We’re on the road to the 2026 NLL Draft, and while the players look to cement their places on the draft board as a whole, the teams will also be sitting down in the coming months to figure out which pieces they think can take them over the top and help to bring home a championship.

Let’s go through what each team could be looking to accomplish to get better through this year’s draft class!

2026 Draft Content

The Big Board 1.0

Buffalo Bandits

Needs: Offensive Depth

This has to be the first instance in our history that we’ve done a team needs piece, and Buffalo has actually needed something other than the best player on the board when their pick rolls around.

While Buffalo’s end to the season was what we’ve come to expect of them over the last number of years, their start was so below expectation that they were on the cusp of being sellers at the trade deadline. Offensively, it took a while for the Bandits to find their stride, and that mainly had to do with the two key losses of Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier over the off-season. The pair left for Vegas, leaving Buffalo without two of its best complementary scoring threats.

The team did add future Hall-of-Famer Joe Resetarits at the deadline, Ian MacKay was a stud offensively for the team, and Clay Scanlan was a revelation for the team. But this could also be it for Kyle Buchanan, and Buffalo could use some help behind former MVPs Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne.

As has been the case over the last few years for the Bandits, the biggest story of the off-season will be the status of Matt Vinc. The all-time great is set to be 44 in June. After Buffalo came up short of the four-peat, is this the summer Vno decides to step away? We’ll have to wait and see. They do have two young goaltenders in Evan Constantopoulos and 2025 first-rounder Kiigs Shognosh, so those two will vie to be the guy in the crease in the future.

With a top-10 selection along with a pair of compensatory picks, the rich will continue to get richer.

Calgary Roughnecks

Needs: Forward/Defensive depth, Speed out Back Door

It was a tough year in Calgary, with some growing pains that came along with several key departures in the off-season. The Roughnecks shipped out Christian Del Bianco and Shane Simpson at last year’s deadline, and Dane Dobbie retired in the summer. Additionally, Curtis Dickson, Jesse King, and Reece Callies all departed for Vancouver via free agency.

A 6-12 regular season ended with some bright spots, and the team coming together down the stretch to put together some victories. Tanner Cook and Tyler Pace each finished with over 100 points on the year, while Brayden Mayea doubled his point total in his sophomore campaign.

Noah Manning was strong as a rookie, and Riley Loewen was solid as a secondary scoring piece, but Mathieu Gautier had under a point a game and had trouble producing this year. He’ll be looking to bounce back next year. But Calgary could look to strengthen it’s offence as a whole with some infusion of first-round talent.

What might be a more pressing need is help on the back end. While the unit does have some strong pieces as a whole, they need more depth and athleticism to help push the ball in transition.

Unfortunately for the Roughnecks, they don’t own their own first-rounder. That belongs to Toronto as a result of the Nick Rose trade last year. But Calgary does have Vancouver’s first from the Del Bianco deal, which will be 12th overall. Additionally, they hold a compensatory pick.

There are strong two-way options available in this draft, as well as a wealth of talented forwards. Calgary will continue their rebuild with this draft class.

Colorado Mammoth

Needs: Depth

In reality, the Mammoth are a team that doesn’t need much of anything through the draft. They’ve done outstanding work through trades to help topload their roster, especially in the last year.

With additions of Andrew Kew and Jack Hannah via trade, Colorado flipped around a forward core that lost Ryan Lee early to injury and was without Eli McLaughlin for the entire season. Those two individuals, paired with Will Malcom, helped pace the Mammoth and lead them to a top-three seed in the playoffs.

The Mammoth also had some exciting young draftees in 2025 fifth-overall pick Braedon Saris and second-round pick Jameson Bucktooth, while Dylan McIntosh and Thomas Vela did great work as producers.

Now with Lee looking to return from his injury and Liger likely back in the fold, this team should be a contender again next season.

The defence is solid and Dillon Ward remains one of the top goaltenders in the league. Connor Nock and Owen Down have been recent draftees who have brought a physical presence to the back gate for Pat Coyle, while Owen Rahn and Jalen Chaster has become Swiss Army Knives for the team.

Colorado is going to have to wait and see who falls into the second round, as their first two selections in 2026 fall in the openeing few picks of the second. But this team drafts players that fit into their system perfectly, so expect Coyle and Co to find some strong contributors to the lineup.

