It’s hard to believe we’re only two weeks away from the 2024 NLL playoffs. After a jam-packed weekend the playoff picture has begun to settle. But with spots five through eight still un for grabs, and three teams a game behind eighth, the final two weeks will be interesting.
Ryan Dilks, Vancouver Warriors
Oh how the Vancouver Warriors have snuck up on us.
At the beginning of March, sitting with a record of 2-8, it looked as if this was another year to flush down the toilet for the newly re-modeled Warriors. But you can never count out a team Coached by Curt Malawsky.
Since then, they’re winners of five of their last six games and are currently on a four-game win-streak. The great run of form has put them back in the hunt just a game behind eight with just two games left in the season.
One of those new pieces who was brought in to make a difference was Ryan Dilks. The veteran defender leads to league in caused turnovers and it’s clear why. In the comeback victory over the Halifax Thunderbirds, Dilks shut down the skip lanes by getting his stick in front of numerous passes. Only being credited with two CTOs on the night has to be a mistake as there were many opportunities in which he broke up dangerous cross floor feeds.
Dilks shut down the left side for Halifax to one goal collectively on the night. He never gave up a step, stayed on their hands when they tried to make plays, and flat out bullied them.
This next clip with Dawson Theede says it all. The Thunderbirds got the ball down low to Theede who began to drive Dilks to the net as if he was posting him up. To no avail, Dilks stood his ground and forced Theede to give up on the play and throw a careless bounce pass which was grabbed by a Warriors defender.
Dilks has provided this Warriors defence with championship experience, leadership, and shutdown defence that neutralizes his opponents with feet and fist.
Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds
The big man in Halifax was a force on Friday night in Vancouver. Hossack’s size and strength jump off the screen and he imposes his will on opponents when scrapping for loose balls, playing one-on-one defence, or sliding to put the ball on the turf.
Placing Hossack on the ball team has been a great move by Halifax’s coaching staff. It allows them to capitalize on his ability to make tough loose balls seem easy. First, Hossack made a great cut immediately after the faceoff which culminated in a great shot and a Kobe Assist for Hossack as Clarke Petterson scored.
The on the ensuing draw, Hossack lined up in the offensive end. The ball was kicked towards the Warriors bench causing Hossack to make a hard cut right.
Although a Warriors defender was pressuring him up his right side, Hossack’s momentum was never altered. In pursuit, he knocked over the defender, picked up the ball, and created a prime scoring opportunity that missed by a few inches. A loose ball that looked 50-50 going into it was always going to end up Hossack’s stick.
Everyone knows how elite of a defender Hossack is. There are so many areas on the defensive end where he dominates; in isolation, the two-man game, and sliding to end possessions. Late in the game Halifax was down two and needed a stop. They locked off Keegan Ball which forced the Warriors to play four-on-four. The ball got swung down to the corner on the right side and Hossack was the top defender in the two-man game.
Instead of setting a down pick, the player stayed high allowing the low forward to attack his defender with space. Jake Withers was sticky and tied up the player, which Hossack sniffed out and doubled the ball, sending the man and ball to the turf. It led to a grade-A chance in transition.
That’s a small sample size of all that he does on the defensive end, but Hossack’s IQ and strength are what make him elite.
Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan Rush
The Saskatchewan Rush and the Calgary Roughnecks squared off in a crucial back-to-back in which both teams traded wins. Mike Messenger led the charge for the Rush in both contests, dominating the X, middle of the floor, and defensive end.
Over the two games Messenger amassed five points (2 goals, 3 assists) 30 loose balls, two blocked shots (both during Friday’s contest), and went 40-for-51 at the X (78.4%). A player with his skillet is a coach’s dream – you can use him anywhere. Especially when it gets down to crunch time this point of the season, coaches want their best players on the floor as much as possible. Messenger makes that easy.
After a crushing 12-10 loss Friday night where the Rush out-shot the Roughnecks 52 to 29, their backs were against the wall. Going home to SaskTel centre to play in front of the home crowd might’ve widened the net, but those chances wouldn’t have come without Messenger controlling the faceoff circle and, in turn, momentum.
In the first half of the game, the Rush scored four goals off the ensuing possession from the faceoff. With the Rush jumping out to an early lead, which they maintained all night, those quick response goals were suffocating for the Roughnecks preventing them from closing the gap.
With 17 second left in the first quarter, following Haiden Dickson’s goal to make it 3-2, Messenger won the faceoff and came away with the loose ball out of a scrum. It gave Head Coach Jimmy Quinlan the opportunity to draw up a play one final play, which the Rush converted on and went back into the locker room with two-goal lead.
First, the loose ball.
Then the goal.
In the second quarter, the Rush picked up where they left off by scoring off the opening faceoff. After scoring another goal on the powerplay just 20 seconds later, the Rush extended their lead from one to four in the matter of a minute – with Messenger at the centre of those chances.
Just five minutes later, Messenger was back at it again. After the Roughnecks scored a short-handed goal to make it 6-4 in favour of the Rush, Messenger came away with the ensuing faceoff and the Rush scored on the powerplay to make it 7-4. The very next play, Messenger won the faceoff and ran down the gut of the Roughnecks defense to score his first of the game and 12th of the season to put the Rush back up four.
Messenger is a catalyst for this group due to his ability to control the game at the faceoff circle. Those four goals were the difference in the Rush keeping control of the game as it buried the Roughnecks into a deficit they could never overcome.