Keegan Bal, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jordan Leigh)

After the first several weeks of the 2025-26 National Lacrosse League season are complete, The Lax Mag publishes a weekly NLL Player Ranking, examining the league’s Top 30 players from Week 1 right up until the end of the regular season.

TLM’s Top 30 NLL Player Rankings have nothing to do with reputations, career resumes, success in past seasons, whether we know a player personally, recognizing deserving players who’ve previously been passed over, player popularity, the size of their social media following, whether you slide into their DMs, or who others around the league tell us should get hype.

Our rankings, which only take into consideration only a player’s performance for the current regular season, will be calculated using both our star-rating system after each game, but also a player’s season-long statistical position (based on per-game averages) across the league. Only players who have played two-thirds of their team’s games or more will qualify.

Click here for an even more in-depth breakdown of our scoring system.Earlier this season, we examined which players were seeing the most significant increases and decreases statistically in a variety of offensive and defensive stats versus a season ago.

Brett Dobson, Georgia Swarm (Photo: Heather Barry)

In this week’s NLL Player Rankings, we highlight the ten players whose stat and/or storylines so far this season match what past NLL MVPs have accomplished during their award-winning performances.

Why could these ten players win the 2026 NLL MVP?

Well, we’ll tell you why past-voting history likes their chances, plus what might cost a few of them most valuable consideration this year.

Brett Dobson
Georgia Swarm

Because he’s performing at a level arguably no other goalie in NLL history has, and his ridiculous stat line (7.02 GAA, .857 SV%, 38.03 GSAA) and the Swarm’s surprising standings placement backs that up. Brett Dobson is on the verge of breaking all sorts of individual single-season stopper records (more on that here), and is statistically outperforming the only NLL goalie MVPs the league has ever had in Steve Dietrich (2006) and Christian Del Bianco (2023) during their award-winning campaigns in the crease. With only six Swarm games to go, it would take a lot for Dobson to lose his suffocating grip on most voter’s most valuable votes, but then again, this is the NLL, where friendships often overrule straight facts when completed ballots are submitted.

Jeff Teat
Ottawa Black Bears

Because he’s due, plus is again having a pretty outstanding point-producing season. In the past, Teat has lost votes from league & media members that require an MVP to make the playoffs, which the New York Riptide or the relocated Ottawa Black Bears have yet to do. Ottawa is currently fifth in the NLL with a 7-5 record, and although they see league leaders like Colorado & Vancouver still, the rest of their sked is pretty reasonable. Teat is Top 5 in the NLL in goals per game (2.58 – 4th), assists per game (4.33 – 5th) and points per game (6.92 – 2nd). No other players in the league presently ranks in each of those Top 5s.

Goals Per Game

Andrew Kew 3.88
Connor Fields 2.90
Curtis Dickson 2.67
Jeff Teat 2.58
Tanner Cook 2.45

Assists Per Game

Ryan Lanchbury 4.70
Keegan Bal 4.50
Dhane Smith 4.50
Jack Hannah 4.44
Jeff Teat 4.33

Points Per Game

Andrew Kew 7.38
Jeff Teat 6.92
Keegan Bal 6.83
Connor Fields 6.80
Dhane Smith 6.58

While Kew may be averaging more points, he’s also missed a significant four games to date (more on that in a bit), and is on pace to finish 20 or more points behind Teat, if he plays a full season. The only games over his career that Teat has ever missed were when he was put in COVID protocol during his rookie season in 2022. In addition to producing points at a absurdly high level, as our weekly Clutch Kings analysis has shown this year, Teat is scoring at a clutch rate we’ve never seen from him before, and is our leader in that category currently as well. Brett Dobson’s record-breaking play and a potential Ottawa playoff miss, seem like the only things that would prevent Teat from being voted NLL MVP for the first time in his career.

