- ReLaxing Luke
PLL Chaos Review
This is my roster review for the PLL Chaos. Below I list who each player played with in the MLL and college. If a player is in the NLL, I have listed which team they are on. At the bottom, I have written my takeaways after studying the roster. Definitely check those out! This is my final entry in the series and thank you all for the support! Follow me on Instagram (logical_lacrosse) and Twitter (Logical_Lacrosse) for more content like this. Thanks and please enjoy!
Head Coach
- Andy Towers: Previously head coach of Dartmouth
Assistant Coach
- Ryan Curtis: Westminster head lacrosse coach
- Matt Panetta: Coached in NLL and MLL
Faceoff
- Thomas Kelly: Denver Outlaws, Virginia
Attack
- Josh Byrne: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Hofstra
- Curtis Dickson: Calgary Roughnecks (NLL), Delaware
- Austin Staats: San Diego Seals (NLL)
- Connor Fields: Charlotte Hounds, San Diego Seals (NLL), Albany
- Miles Thompson: Florida Launch, Georgia Swarm (NLL), Albany
- Joe Resetarits: Calgary Roughnecks (NLL), Albany
Midfield
- Myles Jones: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Duke
- Deemer Class: Atlanta Blaze, Duke
- Jake Froccaro: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Villanova
- Dhane Smith: Buffalo Bandits (NLL)
- Kevin Buchanan: Boston Cannons, New England Black Wolves (NLL), Ohio State
- Kyle McClancy: Atlanta Blaze, Albany
- Jeremy Thompson: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Saskatchewan Rush (NLL), Syracuse
- Brad Self: Colorado Mammoth (NLL)
- Tyson Bell: Calgary Roughnecks (NLL), Onondaga Community College
- Mark Glicini: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Yale
- Patrick Resch: Charlotte Hounds, Dartmouth
Defense
- Matt Rees: Chesapeake Bayhawks, Navy
- Jarrod Nuemann: Florida Launch, Providence Friars
- James Barclay: Charlotte Hounds, Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), Providence Friars
- Dan Coates: Colorado Mammoth (NLL), Canisius
- Billy Dee Smith: Rochester Knighthawks (NLL), 2006 Team Canada Gold Medalist
- Brodie Merrill: Boston Cannons, San Diego Seals (NLL), Georgetown
- Troy Reh: New York Lizards, Albany
Goalie
- Charlie Cipriano: Charlotte Hounds, Fairfield
- Blaze Riorden: Dallas Rattlers, Albany
Takeaways
Are you an NLL fan? Then this is the team for you! In a roster of 27, 11 members play in the NLL. This list includes stars such as Brodie Merrill (San Diego), Austin Staats (San Diego), and Miles Thompson (Georgia). It’s a scary thought that Staats and Thompson (two of the best players in the NLL) will have a lot more space than they are used to in box. Defensemen will certainly have their work cut out for them.
The midfield has some talented players such as Deemer Class (Duke) and Jeremy Thompson (Saskatchewan Rush); however, the star of the midfield is Myles Jones (Duke). Jones reminds me of Cam Newton. He’s built like a linebacker and is a physical mismatch for all who cover him. I remember watching him play Air Force in the NCAA tournament a couple years back. A play that sums up Jones follows: There was a 1v1 matchup on the wing, the Air Force player covered him well, but Jones was a foot taller than him and simply shot it over the Falcons’ head. Easy goal for Duke. That is the kind of mismatch Myles Jones brings to the game.
The defense will be stout with players such as Brodie Merrill, Billy Dee Smith, and Dan Coates protecting goaltender Blaze Riorden. My only fear for the defense is, due to the heavy box play, that they may struggle defending opposing attackmen since defense is played differently in box. In box, a defenseman only has to stand in one area and defend a zone (since the space is so limited). In field, there is a lot more running around. That’s just a thing to keep an eye on!
Andy Towers is a good hire for head coach and the assistants are great additions to the staff (Ryan Curtis and Matt Panetta). Panetta has coached in the NLL before, so he’ll be able to help players adjust to playing outdoor (a lot of these guys also played in the MLL).
In all, I think the Chaos will be one of the more exciting teams in the league. If you want sexy highlight goals and sick behind-the-back passes, this is your team. Myles Jones is going to be a monster at midfield and will only get better as he begins to gel with his attack. Having said that, I do question how well box defensemen will do playing against top field attackmen. The spacing is a lot different. The Chaos will be very exciting (think Kansas City Chiefs), but I don’t see them winning it all like I do with the Redwoods or Atlas.