Here’s part II of my pre-season preview; part I was here. For each team (alphabetically from Ottawa through Vancouver), I’ll share where I think they will end up, and who might have a breakout year.

As I did last year, I’m not going to make specific standings predictions. I’ll break things up into groups: Top 4, Middle 4 (i.e. #5-8), and Miss Playoffs (#9-14).

Ottawa Black Bears

A couple of fairly significant changes for the Black Bears in the offseason, but none bigger than the acquisition of Rob Hellyer from Las Vegas. Hellyer has reached 90+ points five times in his career, including last season, and gives Ottawa’s right side a significant scoring threat to help balance Teat, Sundown, and O’Connor on the left side. The more people the opposing defenders have to focus on, the less they can focus on Teat and it might open up guys like O’Connor and Kearnan and Dunbar just a bit more as well.

Look out for

Callum Jones made a bit of a name for himself last season, though he missed most of three months. If he’s healthy the whole year, he could be a Defender of the Year candidate.

Prediction

Middle 4.

Philadelphia Wings

The Wings are a mystery to me. They came into the league in 2019 and have made the playoffs once. They haven’t been any better than mediocre for six seasons and after finishing 7-11 and in 11th place last year, they didn’t seem to make any attempt to get better. OK, that’s not entirely fair, adding Eric Fannell and Brian Cameron will help their offense – Fannell in particular looked strong, almost dominant, in the pre-season game against the Rock. But (a) that’s pre-season, and (b) they also lost Mitch Jones, and Fannell and Cameron combined won’t make up for Mitch Jones.

They also lost Mitch de Snoo and Shane Simpson, and Blaze Riorden and Michael Sowers are both injured. Brennan O’Neill is the real deal but he and Joey Res can’t carry the team by themselves.

Look out for

Brennan O’Neill had a very good rookie season, and was nominated for Rookie of the Year. I mentioned that he and Resetarits can’t carry the team by themselves, but O’Neill could give it a good shot. I don’t think he jumps 50+ points and wins MVP as Lyle Thompson did in his second season, but O’Neill’s numbers will go up.

Prediction

Miss playoffs.

Rochester Knighthawks

The Knighthawks were third in the league in scoring last season, and they’ve added Zed Williams to the mix. Fields, Lanchbury, Ryan Smith, McConvey, and Williams make as potent a top five as any team in the league. They added veteran defender and faceoff guy Jeremy Thompson and professional pest Nathan Grenon, both of whom bring grit as well as skill. If Rylan Hartley can have a full healthy season, this is a dangerous team.

Look out for

Zed Williams is now playing close to home and is a member of the Seneca Nation, who are now the owners of the Knighthawks. I see a big year for Zed.

Prediction

Top 4.

San Diego Seals

I said that Philadelphia is a mystery because they’re never any better than middle-of-the-pack (and usually lower than that) but don’t want to rebuild. San Diego is the opposite – big names all over the place, not afraid to let big name players walk because they can get other big name players, and usually do. And yet they’re 3-7 in the playoffs over six seasons.

Once again, they’ve lost guys like Benesch, Hellyer, and Rubisch to other teams, and this year they’ve also lost Gamble, Holding, and Poulin to retirement. Austin Staats is on their protected list and if I had to guess, will not play. But they brought in Corey Small and Connor Robinson, and there’s a couple of guys named Kavanagh on their roster who I hear are pretty good. And honestly, it’s difficult to count out any team with Wes Berg on it.

Look out for

Connor Robinson scored 42 goals in Colorado in 2022 and 35 in 2023, but only 18 and 23 in the next two seasons. I think he reverses that trend, climbing back into the 30-40 goal range.

Prediction

Miss playoffs.

Saskatchewan Rush

It’s funny – I’ve heard a number of times in recent weeks on podcasts and on social media “Why is nobody talking about the Rush and how good they are?” A lot of people are talking about how nobody’s talking about them. It’s the age-old question – if *everybody* thinks you’re underrated… are you?

The reigning Defensive Player of the Year Matt Hossack is on the short-term hold-out list, but I assume he’ll be ready for opening day. Jake Naso is injured and Mike Triolo is in Buffalo, but otherwise the team is much the same as the team that went to the Championship last season.

Look out for

I thought Levi Anderson was going to have a monster year last season but was a healthy scratch for half the season because Clark Walter played so well. Maybe Anderson takes Triolo’s spot (yes I know, he’s on the other side of the floor) and gets more playing time, in which case look out for him.

Prediction

Top 4

Toronto Rock

I was talking to someone (hi Shawna!) at the last Rock pre-season game and said that I was a bit concerned about the Rock losing Tom Schreiber… until I watched CJ Kirst and Owen Hiltz. Afterwards, I was a bit less concerned. These guys look like the real deal and not only did both score some very nice goals during the pre-season, but both were setting up plays and getting teammates open. In particular, 5’8″ Hiltz and 6’5″ Matthews seemed to work really well together. I didn’t see much of Sam English, and I think he’ll be heading more out the back door but he also scored in the one game he played. Having Mark Matthews healthy will be huge, though I will miss Corey Small up front.

On the back end, I was kind of expecting at least one of Mitch de Snoo or Chris Corbeil to return to the Rock in free agency, but Corbeil stayed in Philly and de Snoo is now in Buffalo. So those guys (who didn’t play half of last year with the Rock anyway) are replaced by English and another rookie, Hugh Kelleher, who also looked solid in the pre-season.

Look out for

Kirst and Hiltz. Their games are different but I think they will both fit in well and I couldn’t decide which one would have a better rookie season, so I picked ’em both.

Prediction

Middle 4. Like Halifax, I was tempted to put the Rock in the top 4 as well (my Toronto fan bias showing? Maybe), but it turns out that you can only have four teams in your top four. It’s true, I’ve done the math.

Vancouver Warriors

Everyone knows the Warriors had a crazy off-season, signing two different future Hall of Famers in Dickson and King, but also adding Reece Callies, Shane Simpson, and Ethan Ticehurst. The Warriors were much improved last season, and now they’ve added all of these new pieces, so a trip to the finals is guaranteed, right? Wait, let’s just slow it down a bit here. We’ve seen other teams like the Boston Blazers (2009-2011) or the San Diego Seals (a few times) add a million big names to their lineup and… not get to the finals. In the case of the Blazers, they got to the playoffs in each season and lost in the first round every time.

That said, I don’t think that’s happening with the Warriors. All of the new players I listed above are former Roughnecks who played with Del Bianco and for Curt Malawsky so I think the team aspect will not take long to develop – it’s more than just a bunch of big names.

Look out for

Reid Bowering’s point total AND loose ball total have decreased in each of his last three seasons. Yes, he’s primarily a defender so his point total isn’t his main reason for being out there but we know he can contribute at that end of the floor. I think he turns that around and has an excellent season leading an excellent defensive unit.

Prediction

Top 4.