With the playoffs just a few weeks away, Bob Chavez from IL Indoor has posted his updated NLL Rookie Report for Week 15 tracking the progress of the National Lacrosse League’s rising stars. Follow the development of first-year pros such as the Edmonton Rush’s Ben McIntosh, Minnesota Swarm’s Jeremy Thompson and Colorado Mammoth’s Jeremy Noble, in addition to many more, on Inside Lacrosse.
“Week 15 already? For most of us, it’s hard to believe,” Chavez writes. “For Corey Fowler, it’s about time. As in, that’s probably what he’s thinking after he finally got a chance to make his National Lacrosse League debut. The young forward was part of Buffalo’s big road win at Minnesota. But, of course, there are plenty of other rookies to keep our eyes on and that’s what Rookie Report is all about. Let’s see how they did in Week 15.”
1) Ben McIntosh (Edmonton Rush): The right-handed forward out of Coquitlam had 3 goals, 1 assist and 3 loose balls in Friday’s road loss to Calgary. Interestingly, he scored the first and final goals of the game, both assisted by Jarrett Davis. He followed that with 2 goals, 1 assist and 2 loose balls in Saturday’s home win over the Roughnecks for a 7-point weekend, giving him 67 points (30-37) and a commanding lead in the rookie scoring race.
2) Miles Thompson (Minnesota Swarm): The right-handed forward out of Onondaga Nation had 1 goal and 1 assists in Saturday’s home loss to Buffalo, matching the offensive output of his brother Jerome. He also scooped 6 loose balls and Saturday’s game gives him 52 points (23-29) in 15 games this season.
3) Jeremy Noble (Colorado Mammoth): OK, so the right-handed forward out of Orangeville, Ontario, had 1 goal and 2 assists along with a pair of loose balls in Saturday’s road loss to Rochester. The goal ended a streak of 2 straight games without a goal and in his 6 NLL games, he’s got 27 points on 9 goals and 18 assists.
4) Eli McLaughlin (Colorado Mammoth): The left-handed forward out of Surrey, B.C., was held to 1 assist in Saturday’s road loss to Rochester. He’s scored just 3 goals in his last 5 games.
5) Mark Cockerton (New England Black Wolves): The left-handed forward out of Oshawa had 2 goals and 3 assists in Sunday’s home loss to Vancouver. It’s his second 5-point effort in his last 5 games, giving him 22 points total (9-13) in the 8 games he’s played this season.
6) Jerome Thompson (Buffalo Bandits): The left-handed forward out of Nedrow, N.Y., had 1 goal, 1 assist and scooped 4 LBs in Saturday’s road win over Minnesota. The 2-point game gives him 23 points (9-14) in the 11 games he’s played this season.
The rest of the rooks: The Vancouver Stealth rookie G tandem of Eric Penney and Cody Hagedorn saw time in Friday’s road loss to Toronto. Penney got the start, and the loss, after making 31 saves on 43 shots. Hagedorn played the final 14 minutes and made 9 saves on 11 shots in his NLL debut … In Sunday’s road win over New England, Penney got the win after making an impressive 59 saves on 68 shots … Colorado D Mike Woods scooped 1 loose ball in Saturday’s road loss to Rochester … Colorado F Mike Burke had 2 assists and scooped 5 LBs in Saturday’s road loss to Rochester … Buffalo F Corey Fowler made his NLL debut and had 1 assists with 6 LBs in Saturday’s road win over Minnesota … Minnesota D Patrick Miles had 1 assist and 7 loose balls in Saturday’s home loss to Buffalo … Vancouver F Conrad Chapman scooped 2 loose balls in Sunday’s road…
Click here for the full list of players on the NLL Rookie Report for Week 15 by Bob Chavez on IL Indoor.