Clutch Kings: Zach Manns & Rush on track to top 2025 success
Zach Manns, Saskatchewan Rush (Photo: Jenn Pierce)
The Lax Mag’s Clutch Kings tracks an individual 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 Clutch Kings countdown calculates the league’s most money goal scorer all season long, crowning the king at the conclusion of the current NLL campaign. Click here for a more detailed breakdown of Clutch Kings scoring.
Manns, Rush
In past seasons, as few as three game-winning goals could capture you the lead league in that clutch-scoring category.
After last weekend, the Saskatchewan Rush’ s Zach Manns is already at four game winners, tops in the NLL right now and only one behind last year’s season-ending Clutch King, San Diego’s Wes Berg.
The most-ever GWGs scored in one season is six, something both Jeff Shattler did with the Calgary Roughnecks back in 2012, and more recently by Buffalo’s Tehoka Nanticoke, who buried six as a rookie with the Bandits in 2022.
Will Manns break that record?
Well, unlike other stats, projecting game-winning goals is bit more difficult if not impossible to do with much accuracy, but with eleven games to go for Manns (knock on wood) and the Rush, and his propensity for garnering game winners, his chances seem high.
Tehoka Nanticoke, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Micheline Veluvolu)
Over the past four seasons, only Nanticoke, Berg and Austin Staats have scored more than the four GWGs Manns is already sitting on after eight games.
Below are the only players since 2005 (the furthest back individual game stats are available and accessible) to have scored four or more winners in one season.
2005
Colin Doyle (Toronto), John Grant (Rochester), Kaleb Toth (Calgary) 4
2006
John Grant (Rochester) 5
Lewis Ratcliff (Calgary), Peter Morgan (Portland), Brian Langtry (Colorado) 4
2007
John Tavares (Buffalo) 5
John Grant (Rochester), Dan Carey (Colorado), Jeff Zywicki (San Jose) 4
Athan Iannucci, Philadelphia Wings
2008
Athan Iannucci (Philadelphia), Sean Pollock (Minnesota) 5
Frank Resetarits (San Jose) 4
2009
None
2010
Dan Dawson (Boston), Gary Gait (Rochester) 4
2011
Rhys Duch (Washington) 5
Jeff Shattler, Calgary Roughnecks
2012
Jeff Shattler (Calgary) 6
2013
Curtis Dickson (Calgary) 5
Drew Westervelt (Philadelphia) 4
2014
Curtis Knight (Edmonton) 5
Cody Jamieson (Rochester), Dane Dobbie (Calgary) 4
2015
Ryan Benesch (Buffalo), Cody Jamieson (Rochester) 4
Cody Jamieson, Rochester Knighthawks (Photo: Ward Laforme Jr.)
2016
Dhane Smith (Buffalo). 5
Callum Crawford (Colorado), Zack Greer (Saskatchewan) 4
2017
Lyle Thompson (Georgia), Corey Small (Vancouver), Callum Crawford (Colorado) 4
2018
None
2019
Jeff Shattler (Saskatchewan) 5
Dane Dobbie (Calgary), Lyle Thompson (Georgia), Eli McLaughlin (Colorado) 4
Brett Hickey, Philadelphia Wings (Photo: Kate Frese)
2020
Brett Hickey (Philadelphia) 5
Incomplete season due to COVID
2022
Tehoka Nanticoke (Buffalo) 6
Eli McLaughlin (Colorado), Chris Boushy (Halifax) 4
2023
Austin Staats (San Diego) 5
Connor Robinson (Colorado), Ben McIntosh (Philadelphia) 4
2024
Andrew Kew (Georgia), Jonathan Donville (Panther City), Wes Berg (San Diego), Austin Staats (San Diego) 4
2025
Wes Berg (San Diego) 5
Keegan Bal (Vancouver), Randy Staats (Halifax), Andrew Kew (Georgia) 4
Wes Berg, San Diego Seals (Photo: Kalea Vizmanos)
Even more remarkable about Mann’s money run is what his Rush teammate Austin Shanks is also doing. Of Saskatchewan’s seven dubs so far this season, Manns has four winners and Shanks the other three.