Keegan Bal
Vancouver Warriors

Because he’s no longer the league’s most underrated player (hasn’t been that for quite a while), is the top point producer on an offense that also has the legendary likes of Curtis Dickson & Jesse King on it, and is a big reason why the Vancouver Warriors have one of the best records in the league right now. Bal is on two of three Top 5 pulls above, and actually ranks 8th in the NLL in goals per game ahead of Week 15 (2.33). With six games left for the Warriors, and arguably one of the lighter back thirds of any team, Bal could easily continue creeping to the top of every important NLL offensive stat, and as we’ve outlined before, NLL award voters usually love crowning the scoring champ the most valuable as well.

Andrew Kew, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)

Andrew Kew
Georgia Swarm

Because after a four-game stay on the IR, Andrew Kew’s return to the Mammoth’s lineup led to immediate standings success, in addition to Kew putting up points at an elite-level pace. Kew is averaging basically a full goal more per game than the next highest ranked NLLer, and is averaging more points per as well. With all that said, Kew is a sizeable 24 points behind Jeff Teat’s point-scoring lead, and will likely finish behind several players by the time we reach mid-April, again, due to those deleted GPs. But maybe that won’t matter to voters, like it didn’t in 2010. Casey Powell, who missed a pair of games that year and only finished 14th in league scoring, the exact same spot Kew is in right now, was still voted that season’s MVP, largely for his overall impact in the games he did play. Below is every MVP ever, plus how many games they played. An MVP has never missed as many as four games though.

Season Player GP/Team Schedule Length

1994 John Tavares 8/8
1995 Gary Gait 8/8
1996 Gary Gait 10/10
1997 Gary Gait 10/10
1998 Gary Gait 12/12
1999 Gary Gait 11/12
2000 John Tavares 12/12
2001 John Tavares 14/14
2002 Paul Gait 16/16
2003 Gary Gait 16/16
2004 Jim Veltman 16/16
2005 Colin Doyle 16/16
2006 Steve Dietrich 16/16
2007 John Grant 15/16
2008 Athan Iannucci 16/16
2009 Dan Dawson 16/16
2010 Casey Powell 14/16
2011 Jeff Shattler 15/16
2012 John Grant 14/16
2013 Shawn Evans 16/16
2014 Cody Jamieson 18/18
2015 Shawn Evans 18/18
2016 Dhane Smith 18/18
2017 Lyle Thompson 18/18
2018 Mark Matthews 18/18
2019 Dane Dobbie 18/18
2020 Shanye Jackson 12/12*
2022 Dhane Smith 18/18
2023 Christian Del Bianco 18/18
2024 Josh Byrne 18/18
2025 Connor Fields 18/18

*Incomplete COVID-cancelled season

Connor Fields
Rochester Knighthawks

Because he was voted MVP last year even after both Dhane Smith & Josh Byrne outpointed him (by a lot), and if the Rochester Knighthawks can creep back into legit Cup contender status, it will undoubtedly be Fields who gets them there (as he has in the past). Plus, Rochester’s next five (out of eight) games are all against teams below the .500 mark and not in a playoff spot (some well outside). Fields, who has seen his production drop over the team’s last four games (all against playoff-positioned teams), should feast on those next five opponents: vs Calgary, at Las Vegas, vs Las Vegas, at Oshawa and at Halifax. Plenty of time and ideal competition to get the Knighthawks and his top-of-the-charts scoring back on MVP-trending track.

First 5 Games

Rochester Record: 4-1
Fields Points/Game: 7.6

Last 5 Games

Rochester Record: 1-4
Fields Points/Game: 6.0

Most players would kill for 6.0 per, but incredibly that’s below Fields’ average since he’s been in Rochester, and for one of the NLL’s most relied on players, that’s meaningful, as Rochester’s recent record would indicate.

Dhane Smith
Buffalo Bandits

Because the Bandits showed last weekend why you were wrong in counting them out, and Dhane Smith is one of the big reasons why they rebounded like they did. Even though he was held to just four helpers (and just 7 SOG) in the Saskatchewan OT thriller, Sask spent a lot of man power keeping him contained, opening up opportunities for others (who connected). A night later, he ate up the Rock for a hat-trick and five helpers in vintage Dhane Smith form. Smith is the game’s greatest chameleon, excelling in whatever role the Bandits need him. Buffalo does have an incredibly difficult schedule the rest of the way, but that’s also when Smith has proved in the past to be at his best. He currently ranks fourth in our Clutch Kings analysis, highlighted by a late fourth quarter game winner versus Halifax, which be buried when the Bandits were short-handed.

