2014 Minnesota Swarm Training Camp - Transition

December 4, 2014

The transition corps comes back strong again in 2015. Deep, multi-skilled and multi-talented, this group will be contributing on every spot on the floor.

Jordan MacIntosh is Mr. Transition, as he is the two-time defending NLL Transition Player of the Year. The team's third leading scorer also led the team in loose balls and faceoffs taken and won. Wherever he is needed, MacIntosh goes and plays well but this year I think the team maybe sees him playing a bit more defense than offense and maybe not taking as many faceoffs based on other acquistions made by the team. If this turns out to be true, it will ease the pressure on MacIntosh to do everything for the team, leaving him a bit fresher for the long haul.

The captain, Andrew Suitor, came back in 2014 after missing most of 2013 due to a knee injury and picked up right where he left off. I tend to wonder if he can hold up at times considering how hard-charging he is all the time but after showing he was back in 2014, he will want to bring show the league that the Swarm are back to relevancy in 2015.

Kiel Matisz is sort of in the same boat as MacIntosh as where he will play will be dependent on how new acquisitions do. He may get more time on defense if righties like Miles Thompson and Scott Jones are consistent contributors. If not, then more time on offense will be needed from him. Either way, the Swarm will be able to use Matisz wherever he is needed with max results.

Jason Noble returns for his second season with the Swarm and will be looking for a better start to the season. He had to serve an one-game suspension early in 2014 and it took a while for him to ramp it up but by season's end, he was showing why he was drafted 3rd in 2013. David Earl will be back for his fourth Swarm season and will be crucial once again in gaining possessions off faceoffs and putting away some goals on transition.

With Tyler Hass traded to Vancouver, the Swarm acquired Ethan O'Connor from the Rock for Brock Sorensen to offset those losses. O'Connor had a fine rookie season with Toronto and his ability to take face offs should free up MacIntosh to do other things.

The Swarm also will have Sam Bradman finally for an entire camp. The 2012 draftee is finally able to commit to the team and with the flash we in the 2012 pre-season game in Rochester, the team hopes he will be able to recreate that going forward. The team also drafted Eric Guiltinan this year to add some grit to the transition corps.

My hunch is the Swarm will carry six transition players into the season with Bradman and Guiltinan missing out. Bradman could very well end up on the practice roster while Guiltinan will get a chance to play in CLAX. The top six will be tough to crack and for either Bradman or Guiltinan to do so they will have to show great ability to play on both sides of the ball. Either way, the transition unit is where the Swarm hang their hat and much will be expected of them in 2015.