Five Takeaways From the Minto Cup Round Robin

The round robin of the 2025 Minto Cup has come and gone, with the Orangeville Northmen advancing and the Raiders Lacrosse Club being eliminated. The Coquitlam Adanacs and St. Catharines Athletics will square off tonight in the play-in game to reach the final series, which will begin Thursday. 

It’s been a great week of lacrosse, featuring two overtime games and a few blowouts as well. Last night’s game between Orangeville and St. Catharines was an instant classic that felt more like the championship game than it did a game that ultimately had little effect on the standings. 

With lots to recap and lots to look forward to, let’s dive into five takeaways from the tournament so far. As always, find the rest of our Minto coverage here.

Not The Worst Thing for Orangeville 

Last night obviously didn’t go how the Northmen hoped, but the result is not the worst case scenario for Orangeville. Most importantly, they did enough to secure themselves the bye into the final series, so they accomplished the task at hand in the round-robin. 

That bye is crucial due to the extra day off. Orangeville can get some much needed rest and recovery tonight and get another live scout on the Adanacs tonight. The team that gets the bye into the finals almost always wins the Minto Cup. There are a few reasons for that (namely the best team usually gets the bye and wins the cup) but still, the Northmen will take it. 

From a team attitude perspective, a reality check is not a bad thing before the final series. Complacency is a dangerous thing in summer lacrosse, and the Northmen staff will be able to use last night’s loss to motivate their guys and remind them that winning this tournament will require their absolute best effort. 

This same thing happened to the Adanacs last year, where they lost the last game of the round robin then showed up ready to play in the finals. 

The 12 goals surrendered last night were tied for the most the Northmen have given up all season, so shoring up that end of the floor will be the focus before Thursday. 

Penalties Are Costly

More than usual, discipline and penalties have played a big part in this Minto Cup. Regardless of what you think about the reffing, there have been way too many undisciplined penalties, especially for St. Catharines. 

Orangeville scored 5 power play goals last night on 11 chances. Again, I understand why fans are frustrated by some of the calls, but that’s way too many. I do think there was an element of intimidation for later in the tournament and I understand that angle. 

But it’s basically do-or-die from here on, and spending lots of time on the penalty kill is a way to lose games quickly. 

Expect the whistle to be tight, and adjust accordingly. If not you will watch someone else play in the finals. 

Malawsky is Improved 

One of the biggest takeaways this week is that Cody Malawsky looks bigger and better than last year. That’s saying something, because he was arguably the best non-goaltender in the tournament last year. 

When I say bigger, I do mean literally. After another year at Denver, Malawsky looks bigger and heavier than he did last year, and he is using it to get to the goal and hold off defenders while he scans for lanes to pass. 

Watch the way he puts his shoulder into his defender yesterday. He is basically unbothered by the defender and has the skill to flip a one-handed pass back to Ryan Colsey. 

On his goal yesterday, he took a loose ball right to the net. While obviously a good opportunity, the Raiders did have a defender slide over and deliver a cross-check. Malawsky seemed unfazed and took it right to the goal. His added size helps him get to the front of the net, but the finishing ability is nothing new. 

The St. Catharines game plan tonight will center around big number 2 for the Adanacs. 

Deadline Pickups Come Up Huge for St. Catharines 

While there was much discussion about the great history of the Athletics, the team was led last night by two players who have only worn the jersey for a few weeks. Trade deadline pickups Chuck Rawson (Burlington) and Lukas Nielsen (New Westminster) were dominant offensively for St. Catharines. Rawson finished with 3 goals and 3 assists, while Nielsen finished with 4 goals. 

Coming into a new team can be difficult, and Nielsen and Rawson have both had to adjust to playing with new players in a new system, while not upsetting the balance. Last night, they both stepped up and delivered in the biggest moments. 

Rawson is a smooth player, I compared him last night to my teammate Adam Poitras, himself a former Minto Cup MVP. Here is a good example, with Rawson making the smooth play to get underneath and finish. 

Here is a clip of Poitras doing the same.

For Nielsen, it was his off-ball activity which stuck out, especially in getting to the wrong side of the floor and finishing quick-sticks from the wrong side. 

They will need to keep scoring tonight against a very good Adanac defence, we will see what happens. 

Does St. Catharines Have the Legs?

Last night was a great evening for the Athletics, as they secured a massive victory in front of their home crowd. It will be something that all of those players remember forever. 

But Coquitlam had to enjoy watching the Athletics play 70 minutes of incredibly physical lacrosse, only for them to still not get the bye. The biggest thing I am watching tonight is whether the Athletics have enough legs to keep going. 

Coquitlam hasn’t played a close game in this tournament. After getting blown out by Orangeville, they were on the winning side of two blowouts in their remaining two games. Last night, they basically cruised through the third period. 

One thing helping the Athletics will be the home crowd. There were almost 2,000 people in attendance last night, and I expect more than that tonight. Almost all of them will be cheering for the Athletics. 

The key for St. Catharines will be avoiding the early let-down. They have made big runs in each game, but starts have been tricky. They will not be able to dig themselves out of a big hole against this Adanac team. 

It should be a dandy tonight on NLL+. I’ll be on the call with Jake Elliott, Pat Gregoire and Ashley Docking!