In the second National Lacrosse League blockbuster trade in a week, the Colorado Mammoth acquired former No. 1 overall draft pick Ryan Benesch from the Buffalo Bandits for forward Callum Crawford and Alex Buque.
Benesch, a left-handed forward, led the NLL in scoring in 2011 with 95 points and surpassed the 100-point mark in 2015 with 55 goals and 58 assists. Drafted first overall by the San Jose Stealth in 2006, Benesch is a two-time first-team All-Pro selection with 362 career goals. He ranked third in the NLL in shooting percentage last year, converting at 21 percent.
“Adding a player of Ryan's caliber to a lineup that already includes so many talented players will make us a dangerous team,” Mammoth general manager Dan Carey said in a press release issued by the team.
There are so many people to thank who made my time in Buffalo these last 4 years unforgettable. THANK YOU to everyone who was apart of it!
— Ryan Benesch (@beniboi21) August 1, 2017
Crawford, of course, is no slouch. He ranked sixth in the NLL with 98 points during the 2017 season, including a career-best 36 goals. In 2016, he tied the NLL single-season record with 83 assists.
“We were able to acquire a top-flight offensive player in Callum who has averaged more than 100 points over the last two seasons and is regarded as one of the best passers in the game,” Bandits general manager Steve Dietrich said on the team’s website.
Buque backed up Dillon Ward in Colorado. He went 7-9 over the last three seasons, with a 77.4 save percentage and 11.16 goals against average.
Tuesday’s trade comes on the heels of last Tuesday’s megadeal that saw the Toronto Rock land Adam Jones, another star lefty forward.