Christian Del Bianco, Vancouver Warriors (Photo: Jonathan Tenca)

Christian Del Biano
Vancouver Warriors

Because even though Brett Dobson is having an all-time season between the pipes for the Swarm, Christian Del Bianco is having a helluva run himself too. In fact, Del Bianco is putting up a slightly better GAA and SV% than he did during his MVP-winning season in 2023. He could match or better his win record from that year too, and as we’ve highlighted in the past, NLL award voters value wins (a team stat if there ever was one), a lot.

2023 Full Season

GAA: 9.28
SV%: .810
Saves/Game: 39.6
Record: 13-5

2026 Week 15

GAA: 9.09
SV%: .819
Saves/Game: 41.1
Record: 9-3

Also, Del Bianco easily leads the league in points by a goalie, his 12 after Week 14 more than double the next nearest netminder. If the Warriors, who were our top ranked team after Week 14, can finish first this year and Del Bianco maintains or even betters his already glowing full stat line, could he garner MVP consideration? 100%.

Mitch Jones
Las Vegas Desert Dogs

Because even though he’s had three zero-goal performances over his last five and the Dogs are slowly slipping out of the playoff picture, Jones is still one of the most versatile forwards in the league, plus Las Vegas could be just a half game out of a postseason position after this weekend. Vegas also had a pretty stiff first ten games to their season, seeing a slightly lower-level competitor on average through their next eight. If Jones, who has been just outside or well inside our Top 10 all year, heats up again, and the Desert Dogs qualify for their first-ever playoffs, how could he not get some serious MVP love when votes are cast in late April? A bit Berg-ish, no? Scroll down for more on that recent MVP-worthy storyline.

Ryan Keenan
Saskatchewan Rush

Because Ryan Keenan is putting up a career year in Saskatchewan while captaining a Rush squad that has been at top of the standings seemingly forever. While he’s still trailing this year’s very top point producers, Keenan’s offensive output this year has been impressive. First, let’s take a look at what he was averaging per game during his career prior to 2026, and then what he’s doing this season so far.

2017-2025

Goals Per Game: 1.4
Assists Per Game: 2.5
Points Per Game: 3.8

2026 Week 15

Goals Per Game: 2.4 (+1.0)
Assists Per Game: 3.3 (+0.9)
Points Per Game: 5.7 (+1.9)

That’s a significant gain, especially for a player who’s been in the league for close to a decade. Where do those numbers rank amongst the rest of the league right now? Well…

Goals Per Game: 7th
Assists Per Game: 17th
Points Per Game: 11th

Not exactly the statistical ranks that read like an MVP, but with NLL voters always putting a high value on wins and where a team sits in the standings, Keenan may still have a chance. Below are what place every previous MVP’s teams have finished at the end of the regular season.

Season MVP, Team (Team Record) League Ranks/Teams in League

1994 John Tavares, Buffalo T1st/6
1995 Gary Gait, Philadelphia 1st/6
1996 Gary Gait, Philadelphia T1st/7
1997 Gary Gait, Philadelphia 1st/6
1998 Gary Gait, Baltimore 2nd/7
1999 Gary Gait, Baltimore T2nd/7
2000 John Tavares, Buffalo T2nd/8
2001 John Tavares, Buffalo 5th/9
2002 Paul Gait, Washington 5th/13
2003 Gary Gait, Colorado T4th/12
2004 Jim Veltman, Toronto T2nd/10
2005 Colin Doyle, Toronto 1st/10
2006 Steve Dietrich, Buffalo T1st/11
2007 John Grant, Rochester 1st/13
2008 Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia T1st/12
2009 Dan Dawson, Boston T2nd/12
2010 Casey Powell, Orlando T1st/11
2011 Jeff Shattler, Calgary 1st/10
2012 John Grant, Colorado 2nd/9
2013 Shawn Evans, Calgary T2nd/9
2014 Cody Jamieson, Rochester 2nd/9
2015 Shawn Evans, Calgary 6th/9
2016 Dhane Smith, Buffalo T1st/9
2017 Lyle Thompson, Georgia 1st/9
2018 Mark Matthews, Saskatchewan 1st/9
2019 Dane Dobbie, Calgary T5th/11
2020 *Shayne Jackson, Georgia T6th/13
2022 Dhane Smith, Buffalo 1st/14
2023 Christian Del Bianco, Calgary T3rd/15
2024 Josh Byrne, Buffalo T3rd/15
2025 Connor Fields, Rochester T5th/14

