2008 Minnesota Swarm Season Preview

2008 Minnesota Swarm Roster

The National Lacrosse League's youngest team last year enters their fourth year even younger. The average age of the 23 man active roster is 24 1/2 years, give or take a day or two. Yet, the Minnesota Swarm return eight players from their first year and another, Riley Kemp (0g 5a) begins the year on injured reserve. Over the history of the team, Swarm General Manager Marty O'Neill, the 2007 NLL General Manager of the Year, has looked for and acquired players that fit in well with a team concept even though I don't think he would turn down the chance to get a player like 2007 NLL Most Valuable Player John Grant for the right price. So entering year four, O'Neill has identified a core of players, very young when they first arrived in 2005, that fit the team concept and now have the experience to lead the newer players that O'Neill hopes will repeat the same process.

The Swarm are led by their only captain in team history, Ryan Cousins. The 2007 NLL Defensive Player of the Year and three time All-Star for the Swarm, Cousins had a fantastic year last year in which he scored nine goals, fourteen assists and scooped up a Swarm record 108 loose balls. Last year, Swarm fans got to see a more well rounded Cousins as he got a chance to show off his transition skills in addition to the tough defense he already had provided.

Cousins is supported by three solid defenders who have found a home in Minnesota. Eric Pacey (1g 5a), Jon Sullivan (0g 6a) and Noah Talbot (1g 8a) are the backbone of the defense. Pacey brings the muscle and a physical presence on defense with a bit of speed. Sullivan and Talbot are grinders who can man up most any opponent without committing numerous penalties.

Even with the above four, the Swarm still gave up second most goals in the league last year after giving up the second least in 2006 under then defensive assistant coach Paul St. John. Some of this maybe due to the Swarm being more run and gun under Swarm Head Coach Duane Jacobs who arrived in 2007 and referees calling things more closely. Still they did give up over two more goals per game in 2007 than 2006 which in a league where many games are decided by one or two goals can come back to bite you. The Swarm hope that Kyle Ross, who finally got game action with the Swarm late last year will become a fixture. The Swarm have also brought in Nick Inch and second round draft pick Chris Courtney to round out the defense.

It will be interesting to see how Minnesota decides who will take face offs for the team. Entering last year, there was not much optimism but that turned quickly as Mark Miyashita (3g 5a) clearly became the Swarm's number one face off man. Miyashita, the first overall pick in the 2003 Entry Draft by the since defunct Vancouver Ravens, couldn't quite find a comfort level in his first two years of his career and even when signed as a free agent by the Swarm the day before the start of the 2006 season was released once during that season before being re-signed later that year. Finally in 2007, Swarm fans got to see the real Miyashita as he controlled the face off circle winning 60% (129/215) of the face offs and scooping up 98 loose balls in eight games until he tore his ACL in March in a game against Philadelphia. When that occurred, another Swarm player finally got the opportunity to stand up and that player was Travis Hill (1g 7a). For the first two and half years of his career with the Swarm, T. Hill couldn't break into the lineup but when he got his chance he excelled. Even though he only won 44% of face offs last year, T. Hill made the loss of Miyashita more manageable especially considering the other injuries that were befalling the Swarm towards the end of the year. So along with Miyashita and T. Hill, O'Neill acquired two more players who are more than capable of taking face offs in first round draft pick Justin Norbraten and Darren Halls (2g 4a), who was acquired in a draft day trade from Boston. With these four players, not only are the Swarm deep at the face off circle, all four are very capable defensively and Miyashita and Norbraten can help out offensively.

Offensively, the Swarm are more than willing to share the load. The attack starts with Ryan Ward (23g 52a). Ward sets up the offense and is a fantastic passer. He also has a hard shot he likes to take top center. Last year, Ward clicked often on the right side with Sean Pollock (26g 41a), who is not afraid to take shots going to the net. Pollock had his best year last year and is the only player left from the Swarm's expansion draft of 2004, The Swarm's biggest offseason acquisition is righthanded forward Craig Point, who the Swarm acquired in a draft day trade from Boston, who drafted him third overall in the 2007 Draft. Point is expected to give a huge boost to the power play with his hard shot.

The Swarm's left side of the offense is just as deep as the right side. Parked just left of the crease and ready to shoot will be Dean Hill (32g 21a). Hill, with his size and quick stick, emerged in his first full season last year as he set the Swarm single season record for goals. Back for a fourth season with the Swarm, Chad Culp (13g 24a) is looking to get off to a better start in 2008 than in 2007. Maybe the most clutch Swarm offensive player, Culp has four game winning goals in his Swarm career. Last year, the Swarm acquired Mike Hominuck (18g 34a) from Portland in a midseason trade. The lanky Hominuck energized the offense with 12 goals in six games before injury ended his season. A full season of Hominuck should produce big results. Returning for a third season with the Swarm, Rory McDade (4a) will be looking for more playing time but may lose out to Andy Secore (10g 12a), who the Swarm acquired from Arizona in November's dispersal draft.

Jacobs likes his players to be capable of playing on both sides of the field. We're talking transition players, players that can adapt to most any situation. The Swarm's best transition player is Ryan Sharp (3g 8a). An All-Star in 2006 with Portland, Sharp was acquired in a trade midseason last year. The Swarm expect him to return to 2006 form after a season of adjustment in 2007. Jacobs also is looking for Norbraten and Colin Achenbach, an offseason free agent signing from Burnsville, to perform a similar transition role.

Now we get goaltending. Nick Patterson (7-5 11.43 GAA .775 Save %) is now the undisputed number one goaltender in Minnesota. For the last two years, Patterson has been named the NLL 2nd Team All-Pro goaltender. With Matt Disher in Edmonton now, it is the 25 year old Patterson's time to make history. However, if Patterson should falter, the Swarm will have rookie Kevin Croswell ready to step in. Drafted in 2006, Croswell was on the Swarm's practice roster last year but O'Neill feels that Croswell is ready to step between the pipes when needed.

Every year the Swarm have improved record wise upon the previous year. The opportunity is there for that to occur again. It will be tough with one less team in the league and those players being dispersed throughout the league giving each team more depth. For the Swarm to reach the next level, they have to prove themselves against the Buffalo Bandits, who have ended the Swarm's season in the playoffs the last two years. Until that happens, the Swarm will be third behind Buffalo and 2007 NLL champion Rochester. Will this be the year for that advancement? How long will it take to incorporate Point, Inch, Norbraten, Secore,etc. into the lineup? Will Patterson stand up for all sixteen games? Those and other questions should be answered this season as the Minnesota Swarm defend your turf.