By TRT Staff with notes from NLL.com
With the release of the full team rosters on November 28, all 15 active clubs have signed 25-man sheets as Week 1 will rev into action this Friday, December 2.
Notable moves include that the Georgia Swarm traded a conditional fifth-round pick in the 2023 entry draft to the Panther City Lacrosse Club in exchange for Jeremy Thompson. This places three of the Thompson brothers on one team. While Halifax Thunderbird Wake:Riat Bowhunter, 12th overall, was named a rookie to watch under “Family ties and NLL Bloodlines” along with an article showcasing his high hopes for the coming seasons.
The Calgary Roughnecks placed Justin Inacio on the Physically Unable to Perform List from the Active Roster, released Tyler Richards and Kieran McKay from the Active Roster, released Dylan McIntosh and Harrison Matsuoka from the Active Roster, signed Dylan McIntosh and Harrison Matsuoka to the Practice Player List, traded Kellen LeClair to the Buffalo Bandits in exchange for their second round selection in the 2023 Entry Draft, signed Chris Willman to the Practice Player List, and removed the Practice Player Tag on Harrison Matsuoka and have retained him on the Active Roster.
The Halifax Thunderbirds released Kevin Hill, Jerry Staats, Keaton Thomson and Aaron Bold from the Active Roster, signed Jerry Staats and Kevin Hill to the Practice Player List, released Jeremy Winston from the Draft List, and signed Keaton Thomson to the Practice Player List.
The New York Riptide have signed Tyler Davis to the Practice Player List, placed Brent Noseworthy and Dan MacRae on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, and signed Mason Kamminga to the Practice Player List.
On November 27: The Buffalo Bandits placed Greg Harnett and Devyn Mayea on the Hold Out List from the Active Roster, placed Nathaniel Kozenvnikov on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster, released Sam La Roue, Dylan Robinson and Thomas Vaesen from the Active Roster, signed Sam La Roue, Dylan Robinson and Thomas Vaesen to the Practice Player List.
The Buffalo Bandits have placed Frank Brown on the Physically Unable to Perform List from the Active Roster.
The Colorado Mammoth signed Ty Thompson to a one year agreement.
On November 23: the Georgia Swarm placed Miles Thompson on the Injured Reserve List-Season Ending from the Active Roster.
Earlier this week, the NLL announced the eight-team playoff format for the 2022-23 season. The format will again feature the top four teams from the East Conference and top three from the West Conference, plus a “wild card” entry with the best record between the fourth-place team in the West standings and the fifth-place finisher in the East. This “wild card” will play in the West Conference side of the bracket as the fourth seed.
The first round of the 2023 NLL Playoffs, beginning the weekend of May 5-7, will be single elimination, while the Conference Finals and NLL Finals will each be a best-of-three series. Game 1 and 2 of the NLL Finals will be played during Memorial Day Weekend, while Game 3 of the NLL Finals, if necessary, is scheduled for the weekend of June 2-4.
The NLL and ESPN announced earlier this month that the schedule of 10 regular season games will be broadcast on its linear networks during the upcoming 2022-23 season. The slate, which will feature games on ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews, begins with a matchup between Philadelphia and Halifax on Friday, December 2, on Face Off Weekend. On Friday, December 16, ESPN2 will showcase the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in their inaugural home game when they face Panther City at 10:30 p.m. ET.
The first game this Friday will show a match up between the Halifax Thunderbirds and the Philadelphia Wings at the Scotiabank Centre.
