This story appears in the December 2019 issue of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don't get the mag? Become a member here.
History tells us to not expect much from National Lacrosse League expansion teams.
Franchises like the Rush, which took five years to break .500, are far more common than one like the Buffalo Bandits, which earned a championship in its first season in 1992.
Yet the San Diego Seals proved last season you don’t have to mire in mediocrity for years before making a move for a division title in this new era of expansion. That’s music to the ears of the league’s two new franchises this year, the Rochester Knighthawks (2.0) and New York Riptide, and the many more commissioner Nick Sakiewicz has said are coming.
The key? It starts with not acting like an expansion team.
“Our president, Steve Govett, set the tone,” said captain Brodie Merrill, who has prior experience with early expansion success in Portland. “‘We’re an expansion team in name only.’ That was one of the first things that he said to us. That resonated.”
San Diego flirted with a first-place finish in the always-tough Western Division in its inaugural season, eventually slotting into a tie for second with Calgary. The Seals, led by NLL Rookie of the Year Austin Staats, made the playoffs but fell to the eventual champion Roughnecks in the semifinals.
Now, head coach and general manager Patrick Merrill and his staff face something new — expectations, and the understanding that they won’t be sneaking up on anyone anymore.
The Seals, fittingly, made the splashiest move of the offseason when they traded for Calgary’s Wes Berg in July. The 26-year-old forward sat out last season with the Roughnecks due to a contract dispute but ranked eighth in the league in points in 2018 and already has 232 career points in the NLL.
“It’s exciting that we’re being aggressive,” Brodie Merrill said. “He’s obviously one of the top young players in the game, and he’s also a character person.”
Berg watched the Seals from afar last season and was impressed with what he saw. “It’s an offense that doesn’t just have the ball sit in one guy’s stick,” he said. “There’s a lot of good friends out there. It’s going to be exciting to work together as a unit and start gelling, getting some chemistry going.”
Patrick Merrill wasn’t done adding to his offense, sending draft picks to Colorado for veterans Zack Greer and Jeremy Noble in September. Serving as another addition of sorts on that side of the ball is Connor Fields, a first-round draft pick last season who was limited to three games due to injury.
Defensively, the Seals turned to the draft for added troops and have a handful of Americans that could make a difference. Garrett Epple and Mark Glicini are two names to keep an eye on.
The news isn’t all positive. Staats tore his ACL toward the end of the regular season, keeping him out this summer and likely into the season. And veteran Dan Dawson opted to leave via free agency to play for the Toronto Rock.
But the Seals added depth and will get more time to connect with one another heading into the year than they did last season, when training camps were stalled during a labor disagreement.
“Our plan is to take another step,” Patrick Merrill said, “and go further in the playoffs toward fighting for a championship at the end of the year."