The Calgary Roughnecks are a team that most don't consider as being a top contender for the Champions Cup. But, like always, Calgary has a lot of talent and could be real threat in the western conference. When you have the NLL MVP Jeff Shattler on your team, opponents should watch out. Shattler had 29 goals and 46 assists last season for the Roughnecks in their 10th year of existence.
Shattler isn't the only source of offense for the Riggers, as guys like Dane Dobbie, Daryl Veltman, Scott Ranger, and Dickson also man the offense. Dobbie had an outstanding 4th season in Calgary, scoring 34 goals and 41 assists, five points below his total from the previous year.Calgary also brought in a few great offensive talents, including the likes of Shawn Evans and draft pick Travis Cornwall. Evans was acquired in a trade from Rochester, bringing in another player who scored at least 70 points last season. Cornwall was drafted 7th overall by the Roughnecks in this year's draft. He showed a lot of potential for the Coquitlam Adanacs, and looks to bring that skill to the NLL.
What it comes down to for the Roughnecks is how they play on the back end. They have some great defenders, including captain Andrew McBride, but still allowed many goals. Their goaltenders aren't bad (In a league with nine teams, it would be hard to have terrible goaltenders) but they aren't world class. Mike Poulin and Nick Rose are both decent, but they haven't really proved themselves yet. I believe if the goaltending tightens up, they may win the Western Conference.
Calgary took a step back in many ways last year, trying to find chemistry without guys like Tracey Kelusky and Josh Sanderson. A year more experienced and a year wiser, I believe Calgary has a ton of great young leaders who are ready to step up big time. Their offense on paper is stacked, but will they live up to it? Can the defense and goaltending tighten up? I guess we'll have to wait and see.
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