2023 Premier Lacrosse League Preview: Redwoods LC

With the 2023 Premier Lacrosse League season set to open in Albany, N.Y., on June 3, USA Lacrosse Magazine is going team by team in the days leading up to the opener. Today, we take a deep dive on Redwoods LC.

REDWOODS LC

2022 Record: 4-6
Head Coach: Nat St. Laurent
Assistants: Chris Collins, John Grant Jr.

Key Additions: Wes Berg, A; Owen Grant, D; Eli McLaughlin, A; Matt Rahill, D; Ryan Tierney, M

Key departures: Patrick Harbeson, M (retired); Kyle Hartzell, LSM (Cannons); Matt Kavanagh, A (Cannons); Finn Sullivan, D (Cannons)

STORYLINES TO WATCH

How much of a Canadian influence will the offense have?

The Redwoods stepped on the Chaos’ turf this offseason by adding a little Canadian flair, starting with the hiring of John Grant Jr. as an assistant coach. A Hall of Famer in both box and field, Grant brings tremendous experience as a player in addition to time as a coach with the Denver Outlaws and Johns Hopkins.

The Redwoods are also set to get back Ryan Lee after he missed all of 2022 with a severe knee injury. Lee was limited to just three games in 2021, but those who have followed pro lacrosse back to the Major League Lacrosse days know what he’s capable of doing when healthy. He notched 38 goals in 2019 and 59 points in 2018, the last season prior to the PLL’s formation. He could be flanked by one of his National Lacrosse League teammates after the Redwoods signed Eli McLaughlin as a free agent. McLaughlin, who has yet to play pro field lacrosse, is coming off back-to-back 83-point seasons with the Colorado Mammoth.

Coach Nat St. Laurent mentioned he values a box background in his pre-draft media availability, which could mean a different looking Redwoods team in 2023. The group used the two-man game less than any other team in the PLL last year.

Will the Redwoods stick with one goalie?

Following a dreadful start to the 2022 season, St. Laurent opted to make a change in the cage for Week 5 by swapping out incumbent starter Tim Troutner for Jack Kelly. Troutner had been the Woods’ netminder since he arrived as a rookie in the league’s first season but seemed out of rhythm. A 26.7 save percentage in a 12-11 loss to the Whipsnakes at Homewood Field was enough to spur St. Laurent into a change. It helped that the Redwoods enjoyed the luxury of one of the top backups in the league.

Kelly’s career was drastically disrupted by a torn ACL while with the U.S. men’s national team in Israel in 2018 — an injury that required multiple surgeries — but previously was named Major League Lacrosse’s Rookie of the Year and Goalie of the Year with the Denver Outlaws.

Kelly started the remainder of the year for the Redwoods, helping the team stabilize enough to secure the sixth seed in the playoffs. The Redwoods still finished last in the league in both save percentage (43.3%) and total saves (91) by a wide margin. The Woods were 5-percent worse in save percentage than the seventh-place finisher, the Waterdogs.

Kelly and Troutner remain the Redwoods’ two options. Will we see both yet again, or will one grab the starting position by the horns?

Will the Redwoods’ moves be enough to stop the backslide?

The Redwoods established themselves as one of the better-constructed teams in the PLL early on, making it to the league’s inaugural championship bout against the Whipsnakes in 2019. It’s been well documented how close the team was to winning that first title if it weren’t for the heroics of Matt Rambo. In the years since, the Woods have only gone backward. The Whips were the boogeyman twice more in the following two seasons, defeating the Redwoods in the semifinals in 2020 and the quarterfinals in 2021. Last summer, the Redwoods again failed to get out of the quarters, trailing by as much as eight in a 13-8 loss to Archers.

St. Laurent shook things up by trading Matt Kavanagh for youth after a shooting season to forget, and he bolstered the defense by selecting Delaware’s Owen Grant with the second overall pick. The offense, which still includes the likes of Rob Pannell, Ryder Garnsey, Myles Jones, Jules Heningburg and the emerging Charlie Bertrand, gains reinforcements in the return of Lee and the additions of Wes Berg and Ryan Tierney. Nakeie Montgomery should also take a step in his sophomore campaign.

Will tinkering be enough for a return to the championship?