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Photo: NLL / nll.com
By Arik KrauseEditorAn early look at Calgary, Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Colorado, San Diego and Las Vegas ahead of the 2026–27 season. Offseason information current through October 14.
The NLL’s western clubs are heading into a season with familiar contenders, intriguing roster changes and a considerably different league around them.
Vancouver is looking to build on a first-place regular season. Saskatchewan and Colorado are trying to turn strong campaigns into something more. Calgary has added defensive options and invested in its future, while San Diego and Las Vegas have taken advantage of an unusually busy player market.
The league opens November 27 with 12 active clubs following the discontinuation of operations in Ottawa and Philadelphia. Those departures led to a dispersal draft that reshaped rosters throughout the NLL.
This is a geographic preview of the western teams. The NLL uses unified standings, meaning these clubs compete for playoff positioning against the entire league rather than within a separate Western Conference.
Training camp will determine who earns a spot and how the pieces fit. For now, there is plenty to examine.
Calgary Roughnecks: A Familiar Alberta Name Helps Shape the Next Chapter
Calgary has work to do after finishing last season 6–12.
The Roughnecks have given themselves more defensive options, signing dispersal selections Ben Kromer, Nicholas Volkov and Cole Begley. Jerrett Smith, Ronin Pusch and Denton Macdonald also joined the club, while Harrison Matsuoka signed a three-year agreement. Pusch brings another local connection after winning the Presidents Cup with the Edmonton Miners this summer.
That collection of additions creates competition. It also puts a spotlight on the coaching staff’s ability to turn individual defenders into a coordinated unit.
For Alberta lacrosse fans, John Lintz is an important part of that story.
The Edmonton native is listed as a Calgary assistant coach and brings four NLL championships from his playing career. He won with the Roughnecks in 2009, Edmonton in 2015, Saskatchewan in 2016 and Colorado in 2022. His coaching résumé includes leading the Edmonton Miners Junior A team to the 2022 Minto Cup final.
Around Alberta’s box lacrosse community, Lintz is a familiar and respected name. His experience spans the junior development pathway and championship-level professional lacrosse. That makes his involvement especially relevant as Calgary evaluates players trying to establish themselves in the NLL.
The Roughnecks also made a significant investment in offensive talent, trading up to select Joey Spallina fifth overall. That is a move worth following, although a draft selection should not be treated as confirmation of an immediate lineup contribution.
Biggest question: Can Calgary’s new defensive options become a reliable unit quickly enough to change its results?
Player to watch: Ronin Pusch, whose Edmonton Miners connection gives local fans another reason to follow camp.
Early verdict: A team with more to prove, but a worthwhile combination of new competition and experienced coaching.
Vancouver Warriors: Keeping the Core Is Only the Beginning
Vancouver finished the regular season 13–5 and earned the top overall playoff seed. That provides a strong starting point for another campaign. www.nll.com
The Warriors’ offseason has included retaining important pieces. The club announced agreements with Curtis Dickson, Tomer Charalambides, Marcus Klarich, Reid Bowering and Christian Del Bianco.
Continuity has value when a team has already shown it can win consistently. Familiarity can help preserve offensive timing, defensive communication and the trust required to execute under pressure.
Vancouver also continued investing in younger talent. The Warriors acquired Luca Antongiovanni’s rights and an entry-draft selection in a deal that sent Payton Cormier and two dispersal picks to Buffalo. They subsequently selected Matt Collison third overall in the entry draft.
Those moves give the organization another layer to develop behind its established players.
The challenge is that a successful regular season raises expectations. Vancouver has demonstrated it can earn a favourable position. The next step is making that position count when the games become decisive.
Biggest question: Can the Warriors carry their regular-season consistency into a championship run?
Player to watch: Christian Del Bianco. Keeping a proven goaltender gives Vancouver an important foundation.
Early verdict: A contender with enough continuity to justify high expectations.
Saskatchewan Rush: More Options, but a Meaningful Departure
Saskatchewan’s 12–6 finish leaves the Rush with a solid platform.
Their offseason included a notable exchange with Oshawa. Saskatchewan acquired Connor Kearnan, Jaxon Fridge and an entry-draft pick for Holden Garlent. Kearnan produced 21 goals and 28 assists with Ottawa last season, while Fridge appeared in 17 games for the FireWolves.
There is a real cost to that deal. Garlent had played 92 games for Saskatchewan and served as an alternate captain. Replacing his contribution requires more than inserting another name into the lineup.
