Friday night, I was lucky to take in the OJLL game between Orangeville and Mimico game at Tony Rose arena. I called the game for the OJLL as well, and while we couldn’t broadcast live due to Wi-Fi issues, the full game can be found below.
A Couple Things is a new series where I will discuss the things I am seeing in games all across the country. Sometimes I will have many thoughts, and sometimes only a few. Hence the name, a couple things.
So let’s get into A Couple Things I noticed in the game.
Mimico is Deep
They scored just 8 goals, but I was still impressed with the Mimico offence.
Finn Thomson is one of the two best players in the OJLL this season. I’m not sure how many people realize just how incredible it is to have Finn and Willem Firth both in the OJLL right now. In any normal year, they would clearly run away with the scoring title and MVP award.
But both of them are off to incredible starts. Finn has 29 points in his 4 games, while Firth is up to 36 points in his 4 games. They are similar players in some ways, especially in the ways that they let the game come to them. This is an unusual trait for superstar players, but it separates them. The average fan might not immediately notice them at a game, but the scoresheet never lies and these are two of the most productive players we have seen.
But the Mimico offence is deep as well. They have a solid left side with big bodies Mark Watters and Lucas Dudemaine, and Isaiah Moran-Weekes is a nice players that is always buzzing around. NLL fans should think of Buffalo’s Kyle Buchanan as a sort of comparison.
Righties Justin Lee and Ryan Stines will be important, both in getting Finn open and capitalizing off his incredible passing. If they can get production from everyone, look out.
God Bless America
The American influence in the OJLL is strong and getting stronger. Orangeville got forward Joe Spallina to come back north of the border this season. He is one of the best Americans to ever play in the OJLL (other candidates include Casey Powell and Joe Resetarits) and is back for more. He is joined by his brother Jake this year, a defender.
They were two of the six Syracuse players in the game. The Canadian influence from Syracuse is no surprise, considering their Coach is arguably the greatest player to ever play the sport. But his influence in getting Americans up north is important for the OJLL and for the growth of the box sport.
Mimico also has Americans, in forward Ryan Stines and defender Henry Camponiti. Stines was the ASUN player of the year and led the Utah Utes to the NCAA tournament, while Camponiti was a teammate of Dudemaine’s on the quarterfinal making Georgetown Hoyas.
There are other players around the league from the States as well (which I hope to write about soon), but credit to all of these players on making the jump and coming up here for the summer. Credit to the clubs as well for figuring out the logistics.
Trey Deere in His Bag of Tricks
Orangeville forward Trey Deere has a bag of tricks unlike many others in the league. He was around the goal all night in this one, and finished with three goals. The first one was pretty slick, as he used a fake behind the back shot to set up a wrap around shot.
He had shades of Connor Fields, who has really perfected this move.
Deere scored two other goals and could have had more. He’s a fun player to watch for fans of the box game.
Everybody Can Play
Mimico and Beaches are fairly unanimously considered the two best clubs in the OJLL, and both of them have had to work for their. Orangeville will be a very tough out, while Oakville and Brampton have goaltenders with NLL experience. Whitby found a win and still has several Minto Cup Champions on the roster. St. Catharines has played a tough schedule and has time to figure it out. Peterborough has only played twice.
My point is that there are a lot of good teams. It’s a BC Minto year which means only one team will be dancing at the end of this. It’s going to be a fun summer.