I wrote a bit about the new NLL+ service a little while ago. Most of the information came straight from the NLL press release and a Sports Business Journal article, and there was a bit of speculation on my part. Since then, I was fortunate enough to speak to a couple of people from the NLL to get some more inside information on this new service and how it came about.
Author Archives: Graeme
2025 NLL Rule changes
Every year, the NLL makes small modifications to the rule book. Most of the time, these changes are clarifying existing rules or adding slight variations, and every now and again there are fairly major changes or new rules. For the 2025 season, there are no major rule changes. The only one that is likely to affect actual game play is 17.81, which is a change to coaches’ challenges. Here’s a summary of the changes for 2025.
2025 NLL Week 2
Week 2 is in the books, and now every team has played at least one game. Of the top eight teams in the standings right now, four of them did not make the playoffs last year, including the team at the very top. In fact, the Mammoth went from last in 2024 to first, while the Rock went from #1 in 2024 to last place this year. Yes, it’s only been two games for some teams (and only one for most) so it doesn’t mean much but it’s still surprising.
Game report: Albany @ Toronto
We have a game between last year’s Champion’s Cup finalist and last year’s first-overall team. We’re expecting a hard-fought close game right? Yes, that’s what we’re expecting but no, that’s not what we got. Instead the powerhouse Albany FireWolves came into Toronto Hamilton Mississauga and destroyed the Rock.
2025 NLL Week 1
We’re back! The NLL is back, NLLStats.com is back, NLL podcasts are back (though some like Lax Class never left), and of course NLL Chatter is back. Every week I cover things that were awesome from the previous week and things that were… less awesome. Let’s jump right in.
2025 NLL Preview: Part II
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.
For where teams will end up, I’m not going to make specific predictions here. I’ll break things up into groups: Top 4, Middle 4 (i.e. #5-8), and Miss Playoffs (#9-14).
2025 NLL Preview: Part I
As I do most seasons (missed last year), here’s a quick look at each team, where I think each team will end up, and who might have a breakout year. I’ll go alphabetically and cover Albany through Las Vegas in this article, and then Ottawa through Vancouver in Part II.
For where teams will end up, I’m not going to make specific predictions here. I’ll break things up into groups: Top 4, Middle 4 (i.e. #5-8), and Miss Playoffs (#9-14).
Presenting the 2025 Panther City Lacrosse Club
I haven’t done this in a number of years, but I used to write an article every year announcing the roster of the “Boston Blazers”, starting the year after they folded. The idea was that this was a team made up entirely of players who were not injured and had not retired, but were not on any NLL team’s roster, practice squad, holdout list, etc. There were some years where this phantom team would have been pretty good.
This year, I named the team after Panther City for obvious reasons. I’m not sure this year’s version would beat the Bandits and they probably wouldn’t have beaten last year’s Panther City team either. They may not even make the postseason but I’m not sure they’re finishing last either. If the 39-year-old Bold falters, Carlson starts and we could pick up Laine Hruska or Joel Watson as a third goalie, but goaltending is generally solid. Defence is pretty good and transition isn’t bad, and there’s even a strong face-off guy there in Hamer-Jackson. Up front, there’s a ton of secondary scoring but unless Greer and Schuss play like they did back in the mid-teens, nobody to really grab the reins as a solid #1 forward.
NLL 2025: Who’s in, who’s out
Here it is: a complete summary of all the roster changes for each team, all in one place. I will update this article as things change, up until the beginning of the season.
Just to be clear, “In” means that the player is part of the announced roster for the 2025 season and was not on the active roster during the team’s last game of the season in 2024. “Out” means just the opposite: they were on the roster for the last game last year, but are not on the active roster as of now. So a player who was injured since (or during) the last game last year but is back now is “In”, while a player who is currently injured might be “Out”.
Not all teams have announced who’s on their IR, PUP, or holdout lists so take an empty list with a grain of salt. Also most teams don’t have (or didn’t announce) a Protected or Draft list, but the Rush did.
NLL Roster announcements
Today I’m not going to rank the rosters themselves, just the announcements of the rosters. Every team announced their rosters on Monday, but most of them just threw a list out there while others went a little further and made it fun. Other than Calgary’s video game thing, the announcements were pretty tame this year. Nobody eating hot wings or anything; in fact, only Calgary and Toronto had videos at all.
NLL Chatter 