Why is that worth mentioning? Well…
Since The Lax Mag rebooted the brand ahead of the 2022 season, which included bringing back the Clutch Kings (PKA Money Ballers), teams who have placed multiple players on our season-ending leaderboard always do well in the playoffs, often go to the NLL Cup, and one of those teams always winning it all.
Back in 2022, four of our Top 7 year-end Clutch Kings played for the either Colorado Mammoth (Eli McLaughlin & Connor Robinson) and the Buffalo Bandits (Tehoka Nanticoke & Josh Byrne), the teams of course meeting in the Final and the Mammoth winning in an upset, which wasn’t all that much of an upset if you were using Clutch Kings as your post-season script.
Connor Robinson, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
A year later, the same two teams dominated our final leaderboard. Robinson, who ranked just 22nd in league goal scoring, was our top ranked clutch player, with Colorado teammates Zed Williams and again McLaughlin landing on our last leaderboard. Buffalo’s Dhane Smith and Byrne were both inside our Top 6 ranked players that season, and Nanticoke was up there again too. Buffalo over Colorado for the NLL Cup that year, BTW.
The Bandits went on to do well in Clutch Kings in 2024 (Byrne was #1, plus Smith & Nanticoke yet again, and Chris Cloutier cracking our leaderboard) and 2025 (Kyle Buchanan was the highest ranked Bandit at #3, but was joined by similar names in Smith and Byrne on the board), and won the Cup those seasons as well.
The Bandits, who are struggling in the standings for the first time in seemingly forever right now, are not getting those same score-swinging goals this year, with not a single player on our Week 11 leaderboard below. Their usual suspects have just a handful of any type of goal (game tying, go ahead and game winning) we track.
Jimmy Quinlan and Austin Shanks, Saskatchewan Rush
Meanwhile, while Manns and Shanks are far and away the Rush leaders in clutch points, Saskatchewan is still getting good game-tying support from Ryan Keenan and go-ahead goal help from an unlikely source in Josh Zawada, who’s scored four time this year - three of those Gs are of the go-ahead variety.
Last year, Manns, who finished second behind Berg for our CK lead, was not seeing the same clutch help from the rest of the Rush roster, who didn’t place anyone else on our season-ending leaderboard. While the Rush did make last year’s Final and pushed the Bandits to a series-deciding Game 3, when they needed those clutch goals in the second half of that game, Sask shooters came up empty – outscored 8-0 in the final two quarters and dropped 15-6.
A year later, the still-young Rush roster looks more mature, motivated, and of course more money than a year ago, and while that may not be overly obvious at quick glance, it pops off the page in our CK analysis.
Clutch Kings: Week 11
CKs Rank. Player (NLL Gs Rank) Team, CKs Points (GTG/GAG/GWG)
1. Zach Manns (3) Saskatchewan, 20.25 (4/2/4)
2. Owen Hiltz (T21) Toronto, 15.75 (2/4/1)
3. Jeff Teat (T1) Ottawa, 15.25 (3/4/1)
4. Curtis Dickson (T14) Vancouver, 14.75 (3/1/3)
5. Shayne Jackson (T9) Georgia, 13.00 (1/4/2)
6. Connor Fields (T4) Rochester, 12.00 (2/2/2)
7. Will Malcom (T9) Colorado, 11.25 (3/3/2)
8. Tre Leclaire (T14) San Diego, 11.00 (3/0/2)
9. Chris Boushy (T30) Toronto, 10.50 (2/1/2)
10. Austin Shanks (T14) Saskatchewan, 10.00 (2/0/3)
11. Ethan Walker (T40) Oshawa, 9.50 (2/1/2)
T12. Cody Jamieson (T30) Halifax, 9.00 (3/1/1)
T12. Alex Simmons (T1) Oshawa, 9.00 (5/2/0)
14. Mitch Jones (T9) Las Vegas, 8.75 (2/2/1)
T15. Tanner Cook (T7) Calgary, 8.50 (2/1/1)
T15. Dawson Theede (T19) Oshawa, 8.50 (1/3/1)
17. Clarke Petterson (T21) Halifax, 7.50 (0/1/1)
18. Zach Currier (T61) San Diego, 7.50 (1/1/1)
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