# 2023 NLL season

The 2023 National Lacrosse League season, formally known as the 2022–2023 season, was the 36th in the history of the NLL. The season began on December 2, 2022, and ended with the NLL final on June 3, 2023. This was the inaugural season for the expansion team Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
The preseason went from November 5 through November 26, 2022. It included games at Aʼnowaraʼko꞉wa Arena and Toronto Rock Athletic Centre. The regular season went from December 2, 2022, through April 20, 2023. This season had the most regular season games in NLL history with 135. The broadcasting partners are TSN in Canada and ESPN in the United States. TSN featured 20 games on TV with their NLL Game of the Week on TSN and show all the games online and their app. ESPN aired 10 games on TV and all games on ESPN+. Due to scheduling conflicts with ESPN's linear networks, Game 3 of the NLL Final was simulcast on WNLO in addition to being carried on ESPN+.
This was the first season for Commissioner Brett Frood, who was previously a NASCAR executive as president of the Stewart-Haas Racing team. Frood was a collegiate lacrosse player and was captain of the Brown University lacrosse team.
The 2023 NLL Stadium Showdown, the first outdoor NLL game, was held on March 4 at Snapdragon Stadium, between the San Diego Seals and the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.

## Teams

2023 National Lacrosse League :
| Division | Team | City | Arena | Capacity |
| East | Albany FireWolves | Albany, New York | MVP Arena | 14,236 |
| East | Buffalo Bandits | Buffalo, New York | KeyBank Center | 19,070 |
| East | Georgia Swarm | Duluth, Georgia | Gas South Arena | 10,500 |
| East | Halifax Thunderbirds | Halifax, Nova Scotia | Scotiabank Centre | 10,500 |
| East | New York Riptide | Uniondale, New York | Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum | 13,917 |
| East | Philadelphia Wings | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Wells Fargo Center | 19,306 |
| East | Rochester Knighthawks | Rochester, New York | Blue Cross Arena | 10,662 |
| East | Toronto Rock | Toronto, Ontario | Scotiabank Arena | 18,800 |
| West | Calgary Roughnecks | Calgary, Alberta | Scotiabank Saddledome | 19,289 |
| West | Colorado Mammoth | Denver, Colorado | Ball Arena | 18,000 |
| West | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Paradise, Nevada | Michelob Ultra Arena | 12,000 |
| West | Panther City Lacrosse Club | Fort Worth, Texas | Dickies Arena | 12,200 |
| West | San Diego Seals | San Diego, California | Pechanga Arena | 12,920 |
| West | Saskatchewan Rush | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan | SaskTel Centre | 15,195 |
| West | Vancouver Warriors | Vancouver, British Columbia | Rogers Arena | 18,910 |

## Regular season

Reference:
East Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xyz | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 215 | 191 | +24 | 11.94 | 10.61 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 234 | 164 | +70 | 13.00 | 9.11 |
| 3 | Halifax Thunderbirds – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 238 | 210 | +28 | 13.22 | 11.67 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 218 | 214 | +4 | 12.11 | 11.89 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 200 | 211 | −11 | 11.11 | 11.72 |
| 6 | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 219 | 207 | +12 | 12.17 | 11.50 |
| 7 | New York Riptide | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 201 | 243 | −42 | 11.17 | 13.50 |
| 8 | Albany FireWolves | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | 11.0 | 0–9 | 3–6 | 167 | 233 | −66 | 9.28 | 12.94 |
West Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | San Diego Seals – xy | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 240 | 193 | +47 | 13.33 | 10.72 |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 218 | 167 | +51 | 12.11 | 9.28 |
| 3 | Panther City Lacrosse Club – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 204 | 193 | +11 | 11.33 | 10.72 |
| 4 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 7–2 | 2–7 | 190 | 208 | −18 | 10.56 | 11.56 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 204 | 212 | −8 | 11.33 | 11.78 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 179 | 222 | −43 | 9.94 | 12.33 |
| 7 | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 4 | 14 | .222 | 10.0 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 188 | 247 | −59 | 10.44 | 13.72 |

