Bringing to the Dance
Stick with most of the guys who led you to three straight NLL Championships. That’s the rhythm the Bandits will follow in the ‘March to May’ NLL marketing campaign, which is underway.
Oh, add a trusty hand from down the street, the highest scoring American-born player in the NLL, veteran Joe Resetarits from Philadelphia, and gritty transition/forward Tyler Hendrycks from Calgary.
While general manager and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich had to part ways with forward Lukas Nielsen and a couple of picks, the team’s roster is loaded with talent and a keen eye on qualifying for the playoffs.
Joey Rez!
Resetarits returns home to Buffalo and the Bandits after successful stints in Rochester, New England, Albany, and Philadelphia. During the season and a half (2014-15) with the Bandits, Resetarits scored 33 goals and 35 assists.
The Hamburg native was the first American-born player to score 100 points in a regular-season game, a feat he has accomplished four times, including 121 points last season with Philadelphia.
With 13 seasons in the NLL, Resetarits comes back to the Bandits with 946 overall points and a 15+30=45 mark in 12 games played this season with the Wings. A former first-round choice by Calgary in 2012, he’ll look real good sporting the Bandit colors once again with number 15.
Howdy Hendrycks
Tyler Hendrycks, a second-round pick by Toronto in ’22, brings his 6’3”, 215-pound frame to the Bandits’ left side from Calgary, with 19 overall games played and a 5+7=12 scoring total.
“First off, tough day letting go of Lucas Nielsen. Great kid with a very bright future,” said Dietrich.
“Bringing in both Joe and Tyler will help our offence. Joe adds a nice scoring touch that will translate well on the right side, and Tyler brings some size and athleticism to the left side.”
The Bandits have six games remaining, leveling at the 500 mark and in a playoff position as they regenerate their solid form of late, starting Friday night against the Colorado Mammoth inside KeyBank Center.
There’s no point in looking ahead at upcoming games, including those against standings neighbor San Diego, and then Saskatchewan, Vancouver, Rochester, and Oshawa.
For your peace of mind, I recommend visiting Graeme Parrow’s site, nllstats.com, and customizing your results by handicapping the “Could Happen” icon on the left side of his homepage. There are 40 remaining regular-season NLL games starting this Friday.
Turning 40
Typing 40 in the last paragraph brings up a historical note: the NLL will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the box game as we know it. According to the record book, Chris Fritz and Russ Cline incorporated the Eagle Pro Box League, a forerunner to the current-day NLL, on March 13, 1986.
Teams listed included the Philadelphia Wings, Washington Wave, New Jersey Saints, and the Baltimore Thunder. The first game played was on January 10, 1987, with the Saints defeating the Wings 11-8. In recognition of the anniversary and a salute to Fritz & Cline, broadcast teams will wear pink pins.
If You Build It
It takes more than a village to support the champion, Bandits. I would say it requires a small borough with dedicated Bandits and Sabres personnel working long hours. This encompasses doctors, trainers, directors, travel, culinary, security, marketing, ticketing, clinics, junior Bandits, community members, and equipment managers.
Equipment manager Ted Cordingley exemplifies the team’s dedication and innovation. Now in his 19th season with the Bandits, Cordingley has the unique ability to fix anything and care for various types of equipment.
Equipment Manager, Ted Cordingley
He attends to each player’s needs and repairs anything immediately, ensuring the equipment and player are back in action. He has extensive experience in his other role as the Fleet Foreman at Hydro One in Brampton, Ontario, caring for large trucks.
Cordingley readily recommends that equipment manufacturers improve their gear. Instead of just criticizing the quality, he actively helps create improvements. For example, he developed stronger, safer Warrior players’ gloves through a beta process that uses new manufacturing techniques with enhanced plastic and heavy-duty nylon threading.
“I showed the Warrior rep and engineer the prototype of my modification to the glove, removing the foam and plastic and replacing it with thicker plastic reinforced with nylon threading,” said Cordingley.
“Now, all the NLL franchise Warrior clubs have the upgrade featuring the thicker plastic and heavy-duty nylon. I believe we’re on the right track, and next year we might make a little more progress with the cuff height. After that, I’ll start working on the goalie gloves.”
The equipment evolves just like game, always for the better.
Broadcast Information for Friday, March 13, Buffalo vs. Colorado
Radio coverage of the game will be on WGR Sports Radio 550 AM and 107.7 FM, as well as Audacy.com. The pregame show will start at 7 pm.
Television coverage will be on CW23, ESPN+, Altitude, TSN+, and NLL+. Broadcast starts at 7:30 pm
Steve Bermel joins me in the Ted Darling booth, Dave Buchanan will be between the benches.