NLL Off-Season In Review: Buffalo Bandits

Bandits coach and GM Darris Kilgour has been coaching in the NLL for eleven seasons, and no team coached by him has ever missed the playoffs. 2011 was another successful year for the Bandits – they ended up tied with the Rock and Knighthawks in the east but finished first thanks to tiebreakers. After beating the Blazers in the first round, they lost to the eventual champion Toronto Rock in the division finals. I wrote last week that the Washington Stealth scored more goals than anyone but allowed the second most – the Bandits were the other way around. Only three teams scored fewer goals than the Bandits, but only one allowed fewer. Put another way, the average Bandits game had four and a half fewer goals (20.5) than the average Stealth game (25).

Presumably during the off-season, Kilgour looked over these numbers and decided that improving the offense was an absolute requirement. Mission accomplished.

Who's In

Kevin Buchanan: Acquired From: Boston dispersal draft Point Total: 57
Damon Edwards: Acquired From: Boston dispersal draft Point Total: 4
Mat Giles: Acquired From: Trade (Minnesota) Point Total: 43
Luke Wiles: Acquired From: Trade (Washington) Point Total: 60

OK, how shall I put this succinctly and yet elegantly? Oh, I know: holy crap. Take an offense anchored by John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis, Tracey Kelusky, and four other players with over 30 points each, and then add three players totalling 160 more points? That being said, the Bandits didn't have their greatest offensive season last year; as I said above only three teams scored fewer goals. But both Kelusky and Tavares had their lowest full-season point totals in a decade or more, and Steenhuis dropped 30 points from 2010. If just two of those guys can rebound, the addition of Buchanan, Giles, and Wiles could make the Bandits an offensive powerhouse. They can score from all over too – Tavares will power through the middle, Wiles will deke around defenders like they're standing still, Buchanan will fire laser beams from thirty feet out, Kelusky's dangerous up close, and Steenhuis will grab the ball on transition and score before the other team's defenders can get off the bench.

Who's Out

Chris Corbeil: To: Trade (Edmonton) Point Total: 11

This is a head-scratcher. The Bandits said they wanted to get younger "and the only way to do that is through the draft", so they traded Corbeil to the Rush for draft picks. But Corbeil is a stud defenseman who's only 23 (and he rocks a serious 'stache, which helped him fit in with some other Bandits), so why would you trade him? All is not lost for the Bandits defense though. Former Defender of the Year Billy Dee Smith missed the entire 2011 season with a knee injury, but is apparently recovered and ready to go in 2012.

Another important piece of the Bandits puzzle is goaltender Mike Thompson. Thompson has been nothing short of outstanding over the last two seasons, with a GAA under 10.00 over his last 27 games. Thompson was injured during a WILC game in Prague earlier this year, and wasn't sure he'd be ready to go when the NLL season started again. But Thompson's recovery went well; he has been cleared to play and will start the season in the Bandits net. The Bandits have already lost one goaltender to injuries – Ken Montour, who hasn't played a game since suffering a nasty concussion mid-way through the 2010 season and may never play again – so having Thompson return is great news.