Clutch Kings: The Usual Suspects
Will Malcom, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jaclyn McKee)
For those new to The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings countdown…
The Clutch Kings tracks an individual National Lacrosse League player’s game-tying, go-ahead, and game-winning goals, then weighs them based on when they’re scored (first, second, third or fourth quarter, plus OT), but also in what on-floor situation they’re finished (even-strength, power-play or short-handed goals).
The deeper into a game you go, the more a goal is worth. We break the data down into three distinctive segments: first-to-third quarter, fourth quarter, and then of course overtime.
Zach Manns, Saskatchewan Rush
Power-play goals are worth less because with an extra man on the floor, theoretically, it should be easier to score. Short-handed goals are worth more because with one or two fewer on the floor, they’re definitely a more difficult goal to get. We also don’t count the game’s very first goal, because, well it isn’t ever overly clutch.
Based on all that, there are 21 different type of goals a player can score in Clutch Kings, and here they all are, including the amount that each goal is worth in our money math:
Scoring System
First 3 Quarters (GTG/GAG/GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Power-Play Goal: 0.50/0.75/1.00
Short-Handed Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00
Fourth Quarter (GTG/GAG/GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 2.00/3.00/4.00
Power-Play Goal: 1.00/1.50/2.00
Short-Handed Goal: 4.00/6.00/8.00
Overtime (GWG)
Even-Strength Goal: 6.00
Power-Play Goal: 3.00
Short-Handed Goal: 12.00
Our previous year-ending Clutch Kings winners have included: Eli McLaughlin (2022), Connor Robinson (2023), Josh Byrne (2024) and Wes Berg (2025).
So, after six weeks of regular season play, whose cutch touch has stood out the most so far this season?
Well, while there are a handful of new names on our opening leaderboard, many of the usual suspects take up most of the spots, because being consistently clutch is no fluke.
Owen Hiltz, Toronto Rock (Photo: Christian Bender)
One of those chart-topping newbies is Rock rookie forward Owen Hiltz, Toronto taking him with the third overall pick in last year’s NLL Entry Draft. Averaging only about a goal-and-a-half per game after his firth five starts and ranking just 40th in the league in goals right now, what positions Hiltz so high on our opening leaderboard is when he’s scored those goals, in a couple games at least.
Of Hiltz’s five goals this year, three have registered in our Clutch Kings calculations (1 ESGTG and 2 ESGAG), all going down in the fourth quarter.
Toronto teammate Chris Boushy, who last year led the NLL in go-ahead goals and is no stranger to our CK leaderboard, has also put up similar clutch-scoring stats as Hiltz so far this season, and ranks fourth here right now.
So, if Toronto has two of the best clutch scorers heading into Week 7, how can they possibly be only 1-2?
Well, because after Hiltz and Boushy (the pair scored a combined one in the Rock’s recent loss to Las Vegas), not many others on their roster have contributed with a game-tying, go-ahead or obviously game-winning goals. CJ Kirst has one GTG and Challen Rogers has on GAG, and that’s it. Hiltz and Boushy own 75% of the team’s key clutch goals in three games, and clearly need some help in that department if the Rock want to be competitive this season.
Will Malcom, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Isaiah J. Downing)
Most of the names on our leaderboard below are regulars in our Clutch Kings report, including our top two ranked players: Will Malcom and Zach Manns.
While Malcom missed our season-ending leaderboard last year (his first season back in Colorado), he was CK chart topper during his three impressive seasons in Fort Worth with Panther City, and has returned to that form in 2026. He currently co-leads the league with two game-winning goals, one of which was netted in the fourth frame.
Manns has a similar clutch-scoring breakdown to Malcom so far this season, and last year led our CK leaderboard for most of the year, ultimately finishing second behind Berg, who has not scored even one CK goal in three games this season.
In fact, Berg’s 1-2 San Diego Seals have not scored a single go-ahead goal so far this season (remember, we don’t count first goals of games), and have scored just two game-tying goals in three too. San Diego forwards Tre Leclaire and Pat Kavanagh are the only two to even register in our calculations during the 2025-26 regular season.
Last year, Berg ranked 17th in the NLL for overall points, but was voted to an NLL MVP finalist position based almost exclusively on his clutch-scoring ability. Had he won the award, it would have been by far the lowest an MVP-winning, full-time forward ranked in points at the end of the season.
Wes Berg, San Diego Seals (Photo: Alexis Goeller)
Since bringing our Clutch Kings analysis back during The Lax Mag’s 2022 reboot, San Diego’s most consistent clutch scorer (based on our CK calculations), has been missing from their roster for now a second straight season with Austin Staats still suspended by the league for his off-floor actions (see story #9 in The Lax Mag’s Top 30 Stories of 2025 on Staats’ status) and ultimately released by the Seals in early September.
Coming in at fifth below is Austin Shanks, who had a similar clutch-scoring start alongside Manns last year. Shanks of course went on to play stupendously during last year’s playoffs, not only easily leading the Saskatchewan Rush in straight goals (18 in 6) but also scoring two game winners too.
Nearly half of the names appearing on our Week 7 CK leaderboard below also cracked our season-ending edition last year. Others might have not made it last year, but have in past seasons, proving that a specific type of player more consistently puts himself in key scoring spots on the floor at critical times in a game, and more importantly, often scores in those game-swinging situations.
NLL Clutch Kings: Week 7
CKs Rank. Player (NLL Gs Rank) Team, CKs Points (GTG/GAG/GWG)
1. Will Malcom (T2) Colorado, 8.50 (1/2/2)
2. Zach Manns (T2) Saskatchewan, 8.25 (2/1/2)
3. *Owen Hiltz (T40) Toronto, 8.00 (1/2/0)
4. Chris Boushy (T50) Toronto, 7.50 (1/1/1)
5. Austin Shanks (T22) Saskatchewan, 7.00 (1/0/2)
6. Alex Simmons (T2) Oshawa, 6.50 (4/1/0)
T7. Shayne Jackson (T16) Georgia, 6.00 (1/2/1)
T7. Clarke Petterson (T22) Halifax, 6.00 (0/0/1)
T7. Ethan Walker (T40) Oshawa, 6.00 (1/0/1)
T7. Tye Kurtz (T32) Oshawa, 6.00 (0/3/0)
T7. Larson Sundown (T9) Ottawa, 6.00 (2/0/1)
T7. Connor Fields (T7) Rochester, 6.00 (0/0/2)
T13. Josh Byrne (T9) Buffalo, 5.50 (0/1/1)
T13. Dawson Theede (T9) Halifax, 5.50 (1/1/1)
T13. Connor Kearnan (T16) Ottawa, 5.50 (0/1/1)
T13. Jeff Teat (T2) Ottawa, 5.50 (2/1/0)
T13. Phil Caputo (T76) Philadelphia, 5.50 (0/1/1)
T18. Tanner Cook (T9) Calgary, 5.00 (1/0/1)
T18. Tre Leclaire (T9) San Diego, 5.00 (1/0/1)
*Rookie