The Rush also signed dispersal selections Jake Stevens, Sam Firth and Reed Kurtz.
Those additions give Saskatchewan several ways to reshape its lineup. Kearnan’s production makes him an obvious player to follow, but the overall success of the offseason will depend on how the group balances offence, defence and transition.
A team coming off 12 wins can reasonably aim high. It still has to account for what it lost while finding roles for what it added.
Biggest question: Do the new pieces provide enough value to offset Garlent’s departure?
Player to watch: Connor Kearnan, whose offensive contribution will be central to evaluating the trade.
Early verdict: A contender with a few important adjustments to make.
Colorado Mammoth: Defensive Competition Could Make a Strong Team Better
Colorado also finished 12–6 last season.
The Mammoth used the dispersal draft to select Alex Pace, Andrew Borgatti and Evan Messenger. Colorado also traded its second-round dispersal selection to Saskatchewan for a 2027 entry-draft pick.
Borgatti and Messenger subsequently signed one-year deals, and the club added Steph Charbonneau on a one-year agreement in October. NLL
The moves create options at the defensive end rather than relying on one acquisition to change everything.
That can be useful over an 18-game schedule. Competition for jobs gives the coaching staff choices, while depth becomes important when availability changes or particular matchups require a different approach.
The preseason question is how many of those options become dependable contributors. Signing players improves the pool to choose from. It does not automatically establish the final unit.
Biggest question: Can Colorado’s defensive additions help turn last season’s strong results into a deeper run?
Player to watch: Alex Pace, the Mammoth’s first dispersal selection.
Early verdict: A contender looking for useful improvements around an already successful team.
San Diego Seals: More Offensive Choices, More Questions About the Fit
San Diego’s 8–10 record leaves room for improvement. Official Rankings
The Seals acquired Clark Walter from Saskatchewan for a 2029 third-round pick. Walter had recorded 119 points in 49 regular-season appearances with the Rush.
San Diego also announced a new agreement with Connor Robinson. Its offseason signings included Ben McIntosh and Gregory Elijah-Brown, alongside multiple defensive additions and goaltender Cam Dunkerley.
That gives the Seals plenty to work through in camp.
Offensive talent needs compatible roles. Players have to understand where their opportunities come from, how possessions are shared and what they contribute when somebody else has the ball.
Walter is a useful focal point because his acquisition offers a straightforward question: can San Diego turn his previous production into a consistent contribution within its own offence?
The answer will help determine whether the Seals have improved enough to move beyond last season’s results.
Biggest question: Can the offensive additions build an effective unit rather than simply increase the number of available options?
Player to watch: Clark Walter.
Early verdict: A playoff hopeful with a credible opportunity to improve.
Las Vegas Desert Dogs: A Bigger Reset Brings Bigger Expectations
Las Vegas finished 8–10, then took an aggressive approach to the dispersal draft.
The Desert Dogs selected six players: Nick Damude, Mitchell Armstrong, Sam LeClair, Ryan Wagner, Liam Aston and Chris Corbeil. Damude was chosen second overall. Las Vegas also acquired additional dispersal selections from Toronto in exchange for an entry-draft pick.
That is enough movement to make training camp particularly interesting.
Damude gives the goaltending situation an immediate storyline. The other selections provide options across the floor, although selecting a player’s rights and confirming his place in the opening lineup are different steps.
The challenge for Las Vegas is turning that opportunity into measurable progress. A busy offseason creates interest. Better results are what ultimately justify it.
The Desert Dogs now have more pieces to evaluate and a chance to establish a more dependable identity.
Biggest question: How much of the dispersal-draft haul translates into immediate improvement?
Player to watch: Nick Damude, whose potential role in goal makes him one of the club’s most consequential acquisitions.
Early verdict: A playoff hopeful with significant upside and plenty still to establish.
The Western Picture
Vancouver, Saskatchewan and Colorado enter this preview with the strongest recent regular-season foundations. San Diego and Las Vegas have made changes that could narrow the gap, while Calgary offers an intriguing development story with meaningful Alberta connections.
For NetFront readers, the Roughnecks deserve particular attention. Lintz’s presence behind the bench, Pusch’s opportunity and the club’s investment in younger players give local fans several stories to follow.
Camp will separate roster possibilities from opening-night realities. Until then, the western clubs have given the upcoming NLL season plenty of questions worth answering.
