Time has been flying for fans of the sport of Lacrosse as the Albany FireWolves have been keeping themselves busy in getting the guys that they hope to have on the field for a successful 2023-23 National Lacrosse League Season.
All starting in the month of July, when the franchise signed a two-year deal with forward Alex Simmons.
Simmons after being drafted fourth overall by the FireWolves in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft is going to be a huge part of the team’s future. Alex has seen success at the Collegiate level as he played with both the University of Denver and Syracuse University and hopes to be a big part of the Albany’s offense when the 2023 season gets rolling.
After that the franchise stocked up their defensive unit by re-singing defensemen Mike Byrne to a two-year deal.
With six years playing with the Albany team, Byrne is going to be a great leader for the team’s defensive unite. Mike, coming off his best year in the league finishing the 2022-23 campaign with 79 loose ball recoveries, 15 caused turnovers, and 51 faceoff wins.
Another huge signing for the squad came when they announced a two-year deal with transition player Will Johansen, as he brings a ton of lacrosse experience with him to the squad.
Johansen has also been the captain of the Junior A Nanaimo timberman before being selected by the Senior A team and looks to bring that leadership and experience with him to the 2023 roster.
The defensive line got another great addition on July 20, when the team agreed to a two-year deal with defender Brent Mitchell.
Mitchell having completed his rookie season with the squad making an immediate impression on the team by compiling 12 loose balls, seven turnovers in his debut year.
Then around July 24, the scoring line saw the return of forward Tye Kurtz, as he signed a two-year deal with the squad.
Kurtz has a ton of accolades during his time with the University of Delaware, including CAA Offensive Player of the Year, First Time All-CAA and Third Team All-American while leading the team with 58 goals and 88 points.
Then the team is going to be welcoming a newer face to the offense, as Sam Firth was acquired from the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Firth has a ton of NLL experience as he previously played with the Georgia Swarm during the 2020 season and also playing with the Colorado Mammoth.
The offensive line got another addition on July 24, when forward John Piatelli resigned a one-year deal with the squad.
Piatelli looking to build on a strong rookie season with the FireWolves, finished his first campaign with an 18 goal and 39 total point performance.
One of John’s most impressive performances came during Week 23 when he recorded multiple points in all but one of the team’s final 10 games and being named to the NLL All-Rookie Team in honor of his fine play.
August came around and that is when the NLL Free Agency started, and the moves kept on coming for the squad.
One of the first signings announced is a one-year deal with forward Connor Kelly. Kelly is one of the team leaders during the 2022-23 season, as he has a stat line of 67 points 35 goals and finishing second on the club with 32 assists.
Then on August 2 the franchise announced a one-year deal with Tanner Buck. That deal brings the young forward, having been the fourth-round pick of the 2022 NLL Entry Draft by the Georgia Swam to Albany.
Buck is going to be an exciting player to watch as he so far scored two goals and two assists in the two games he played with Georgia. Anytime anyone makes an impact that quickly is a great sign and one that Albany hopes to continue to be a trend when he gets to MVP Arena.
There is going to be lots of exciting news incoming for fans of the FireWolves along with the counting down of the days to the 2023-24 National Lacrosse League Season.
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