National Lacrosse League

Last week Shawn Evans of the Calgary Roughnecks faced off against his brother. Scott, of the Edmonton Rush in the Fantasy Spotlight. Here are their Week 12 stats:

Shawn Evans (vs. Buffalo): two goals, seven assists, and five loose balls for 27 fantasy points.
Scott Evans (vs. Washington): two goals, one assist, and five loose balls for 15 fantasy points

Both had good fantasy games but Shawn clearly continues his recent hot streak. It would have been hard for his brother to top that! Shawn had his best performance of the season thus far to get the win this time around, and it surely not the last time these siblings compete against one another.

The Week 13 spotlight traverses positional barriers as Daryl Veltman, a forward from the Calgary Roughnecks, takes on Andrew Suitor who plays transition for the Minnesota Swarm.

Veltman and Suitor are each valued at $12, and are both coming off one of the best games of their respective seasons. Veltman currently has more fantasy points overall with 148 compared to Suitor’s 129, but Suitor has played one fewer game so their fantasy point-per-game averages are roughly the same.

Which of these players do you think will win this week’s matchup? Vote in the poll on the right. 

BUY

John Grant Jr. (Colorado $25) – Never again this season will you see John Grant Jr. grace the ‘avoid’ section. I put him there last week because I thought his recent injury might affect his performance. If anything, it somehow made him better! Grant made a fool out of me with six goals – a sock trick - in his first game of the weekend against Philadelphia then had nine assists 12 points in the rematch with the Wings. It didn’t even matter which game you had penciled him in since he put up over 30 fantasy points in both of them. Grant remains the top player in fantasy despite missing two games. Get him back in your lineup and keep him there.

Nick Rose (Toronto $10) – Rose made his Rock debut last weekend against the Knighthawks and he shined allowing just seven goals on 35 shots faced. His value got a nice boost, but he is still the cheapest starting goaltender in the Fantasy Challenge. His value should continue to rise as long as he does well. He faces the Bandits this week and if Buffalo’s recent struggles are any indication, you’ll definitely want Rose on your roster. Managers looking to make a quick buck should consider leaving him on their team for the next few weeks.

Bob Snider (Washington $11) – It is a rare occurrence that a defenseman scores 20 fantasy points, but Snider has done that twice this season by consistently dominating the loose balls category. He has 130 on the season, which puts him second in the NLL behind his brother, Geoff Snider of Calgary. While he may not score like his brother - Bob has just three assists in 12 games - he is worth his price tag for the loose balls alone and is currently the top defenseman in the Fantasy Challenge.

Steve Toll (Edmonton $5) – Steve Toll came out of retirement and made his season debut for the Rush last week. Although he didn’t manage to score any fantasy points, it should be noted that he averaged 6.5 fantasy points per game last season in Colorado. Considering it was his first game back, last week doesn’t really count and Toll could prove to be a good value.

Kasey Beirnes (Toronto $17) – Beirnes has been playing phenomenally well recently with 89 fantasy points over his last five games. That is an average of 17.8 points per game, which would be even higher if not for a game earlier this month when he was held scoreless and put up just two fantasy points. He is hot right now and worth putting in your lineup.

AVOID

Aaron Wilson (Edmonton $13) – Wilson just hasn’t seemed to fit into Edmonton’s offensive scheme and his fantasy value has seriously diminished as the season has gone on. He has scored five or fewer fantasy points four times this season, including a two-point game last week. Wilson averages just 8.1 points per game.   

Jordan Hall (Rochester $17) – Hall suffered a torn ACL last weekend against Toronto and will definitely be out of the Knighthawks’ lineup for quite some time. Take him off your fantasy team.

MY TEAM

G – Aaron Bold (Edmonton $17)
D – Kyle Rubisch (Edmonton $11)
D – Jeff Gilbert (Minnesota $6)
T – Peter McFetridge (Calgary $7)
T – Jordan MacIntosh (Minnesota $18)
T – Pat McCready (Rochester $8)
F – John Grant Jr. (Colorado $25)
F – Sean Pollock (Colorado $15)
F – Cody Jamieson (Rochester $20)
F – Colin Doyle (Toronto $19)

Team Value: $146