Georgia Swarm

Needs: Depth

What started out as a season where there weren’t high expectations for the Swarm ended with a trip to the NLL Semi-Finals.

Lyle Thompson and Shayne Jackson continued to be elite scorers for the team, Nolan Byrne was outstanding in his rookie year, Kaleb Benedict took a massive step, Michael Grace was a stalwart on the back end in his first season, and Jacob Hickey was also incredible as a two-way player.

That’s all to say that Georgia’s season could have gone a completely different way if not for the MVP season of goaltender Brett Dobson. He went from being questioned at the start of the season to being undeniable as an elite goaltender in the NLL and one of only three goalies in league history to capture MVP.

Especially on the defensive side of the ball, it’s time for the Swarm to start prioritizing getting some more depth. They’ve done a good job of it the last few drafts, but Jordan MacIntosh will be 37 at the start of the season, Mike Manley will be 38, and Michael Grace will most likely miss a chunk of the season with his non-contact injury he suffered in the playoffs, they could use some extra depth pieces.

The expectations will be bigger for Georgia heading into this coming year now with their results in 2026. They’ll be tasked with meeting those goals and trying to push one step further to compete for an NLL title.

Halifax Thunderbirds

It was a Cinderella run for the Halifax Thunderbirds to the NLL Finals, after the team made the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. The team turned heads, getting big goaltending performances from Warren Hill, along with strong efforts on both sides of the ball. But after coming up just short of their ultimate goal, the focus in the Maritimes will turn to making trips to the NLL Final an expectation, not a one-time blip. That will start with an important off-season in Halifax.

The right side will be loaded for Halifax next year. They were without Randy Staats for half the season and lost Thomas Hoggarth for the year in the season opener. Additionally, sixth overall pick Alex Marinier will join the team next year after finishing up with Ohio State. Clarke Petterson led the team in scoring, while Brendan Bomberry and Casey Wilson were both big contributors for the Thunderbirds in the postseason. Both can also play either way and be trusted in transition, giving Mike Accursi and his staff some roster flexibility.

Halifax shipped out Dawson Theede in a mid-season trade, and it led to second-half breakouts for both Jason Knox and Mike Robinson. Knox led the playoffs with 18 goals, and his star looks to be on the rise. The big question for the lefties will be if Cody Jamieson decides to return for his 16th NLL campaign. They have 2026 first-rounder Will MacLeod in the fold, but could they look to add some extra depth in this draft?

The more likely route is for the Thunderbirds to continue adding defenders that bring athleticism and two-way ability to the back end. Ryan Terefenko and Colton Armstrong have been the team’s most consistent transition threats the last few years, as well as Jake Withers, who won TPOTY two seasons ago.

With the 14th and 15th overall picks in the draft, they’ll have to wait and see who falls to them, but this draft is deep enough that they’ll be happy with whoever they land with their back-to-back picks.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs

Needs: Goaltending/Defensive Depth

The Desert Dogs came up just short of the postseason on the final weekend of the regular season; however, the team took significant steps forward to contend in the future.

It started with their off-season signings of Mitch Jones, Chris Cloutier, and Chase Fraser. Jones had 102 points while Cloutier finished with a team-best 40 goals and a career-high 83-point season.

Jonathan Donville led the team with 103 points on the year, with a ridiculous 78 assists. Fraser was also averaging over 3.5 points per game before an early-season injury put him on the shelf long-term. That offence is very talented, and Adam Poitras is proving to be the mutant we all expected him to be when Vegas scooped him up at second overall in 2023.

The biggest change to the Desert Dogs came on the back end, as Shawn Williams addressed some needs at the trade deadline. Tyson Bell and Zach Young were added to stabilize the defence, and they’ll do well to continue adding to that with two picks in the first 15 of this draft.

One other area of need is still goaltending. Caleb Khan was a high pick for the Dogs last year, but he’s also a 2007-born goaltender who has a long way to go in his development before Vegas can ask him to be the guy full-time for them. That is likely something they address via trade this off-season.

