Photo Credit: Toronto Rock

The 2024 NLL Training Camp is officially over. It’s game week.

Most teams around the league were in action this weekend with several more preseason scrimmages taking place. Today is the roster deadline for teams, so roster decisions will need to take place around the league.

Some have already happened, and they will be noted in the team by team descriptions listed below.

There is a lot to get through this week, so let’s get right into the NLL Training Camp Roundup.

Albany Firewolves

The Firewolves finished their camp with a team weekend in Albany rather than a scrimmage. The weekend kicked off with some good news as Doug Jamieson was named the best goaltender in the NLL by coaches and general managers.

The weekend included some fan events and a few practice sessions.

And they even found time to get on the ice and take part in a team curling event!

The Firewolves finalized most of their roster decisions last week before the weekend. They released Jackson Reid from the Active Roster and signed Ben MacDonnell to the practice player list.

They kick off the season Saturday at home against the Saskatchewan Rush.

Buffalo Bandits

The Bandits scrimmaged on Saturday, but have kept a low profile on social media throughout the preseason. They did take care of some roster decisions, releasing Cory Highfield, Kellen Pulera, Christian Watts, and Taite Cattoni from the Active Roster.

Goaltender Evan Constantopoulos and Taylor Dooley were signed to the Practice Player List.

The Bandits also placed Emerson Clark on the Injured Reserve list.

The Bandits are off this weekend and will open their campaign against the Knighthawks at Blue Cross Arena on Saturday December 7th.

Calgary Roughnecks

The Roughnecks defeated the Vancouver Warriors 14-13 Saturday at the Langley Events Center, winning the game in a… shootout.

While not officially part of the NLL rulebook, coaches Josh Sanderson and Curt Malawsky agreed on a shootout to end the tie breaker, with new Roughneck forward Mathieu Gautier winning the game for the Roughnecks.

Check out a recap of the weekend below.

And watch Sanderson’s message to the team after the scrimmage.

As always, the Roughnecks did a great job with their player interviews as well, first with Captain Jesse King.

And from the eventual game winner Gautier as well.

Following the game, the Roughnecks made a host of roster decisions on Sunday. Jackson Ganton was released, while Justin Morgan, Riley Isaacs, Matthew Abbott and Austin Ducommun were assigned to the practice player list.

In some related moves, Kieran McKay was added to the Injured Reserve, while Aiden Hindson was released from the evaluation list.

The Roughnecks are also off this weekend, and will start their 2024-2025 campaign on Saturday December 7th at Halifax.

Colorado Mammoth

The Mammoth published their own recap of the camp so far, so check that out on their website and below.

This past weekend, the Mammoth lost 11-9 to the Rochester Knighthawks Saturday at the TRAC. Connor Kelly had a hat-trick while Zed Williams and Will Malcom also scored.

In terms of roster moves, the Mammoth added Ryan Lee to the Active Roster in a great sign for fans in Denver. Lee is one of the best players in the world who has suffered multiple severe injuries over the last few years. He is a welcome site for the Mammoth.

They also added Brent Mitchell and Kai George to the Injured Reserve, and released Carson Moyer and Thomas Vaesen from the Active Roster. Evan Zinn was released from the draft list as well.

The Mammoth begin their season Friday in Denver against the Colorado Mammoth.

Georgia Swarm

The Swarm were back in action this week for their final weekend of training camp, and have already made their roster decisions this morning.

They announced Monday morning that they have released Liam McGrath, Brady Kearnan, Grant Breyo, Connor Boss and Carter Page from the Active Roster. McGrath, Breyo, and Page all signed to the practice squad.

They also placed Alex Bean and Calum Leaver-Preyra on the Hold Out list, and released Anthony Patterson, Piper Bond, and Jeff Connor from the Hold Out list. Caleb Kueber was released from the PUP list.

The Swarm don’t start the season until December 7th when they take on the Seals in Georgia.

Halifax Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds won their preseason scrimmage over the Ottawa Black Bears 13-12 on Saturday, finishing off their camp in style.

