed forward out of Coquitlam was without a goal for the first time this season in Saturday’s road win over Toronto. He had 2 assists, though, raising his season totals to 43 points on 19 goals and 24 assists, which drops into a tie for the rookie scoring race with Minnesota’s Miles Thompson.
2) Miles Thompson (Minnesota Swarm): The right-handed forward out of Onondaga Nation had 2 goals and 2 assists in Saturday’s road loss to Buffalo, giving him 2 goals in a game for a second straight week. He’s scored at least 1 goal in 5 straight games and at least a goal in 10 of his 11 games this season. Total, he’s got 43 points on 18 goals and 25 assists.
3) Jeremy Noble (Colorado Mammoth): The right-handed forward out of Orangeville, Ontario, made his debut last week with a 7-point effort, then came out this week to contribute 6 points on 4 goals and 2 assists in Saturday’s road win over Vancouver. The No. 2 overall draft pick has been uber impressive in his first 2 games … what’s he going to look like once he gets comfortable? Scary.
5) Tyler Melnyk (Edmonton Rush): The left-handed forward out of Calgary followed his 4-goal debut of Week 11 with 1 goal in Saturday’s road win over Toronto. That gives him 5 goals in 2 NLL games, along with a trusted role in the Edmonton offense.
8) Robert Hope (Colorado Mammoth): The left-handed defenseman out of Peterborough had 6 loose balls and forced 2 turnovers in Saturday’s road win over Colorado. He continues to be a steady and underrated presence for the Mammoth, whose defense did well to hold a potent Vancouver offense to 11 goals.
9) Jerome Thompson (Buffalo Bandits): The left-handed forward out of Nedrow, N.Y. had 0 points on 4 shots but did scoop 3 loose balls in Saturday’s home win over Minnesota.
10) Shane MacDonald (Minnesota Swarm): The left-hander out of Elora, Ontario, had 1 assist and scooped 2 loose balls in Saturday’s road loss to Buffalo.
The rest of the rooks: Buffalo T Brandon Goodwin may be finished for the season with a knee injury (torn meniscus) that will require surgery … New England D Sheldon Burns scooped 6 loose balls in Friday’s road loss to Calgary … New England D Bill O’Brien scooped 1 LB in Friday’s loss to Calgary but had 0 PIM for the second time in 3 games … Minnesota D Patrick Miles, out of Brampton, had 4 LBs in Saturday’s road loss to Buffalo … Buffalo F Matthew Bennett, out of Brampton, scooped 7 loose balls…
Click here for the full list of players on the Rookie Report for Week 12 by Bob Chavez on IL Indoor.