## Scoring leaders

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; LB = Loose Balls
| Player | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | LB |
| Jeff Teat | New York Riptide | 18 | 56 | 80 | 136 | 2 | 105 |
| Dhane Smith | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 36 | 96 | 132 | 6 | 99 |
| Mitch Jones | Vancouver/Philadelphia | 19 | 44 | 82 | 126 | 14 | 119 |
| Tom Schreiber | Toronto Rock | 18 | 48 | 68 | 116 | 2 | 110 |
| Connor Fields | Rochester Knighthawks | 17 | 52 | 60 | 112 | 12 | 142 |
| Joe Resetarits | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 41 | 69 | 110 | 2 | 62 |
| Wesley Berg | San Diego Seals | 18 | 39 | 70 | 109 | 12 | 100 |
| Lyle Thompson | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 46 | 60 | 106 | 2 | 113 |
| Andrew Kew | Georgia Swarm | 16 | 43 | 63 | 106 | 2 | 91 |
| Robert Church | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 51 | 53 | 104 | 8 | 82 |

## Leading goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; Mins = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses: GA = Goals Allowed; SV% = Save Percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | Team | GP | Mins | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA |
| Matt Vinc | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 1047 | 14 | 4 | 182 | 0.803 | 10.42 |
| Nick Rose | Toronto Rock | 18 | 1056 | 13 | 5 | 159 | 0.804 | 9.03 |
| Christian Del Bianco | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 1080 | 13 | 5 | 167 | 0.810 | 9.28 |
| Frankie Scigliano | San Diego Seals | 18 | 694 | 10 | 2 | 124 | 0.775 | 10.71 |
| Nick Damude | Panther City Lacrosse Club | 18 | 971 | 10 | 6 | 167 | 0.788 | 10.31 |

## Playoffs

| Conference Semifinal | Conference Semifinal | Conference Semifinal | Conference Final (best of 3) | Conference Final (best of 3) | Conference Final (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) | NLL Final (best of 3) |
| E1 | Buffalo | 20 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Rochester | 8 | | | | | | |
| E4 | Rochester | 8 | E1 | Buffalo | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E1 | Buffalo | 2 | | | |
| Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | Eastern Conference | E2 | Toronto | 0 | | | |
| E2 | Toronto | 15 | E2 | Toronto | 0 | | | |
| E3 | Halifax | 11 | | | | | | |
| E3 | Halifax | 11 | | | | E1 | Buffalo | 2 |
| | | | | | | W4 | Colorado | 1 |
| W1 | San Diego | 12 | | | | | | | W4 | Colorado | 1 |
| W4 | Colorado | 13 | | | | | | |
| W4 | Colorado | 13 | W4 | Colorado | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W4 | Colorado | 2 | | | |
| Western Conference | Western Conference | Western Conference | W2 | Calgary | 1 | | | |
| W2 | Calgary | 12 | W2 | Calgary | 1 | | | |
| W3 | Panther City | 9 | | | | | | |

### Conference Final (best of three)
#### Eastern Conference
#### (E1) Buffalo Bandits vs. (E2) Toronto Rock

Bandits win series 2–0.

#### (W2) Calgary Roughnecks vs. (W4) Colorado Mammoth

Mammoth wins series 2–1.