Sitting with the sixth overall pick, it’s hard to know if a player like Michael White would make it to Williams. He coached the talented defender in junior, and he would be an x-factor on the back end. With an expected run of forwards off the top of the draft, there’s a chance that the Desert Dogs could add extra defensive help with their early selection. Also owning the 13th overall selection, there’s going to be another talented player there who could make an immediate difference in Vegas.

Oshawa FireWolves

Needs: A breath of fresh air

We’re three years removed from the FireWolves being a win away from an NLL championship, and if you’d told us that they would have finished with a 6-12 record this past season, we would’ve called you crazy.

This team has all the pieces to be a strong contender in the league. Alex Simmons is a 100-point scorer, while Tye Kurtz, Ethan Walker, and Dyson Williams are all outstanding scorers who can explode on any given night. Doug Jamieson is still a very strong goaltender who can steal a game for his team. The defence has some strong leaders in Nick Chaykowsky, Colton Watkinson, Kyle Rubisch, Mike Byrne, Jackson Nishimura, and Will Johansen. Jaxon Fridge was a standout rookie for the team out of the back gate. So what went wrong?

It has the feel of a team that has maintained a similar nucleus for years but has not been able to get to its ultimate goal. It’ll be a fascinating off-season in Oshawa, with the team looking to make moves and shake up its roster. They’re also in a position to be a major player in free agency, as local players from Ontario who want to stay home will give a big consideration to the FireWolves as a landing spot — look no further than Rubisch last summer.

The other issue this year is that Oshawa moved its first-round selection in a trade that landed them Johnathan Peshko, who had three points in eight games this past year. The FireWolves have two early second-rounders, but it’ll be a tough task to get immediate impact players outside of the first round. The team has done a great job in acquiring talent in the draft. But we’ll have to wait and see if they can turn things around and get back into the playoff mix next year.

Ottawa Black Bears

Needs: Offensive Depth/Defence

There are a lot of questions surrounding the Black Bears’ organization at this date and time. As we now know from an NLL release, GF Lacrosse LLC’s ownership of the club has been terminated, and the team has reimbursed season ticket holders, as they will no longer be playing at Canadian Tire Centre.

Unfortunately for fans of lacrosse in the Canadian capital, this doesn’t spell well for the future of the franchise in Ottawa. It has the feeling of the Panther City situation from a few years ago. The team could very well find new ownership and stay in the city for the future, but things aren’t sounding good.

But as the current situation stands, the team has not folded, so let’s look at their roster and what they could look to do come draft time.

This team has elite pieces at every position. Jeff Teat is still among the best in the World, Callum Jones is coming off a dominant season that earned him Defender of the Year, and despite a down year, Zach Higgins remains one of the best shot-stoppers in the league.

There were some definite bright spots as well: the addition of Rob Hellyer was big for the team, Reilly O’Connor hit the 70-point mark for the third time in his career, and some players on the defensive side of the ball took steps. But the Black Bears would need to keep adding through the draft to improve. Hellyer is 34 and will be going into his 15th season. He’s also battled injuries in the past, so some extra insurance on that side would be big for Ottawa.

Defensively, they need some more help behind Jones, Marinier, Noseworthy, and Brownell. Luc Magnan is a good vet who helps sort things out on the defensive side; Jake Stevens and Reed Kurtz have been good, and Volkov and Saunders also had solid years, but stagnation is death in the NLL. You have to keep improving across the board to find success.

Currently sitting with the second overall pick in the draft, Ottawa might have the easiest choice on the day. Or maybe not. There are three righties all at the top of their respective games. Two of Spallina, Thomson, and Richmond will be sitting there at No. 2. Could Ottawa look to continue to bolster the lefties and take Matt Collison? Possibly. But righties feel like the move here.

Adding one of those young righties in with a side that already boasts Hellyer, Kearnan, and 2025 pick Liam Aston would be a great starting point for the Black Bears heading into next season.

We’ll have to see how the next couple of months go, however, before we focus on who Ottawa is taking in September.

Philadelphia Wings

Needs: Forwards & Defence

A lot of the talk of the off-season for Philadelphia will not be centred around their draft position. That is, however, until their franchise’s ownership situation is sorted out. The Wings do own the first overall selection in this year’s draft, but with Comcast selling the organization, it’s hard to predict where the team will be playing its lacrosse come the winter.