*Incomplete COVID-cancelled season

Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Caroline Sherman)

Josh Byrme
Buffalo Bandits

Because Josh Byrne looks like he’s about to do what Wes Berg did last year, and most award-voting media were jizzing their jeans after Cooper Perkins told them San Diego’s forward was 2025’s most valuable. Berg, who won The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings crown last year due this is tremendous timely scoring, actually had a down year statistically, seeing a significant 21 and 20 point drop from the previous two seasons (averaged just 4.9/GP, which was second best on his own team and just 18th overall), plus other numbers (like LBs) declined as well. During December, January and even into February, Berg was averaging only 1.75 goals per, ranking him ridiculously low across the league – far from MVP-worthy production.

While not nearly as dramatic a drop in overall production as Berg experienced, Byrne was struggling to score at the rate we’re used to seeing from him through most of this year’s season so far, but then last weekend happened (more on that here). Byrne scored some of Buffalo’s most significant season-saving goals of 2026 during a wild Week 14 performance, results that repositioned Buffalo in the playoff picture. While he's on pace to finish well behind the 135- and 134-point seasons he had in 2024 and 2025, if Byrne continues scoring Buffalo’s biggest goals of the year, well, we already know it’s a second-half storyline NLL media can’t resist casting their MVP ballot for.

In this week's Clutch Kings report, we take a closer look at Buffalo's thrilling 2-0 weekend, plus how critical Josh Byrne's scoring was to their Week 14 success.

Don't call it a comeback, Bandits been here for years: https://t.co/xy0TowS7yv pic.twitter.com/tI2TwSE92Y
— The Lax Mag (@TheLaxMag) March 5, 2026

NLL TOP 40: WEEK 15

TW. (LW) Player, Team (Pos.)

1. (1) Brett Dobson, Georgia (G)
2. (2) Jeff Teat, Ottawa (F)
3. (3) Keegan Bal, Vancouver (F)
4. (4) Andrew Kew, Colorado (F)
5. (5) Zach Currier, San Diego (D/F)
6. (7) Connor Fields, Rochester (F)
7. (8) Dhane Smith, Buffalo (F)
8. (6) Mike Messenger, Saskatchewan (D)
9. (9) Christian Del Bianco, Vancouver (G)
10. (10) Callum Jones, Ottawa (D)
11. (16) Jack Hannah, Colorado (F)
12. (17) Ryan Lanchbury, Rochester (F)
13. (12) Mitch Jones, Las Vegas (F)
14. (13) Will Malcom, Colorado (F)
15. (14) Ryan Keenan, Saskatchewan (F)
16. (15) Rob Hellyer, Ottawa (F)
17. (11) Dillon Ward, Colorado (G)
18. (18) Jake Boudreau, Saskatchewan (D)
19. (21) Nick Weiss, Buffalo (D)
20. (22) Jonathan Donville, Las Vegas (F)
21. (29) Josh Byrne, Buffalo (F)
22. (19) Alex Simmons, Oshawa (F)
23. (20) Tanner Cook, Calgary (F)
24. (25) Jordan MacIntosh, Georgia (D)
25. (26) Zach Manns, Saskatchewan (F)
26. (23) **CJ Kirst, Toronto (F)
27. (NR) Warren Hill, Halifax (G)
28. (30) Curtis Dickson, Vancouver (F)
29. (NR) Mark Matthews, Toronto (F)
30. (NR) Nick Damude, Philadelphia (G)

**Rookie