Several members of the organization have made it clear: As long as Matt Vinc is still playing, the Buffalo Bandits are going to run it back with the intention of ending the year as they did last season – atop the mountain. However, the target on their backs only gets larger.

Also you’re going to want to bookmark Ty Merrow’s Google Sheet of NLL Depth Charts.

You Know The Offense

Smith, Byrne, Nanticoke, Cloutier, Fraser, Buchanan, McCulley, Robinson. Just like last year, the high powered Bandits offense comes back a year more experienced. Dhane Smith signed a 5 year extension in the fall, as this will continue to be his team for that stretch. As Smith and Josh Byrne enter their primes, Chris Cloutier and Tehoka Nanticoke are still emerging into theirs, so as long as the group’s health remains (Nanticoke only played 13 games last year while Cloutier only played 9 and Fraser only 4), they should find themselves atop the goal scoring rankings. We’ve seen Dhane push records when he plays full seasons, including his 96 assists last year, but a full season from Josh Byrne could also push some records, finishing with 43 goals and 50 assists last year in 15 games. But speaking of injuries…

Defense Facing Early Adversity But Returns The Core

Heading into camp, the Bandits had already lost Ethan O’Connor in free agency, but they will also lose their other back row penalty killer in Bryce Sweeting, who is out for the season after an offseason injury. Adam Bomberry is also starting on PUP and likely missing most of if not the entire season, and Zach Belter and Frank Brown join them on PUP to start the season. But even with that, they remain deep with their core of Ian MacKay, Steve Priolo, Matt Spanger, Nick Weiss, and Justin Martin. With the early injuries, the depth is looking a little younger, with Dalton Sulver, Carter McKenzie, 2022 first rounder Cam Wyers, and the other two Robinson Brothers (Justin and Dylan) all 26 and under. Early on, the biggest challenge for this group might actually not come on the defensive end, but in the faceoff circle, as Max Adler is starting the season on the protected list and may not play this season. Fraser, Weiss, and MacKay have taken faceoffs in the past, but it will be at least a tough start to the season as long as Adler is not there.

18 for 48

The NLL has been playing 18 game seasons since 2014, but Matt Vinc has played his most minutes played in his career in each of the last two seasons, even more when including the 6 playoff games in each of those seasons. He followed up a fourth straight .800 save percentage regular season with an .829 in the playoffs, including another signature game for his already lengthy resume with 46 saves on 50 SOG against in the deciding third game of the NLL Finals.

He’s now 41 years old, but things remain simply the same: Until we see it with our own eyes, there is no thinking that Matt Vinc is in decline.

Other than that, if the unthinkable does happen, Steven Orleman and Devlin Shanahan are the reinforcements. Both are 24, but with his early stint as the starter of the Riptide, Orleman has more experience.

Game 1 – Saturday December 9 – Buffalo Bandits @ Albany FireWolves (1-0) – 7:00pm – ESPN+ and WNLO

Yes, WNLO will carry 14 of the Bandits 18 games this season on local cable, with the other 4 being national games — either the TSN Game of the Week or ESPN Saturday Showcase.

The viewing audience will get the see the Bandits open their season against the FireWolves for the second season in a row, looking to overcome last year’s season opening loss. It’s an even younger Albany roster than last year, with their balanced offense featuring two rookies in Tye Kurtz and Alex Simmons who each had two goals and combined for 5 assists in week 1 against Las Vegas. Doug Jamieson between the pipes can steal a game as he did in that aforementioned opening week game last year, and Joe Nardella is back healthy in the faceoff dot following an ACL tear last season. Jamieson and Nardella are certainly the biggest threats to the Bandits start of their season, but with the theme of the rest of the preview, the defending champs have the roster to overcome the FireWolves, as they did to end last season in Albany by a 16-10 score.

Rest of NLL Week 2

Rochester Knighthawks (1-0) @ Saskatchewan Rush (0-1) – 8:00pm (ESPN+)

The Knighthawks will look to improve to 2-0 on the season as they take their first road trip of the year to Saskatoon to take on the young Rush, who were handled easily by the Thunderbirds in Week 1. The Rush defeated the Knighthawks, also in Saskatoon, 9-6 on March 19, 2022, and did not play each other in 2023.

Philadelphia Wings (1-0) @ Toronto Rock – 7:00pm – TSN Game of the Week

The Rock open their season against the Wings, who defeated the Riptide last week. Despite it being their first game, Toronto will be shorthanded, with Tom Schreiber and Chris Corbeil starting the season on injured reserve. The Rock took two of the three matchups last season, winning 14-5 on January 21 and 12-7 on April 15, and losing in Philadelphia 11-10 on March 6.

Colorado Mammoth @ Georgia Swarm – 7:30pm

Both teams are playing their first game of the year. As of Thursday Night, the Mammoth roster is still very banged up, with 8 players on injured reserve, including Ryan Lee, Joey Cupido, Jalen Chaster, and Nate Wade, and Dillon Ward on PUP. If Ward is indeed out, the 35 year old Tyler Carlson would get the start. He started one game last season, taking a 13-9 loss to the Seals. In contrast, the Swarm are relatively healthy to start the season and seek their first win against the Mammoth since April 1, 2017. This is the first of two matchups between the two teams on the year as well.

Calgary Roughnecks (0-1) @ San Diego Seals – 10:00pm

The schedule doesn’t get any easier to start for the Roughnecks, as they will have to travel to face the only team in the West who was better than them last season: the San Diego Seals, who won two of the three matchups last season.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs (0-1) @ Panther City (1-0) – 4:00pm

The first of 5 Sunday home games for Panther City, they look to improve to 2-0 after a convincing win in Vancouver last weekend. They swept the Desert Dogs last season. As with all games, it will be available on ESPN+ and TSN+ up against the 4:00 football slate, if interested for any particular reason.

Photo Credit: Kevin Hoffman/Getty Images for NLL