Kevin Buchanan

Dietrich makes a big splash early in his tenure

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Despite a heavy turnover with offensive talent entering the 2012 season, the Buffalo Bandits experienced a relative lull in production and success. The Bandits stumbled to a 7-9 record before a narrow, heartbreaking defeat to Toronto in the first round of the playoffs.

After some restructuring in the front office, new general manager, Steve Dietrich, has been busy this summer. In addition to applying the franchise tag to Tracey Kelusky and Anthony Cosmo, Dietrich re-signed John Tavares and pulled the trigger on three significant trades.

Shawn Williams was the prized acquisitions in a busy summer for the Bandits.

The first trade was easily the biggest. The Bandits acquired Shawn Williams, defenseman Brandon Doran, a 2012 first round pick and two 2012 second round picks in exchange for Buffalo’s first round selection in the 2012 draft. The draft is set to take place on October 1.Dietrich also acquired defenseman Glen Bryan and forward Jamie Rooney from the Toronto Rock in exchange for a second-round pick (14th overall) in the 2012 NLL Entry Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2013. His final trade brought in transition player David Brock and forward Mike Hominuck from the Philadelphia Wings in exchange for Kevin Buchanan and a third-round pick in the 2013 NLL Entry Draft.

The trade with the Wings signified the end of a short, disappointing stint with Buffalo for Buchanan. A talented forward, he struggled to get free in Darris Kilgour’s system and was never an effective piece of the offense. His inability to tally on outside attempts made him particularly impotent here. Hominuck is a steady offensive player who should fill a similar role as Buchanan on Buffalo’s second offensive unit.

The Hominuck acquisition could potentially be a wash if his return to the system is as rough as Buchanan’s introduction appeared to be. However, after seeing Hominuck for a number of years, and his brief history in Buffalo, it is safe to assume his game is versatile enough to work with Buffalo’s motion sets. Continue reading →

Bandits postgame: New faces shine as Bandits roll Rock

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photo: Buffalo.com

Buffalo’s three veteran additions combined for seven of Buffalo’s goals and had nine points total on the night. Luke Wiles had a great first outing (3+1) and looks to be exactly the type of player the Bandits were searching for. Kevin Buchanan (2+1) and Mat Giles (2+0) also had strong nights in their Banditland debut.

Of course, the ageless wonder, John Tavares, proved he is still the best to play the indoor game. Despite suffering various ailments over the past few seasons, Tavares had a tremendous debut against Toronto. There should be no surprise that his eight-point (2+6) game has set the table for the superstar to lead the Bandits in scoring once again.

In total, the Bandits had nine players with multiple points and fourteen players in total who registered at least one. In addition, Mike Thompson was stellar in goal. Thompson turned aside 41 shots which registered an impressive .804 save percentage.

Perhaps the most impressive fact about this victory was the second half surge the Bandits enjoyed. Trailing at the half, Buffalo handily dominated the second half and came away with the victory. That says a couple of things; there are finishers on this roster and they have a strong ability to score in bunches. Continuing the ability to roll up dominant second half lacrosse will be key for the Bandits this season.

  • A big surprise was that Darris Kilgour chose to scratch Tom Montour and Roger Vyse. Frank Resetarits was also scratched, although he is less of a surprise. Montour is one of the best transition players in the league and Vyse’s talents have long been showcased in Buffalo. Vyse’s recent contract extension obviously adds to the surprise factor here, but apparently Kilgour wanted to see some of his new toys in action. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vyse and Montour (or all three) play against Rochester this weekend. It is possible that Kilgour simply wanted to try out his new players before determining a concrete depth chart.
  • Kilgour said he is planning on getting Angus Goodleaf in four to six games. If Mike Thompson is going to continue to play at the level he showed on Saturday, Goodleaf may see his workload trimmed a bit. Thompson has long been a cornerstone for this team and looks capable of running together another impressive season.
  • Ten goals against is a very good number for the Bandits to surrender. The defensive corps may actually be the greatest strength of this team – despite the big names playing out of the front door. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to expect the Bandits to keep their team goals against between 10 and 13 this season.
  • Considering the additional flood of talent to the nine remaining teams this season, the Bandits will be facing a particularly difficult test nearly every week. One point that Darris Kilgour often cites is that every  game in this league is tough, no matter what a team’s record may be. That may never be truer than in this season. Even the teams whose records will sink are likely to be capable of pulling wins against the league’s top contenders.

Buffalo Bandits 2012 season preview

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A particularly busy offseason has the Buffalo Bandits roster looking quite a bit different than it has in recent seasons. A few trades and interesting roster moves brought some turnover to the team that still has the talent to be one of the NLL’s power teams this season.

Mike Thompson will anchor the crease for the Bandits this season.

Darris Kilgour’s club made a significant step forward in establishing quality secondary scoring, something that hurt the club at points throughout the 2011 season. Luke Wiles and Kevin Buchanan will certainly compliment John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis and Tracey Kelusky at forward. Of course, Roger Vyse and Chad Culp’s offensive abilities won’t go unnoticed either. Mat Giles also should be counted on to provide some offense this season. How much will be determined by his playing time.

Wiles and Buchanan represent a step forward in re-establishing the dominant offense that drove the team to the 2008 NLL Championship and a ridiculous 8-0 start in 2009. The potential of the two puts them right on plane with players like Kelusky and Vyse. While that group of four doesn’t possess the all-world talent of a Steenhuis or Tavares, they may turn out to be more valuable to the overall success of the team than the two stars.

The X-factor on the offensive side of the ball may very well be Jeremy Thompson. The rookie is a promising talent and it will be interesting to see if he cracks the line up in his first year. Playing for a coach who has long favored proven veterans over rookies, Thompson’s first year may be used for development more than production. However, the first round selection has the opportunity to step in to fill the shoes of the recently departed Brett Bucktooth. Continue reading →