Regardless of where this team lands, it’s a roster that needs a lot of work. They made a lot of moves at this past trade deadline, sending out Joe Resetarits, Blaze Riorden, and Phil Caputo on the front end. They landed some picks and bodies — namely, Lukas Nielsen from Buffalo.

Brennan O’Neill was the first-overall pick two years ago, but they’ll need to build around him to improve in the future. That could start by adding a game-changing forward prospect. The big question will remain: who will go off the top of the board? From a talent and marketing perspective in the US, Joey Spallina makes a ton of sense for the team. But that’s assuming the Wings do stay in South of the border. Finn Thomson has his own case to go first, as does Silas Richmond, whose stock is going to keep rising this summer after a standout college season.

The one place where Philadelphia is steady is in the crease. Nick Damude kept the team competitive in a majority of its games this past season, and Deacon Knott is coming into his own as a pro goalie.

Philadelphia also owns a compensatory pick at 17th overall. They can pair the top player off the board with a dependable first-rounder; they’ll set themselves up nicely for next season and beyond.

Rochester Knighthawks

Needs: Defence/Goaltending

The one thing that the Knighthawks do not need is another forward. They have one of the best units as a whole league-wide. So much so that they ended up putting Zed Williams out the back gate at the tail end of this past season.

Connor Fields and Ryan Lanchbury each had 100 points apiece. Ryan Smith had over 40 goals for the third straight season, Thomas McConvey has his second straight 70-plus point campaign, and both Kyle Waters and Graydon Hogg were strong contributors when called on.

Where Rochester falls short is in the crease. While Rylan Hartley has shown flashes of being elite in the past, the Knighthawks flip-flopped between him and Riley Hutchcraft for most of the season, looking for someone to take the reins.

Unfortunately for the Knighthawks, they’ll likely be another team looking for solutions in the crease via trade. Saka Thompson is the best goalie available in this class — barring an early renunciation — and he needs some more experience before being looked to as a starter in the NLL.

The other need could be defence, and more so the depth aspect. Ian Llord is 40, Dan Coates is 39, and Brad Gillies is about to be 35. Ryland Rees, Matt Gilray, and Chad Tutton are foundational pieces for their defence going forward, but adding some new faces will help get the team back to where they want to be.

With the third overall pick, they’re another team that could really use a player like Michael White or Dante Bowen to help that defensive unit off the top of the board, although it’ll be tough to pass on one of those top forwards on the board. Especially if a guy like Silas Richmond — who has ties to Western New York from his days at UAlbany — is still available.

San Diego Seals

Needs: Lefty O

San Diego came up just short of the NLL Finals, losing out to the eventual champion Toronto Rock in Game 3 of the semis. There were some big steps taken by the team this year.

What was lacking slightly, however, was the production on the lefty side. Yes, Zach Currier was a mutant again, playing all over the floor for San Diego. Connor Robinson matched his production, also finishing with 57 points. But Dylan Watson ended with under 40 points, and while Noah Armitage had over two points per game, the team needs some extra help on that side of the floor.

Corey Small was a free-agent addition who the team hoped would give them some pop, but he played in just seven games and is currently 39.

Unfortunately, this isn’t really the deepest year for lefties. Past Matt Collison, who is likely to be a top-five pick, Lucas Dudemaine and Andrew Bowman are the next best lefties on our big board. The Seals currently sit at the sixth overall selection, and their next pick doesn’t fall until the middle of the second. But San Diego likes to do a lot of its work via trade and free agency. In that case, they could be in a spot to pick the best player on their board and continue to improve in other areas.

Saskatchewan Rush

Needs: Size/Overall depth

It was a very strange year for the Rush following an NLL Finals appearance in 2025. They were the talk of the league through the first half of the season, jumping out to a commanding 10-1 start past the midway point — as they looked to be a shoo-in for the top seed. And then, their second half left a lot of questions.

Saskatchewan won just two of its last seven games of the year, with one of them being in their season finale against Toronto in overtime. That earned them a quarter-final matchup against the same Rock, who got their revenge en route to winning the title.

This roster is nearly identical to the one that nearly won them a championship a year ago, so it’s hard to pinpoint what happened down the home stretch of the season. Frank Scigliano didn’t have the best finish, but he remains a top goalie in the NLL, and both the offence and defence are strong units. The Rush will be looking to wipe the past and run it back again with a solid roster in 2026-27.