Dawson Theede and Clarke Petterson had 2 goals each for the Thunderbirds.

The Thunderbirds made a big roster move last week, signing veteran defender Mitch Wilde after he was released by Ottawa.

They also made a slew of roster moves on Sunday. Ashton Brown, Austin Blumbergs and Curtis Romanchych were signed to the practice player list, while Louis Alfred was placed on the PUP and Alex Kew on the season-ending IR list. Will Cecile was also added to the Injured Reserve.

They kick off their season at home against Calgary in two weeks.

Vegas Desert Dogs

The Dogs were in San Diego for practices this weekend, and have yet to make roster decisions this week.

They kick off the season Saturday at Rochester.

Ottawa Black Bears

The biggest news of the weekend was that the Black Bears debuted their new uniforms in their scrimmage against the Thunderbirds. Designed by Larson Sundown, the new uniforms looked great.

The Black Bears have yet to make their final roster decisions as of this writing.

They kick off their season Friday with their inaugural game at the Canadian Tire Center in Ottawa against the Rock.

Philadelphia Wings

The Wings lost a tight one to the Toronto Rock Saturday at the TRAC by a final score of 12-11. Mitch Jones had 4 goals in the fourth quarter for the Wings.

Like the rest of Toronto’s preseason contests, the game was streamed in full on the Rock’s Youtube page. Check out the stream below!

For the rest of the news and notes from Wings camp, check out the recap from team reporter Mary McGuinness.

The Wings made some roster moves on Sunday. Blaze Riorden and Holden Cattoni were added to the Active Roster from the PUP list, while Nick Rowlett was added to the Injured Reserve. Stone Jacobs, Kevin Lynch, and Nathan Fehr were added to the practice player list, while Matt Kuhn was released.

The Wings begin their season Sunday at Pechanga Arena in San Diego.

Rochester Knighthawks

The Knighthawks beat the Colorado Mammoth 11-9 on Saturday afternoon at the TRAC. Ryan Smith had at least two goals, including this one on the powerplay.

They also made some roster moves ahead of the season. Kevin Orleman, Jacob Piseno, Tyler Halls and Austin Hasen were all assigned to the Practice Player list.

The Hawks begin the season Saturday at home against the Vegas Desert Dogs.

San Diego Seals

The Seals were completely off this weekend in preparation for their first game of the season on Sunday.

They made some roster moves last week, releasing Ben Stewart and assigning Jake Govett, Tyden Redlick, and Ty Thompson to the practice player list.

Saskatchewan Rush

In a surprising development, the Rush joined the Albany Firewolves and spent the weekend curling.

Aside from that, the Rush practiced on the weekend rather than scrimmage. Hear from Co-Head Coach Jimmy Quinlain about the last day of camp.

From a roster perspective, the Rush released Evan Messenger and assigned Josh Zawada and Keegan Bell to the practice player list. Connor McClelland was assigned to the Injured Reserve and Mackenzie Burke was released from the Hold Out list.

The Rush begin their season Saturday in Albany.

Toronto Rock

The Rock were victorious Saturday over the Wings in a game that was streamed in full.

Or if highlights are more your thing, check out the recap from the Rock below. Full stats from the game can also be found here.

Hear from right-handed forwards Josh Dawick and Chris Boushy following the victory.

The Rock released Chase Schiavon, Sam Haines, and Landen Sinfield from the Active Roster.

They begin the season Friday against the Ottawa Black Bears in Ottawa.

Vancouver Warriors

Rounding out the weekend, the Warriors lost in a shootout to the Calgary Roughnecks to bring their preseason schedule to a close.

Check out a full recap of the game from the Warriors here.

And hear from Head Coach Curt Malawsky below.

And defender Matt Beers.

Unfortunately for Warriors fans, most of the roster moves so far have been the worst kind. Steph Charbonneau, Riley Loewen, Brad McCulley and Ryan Sheridan were all added to the Injured Reserve. They also released Brandon Humphrey and Anthony Kalinich.

The Warriors begin the season Saturday in Denver.

Stay tuned for more roster updates, including the official rosters, throughout the day Monday!

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