#### (E1) Buffalo Bandits vs. (W4) Colorado Mammoth
### NLL Final (best of three)

Bandits win series 2–1

## Awards
### Annual awards

| Award | Winner | Other Finalists |
| Most Valuable Player | Christian Del Bianco, Calgary Roughnecks | Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits Jeff Teat, New York Riptide |
| Goaltender of the Year | Christian Del Bianco, Calgary Roughnecks | Nick Rose, Toronto Rock Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Latrell Harris, Toronto Rock | Graeme Hossack, Halifax Thunderbirds Brad Kri, Toronto Rock |
| Transition Player of the Year | Zach Currier, Calgary Roughnecks | Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors Challen Rogers, Toronto Rock |
| Rookie of the Year | Jonathan Donville, Panther City Lacrosse Club | Brett Dobson, Georgia Swarm Jack Hannah, Las Vegas Desert Dogs |
| Sportsmanship Award | Lyle Thompson, Georgia Swarm | Kyle Buchanan, Buffalo Bandits Tom Schreiber, Toronto Rock |
| GM of the Year | Dan Carey, Rochester Knighthawks | Mike Board, Calgary Roughnecks Jamie Dawick, Toronto Rock |
| Les Bartley Award | Curt Malawsky, Calgary Roughnecks | Tracey Kelusky, Panther City Lacrosse Club Mike Hasen, Rochester Knighthawks |
| Executive of the Year Award | Mark Fine, Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Melissa Blades, Calgary Roughnecks Matt Hutchings, Colorado Mammoth |
| Teammate of the Year Award | Dan Dawson, Toronto Rock | Kyle Buchanan, Buffalo Bandits John LaFontaine, Albany FireWolves |
| Tom Borrelli Award | Teddy Jenner, TSN, Off The Crossebar Podcast | Adam Levi, NLL, Lacrosse Flash Pat Gregoire, Halifax Thunderbirds, Off The Crossebar Podcast |

## Stadiums and locations

| Georgia Swarm | Albany FireWolves | New York Riptide | Philadelphia Wings |
| Gas South Arena | MVP Arena | Nassau Coliseum | Wells Fargo Center |
| Capacity: 11,355 | Capacity: 14,236 | Capacity: 13,917 | Capacity: 19,543 |
| Buffalo Bandits | Halifax Thunderbirds | Rochester Knighthawks | Toronto Rock |
| KeyBank Center | Scotiabank Centre | Blue Cross Arena | First Ontario Centre |
| Capacity: 19,070 | Capacity: 10,595 | Capacity: 11,200 | Capacity: 17,383 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | Colorado Mammoth | San Diego Seals | Saskatchewan Rush |
| WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome | Ball Arena | Pechanga Arena | Co-op Field at SaskTel Centre |
| Capacity: 19,289 | Capacity: 18,007 | Capacity: 12,920 | Capacity: 15,190 |
| Vancouver Warriors | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Panther City Lacrosse Club |
| Rogers Arena | Michelob Ultra Arena | Dickies Arena |
| Capacity: 18,910 | Capacity: 12,000 | Capacity: 12,200 |

## Attendance
### Regular Season

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 14,731 | 132,581 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 9 | 11,665 | 104,984 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 9 | 9,972 | 89,748 |
| Toronto Rock | 9 | 9,423 | 84,806 |
| Georgia Swarm | 9 | 8,665 | 77,984 |
| Saskatchewan Rush | 9 | 8,606 | 77,454 |
| Philadelphia Wings | 9 | 8,530 | 76,768 |
| Halifax Thunderbirds | 9 | 8,512 | 76,604 |
| Vancouver Warriors | 9 | 8,166 | 73,489 |
| Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 9 | 5,960 | 53,636 |
| San Diego Seals | 9 | 5,115 | 46,032 |
| Rochester Knighthawks | 9 | 5,114 | 46,024 |
| New York Riptide | 9 | 4,612 | 41,501 |
| Albany FireWolves | 9 | 3,610 | 32,491 |
| Panther City LC | 9 | 2,813 | 25,316 |
| League | 135 | 7,700 | 1,039,418 |

### Playoffs

| Home Team | Home Games | Average Attendance | Total Attendance |
| Buffalo Bandits | 4 | 14,715 | 58,860 |
| Calgary Roughnecks | 3 | 8,679 | 26,036 |
| Colorado Mammoth | 2 | 9,435 | 18,869 |
| Toronto Rock | 2 | 8,568 | 17,135 |
| San Diego Seals | 1 | 5,210 | 5,210 |
| League | 12 | 10,509 | 126,110 |