The one glaring need would be some size up front. While the Rush are tremendously talented, they do have some trouble moving defensive bodies around at times, which stalled their production. This isn’t to say they need to just bring in big bodies who only bang and crash, but rather the team should look to help bring in skill and size.

On the back end, they just need to keep adding depth bodies to help in case of injuries. Getting Levi Verch last year definitely helped with the Rush’s overall depth, but it never hurts to have too many good options on defence.

Sitting at 10th overall — and in the middle of each round in this draft — the Rush can continue to add to the fold and look to be back in the mix for a title again next season.

Toronto Rock

Needs: Nothing

Not only did Jamie Dawick add his second NLL championship as an owner this year with the Rock, but he was also named the NLL’s General Manager of the Year. How will he follow it up this off-season? How about the reigning champs picking fourth overall in this year’s draft? As a result of the Nick Rose trade with Calgary last year, Toronto will now have another high pick this year.

A team that already has an absurd amount of riches in roster depth, the Rock will now be able to add a top prospect in this draft or flip that pick for an impact player to help them go for a repeat in 2027.

Toronto added the top three players in last year’s class with an incredible pooling of assets at the 2025 trade deadline. That resulted in them landing the 2026 Rookie of the Year in CJ Kirst and Owen Hiltz. They will also add Ty English this year after he finished his college career with North Carolina.

Not to mention Sam English, who made the switch to transition in his rookie year, which ended with him winning a championship and taking home Finals MVP. Hugh Kelleher also broke out for Toronto after they snapped him up in the second round in 2025. Their two-way dominance allowed captain Challen Rogers to be a full-time forward, which created matchup issues for opposing defences.

It was a committee approach for the Rock this year, with their top two scorers (Kirst and Mark Matthews) each finishing with 71 points apiece. Chris Boushy, Josh Dawick, and Dan Craig all finding success as secondary pieces.

Defensively, Latrell Harris is a force, as is Brad Kri. Those two players are anchors for the Toronto defence. Elijah Gash has also improved from a physical presence to a legitimate matchup defender for the Rock.

With Rose turning 38 mid-season, there will be questions about how much longer he’ll play — especially now that the elusive NLL championship has been captured. But he’s got some tread still, and the Rock also have a strong option in Troy Holowchuk for the future.

For Toronto, it’s the best player available in this draft. They’re going to be a problem again next year, especially as they continue to add young talent to the fold.

Vancouver Warriors

What was a historic regular season for the Warriors ended in shocking fashion, as the team bowed out in the first round, being bested by the eighth-seeded Thunderbirds at home in one of the craziest comebacks in league history.

It’ll take some time to get over how the 2026 season ended, but Curt Malawsky’s squad is going to bounce back and be one of the top teams in the league again next year. At the top of the to-do list for the off-season is to get some younger depth and add a righty to bolster their offence.

Keegan Bal was the best forward in the NLL this season, and in any other year, he would’ve been a runaway MVP winner. But Curtis Dickson will be turning 38 ahead of the 2026-27 season, and Ryan Sheridan played in all 18 regular-season games and finished with just 14 points. Another threat on that side could pay massive dividends for the Warriors.

While this remains one of the best rosters in the league, it is also one of the oldest ones. Along with Dickson, Brett Mydske will also be 38 heading into next season, Ryan Dilks will be 36, Matt Beers will be 37, and Jeff Cornwall just turned 35. While they are still among the best in the league at their respective positions, you have to always be planning for the present and future in the NLL.

They have an elite goaltender and an MVP finalist in Bal, leading the way. Owen Grant also continues to get better every year. This team is built to be a wagon for the next couple of years.

As a result of the Jonathan Peshko trade two years ago, the league’s top team in the regular season will pick fifth overall this year. The home-run pick for the Warriors would be Silas Richmond. A British Columbia native who fills a need and is an elite talent would be incredible for the franchise. But it’s looking increasingly likely that he’ll be off the board before the fifth pick. But for a team looking for righty help, this is the draft to address that need. There’s depth at that spot, and Vancouver will get their guy with an early pick.

2026 NLL Draft - Team Needs