Presenting the case for why Lyle should be crowned NLL MVP once again
June 14, 2019By: Ty Merrow
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280 players dressed and played for an NLL team in the 2018-19 season. With all the talent that is spread across the continent, it may seem like a difficult task to narrow down that list of 280 players to the one player that can be considered the Most Valuable Player, but fortunately we’re here to help.
If someone asked you right now who the best lacrosse player in the world is, we’d put money down that Lyle Thompson’s name jumped into your brain. And that shouldn’t come as a surprise, especially if you paid attention to Lyle’s 2018-19 season. In a season in which he finished with 105 points (43G, 62A), Lyle continued to showcase his talents on both sides of the floor as the most complete player in the league.
With the announcement that Lyle is once again a finalist for the National Lacrosse League’s Most Valuable Player alongside Calgary’s Dane Dobbie and Buffalo’s Matt Vinc, we’re hitting the campaign trail for the 2017 NLL MVP and pleading his case for why he deserves that second MVP trophy on his mantle. While Dobbie and Vinc both had phenomenal seasons, this article will focus solely on why Lyle proved he was the best player during the 2018-19 season (that and it’s kind of hard to compare a forward and a goalie).
THE STATS
First, let’s lay out what Lyle did this season:
Lyle Thompson 2018-19 Regular Season Statistics
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
PPG
PPA
SHG
SHA
LB
TO
CTO
S
SOG
S%
SOG%
FO
18
43
62
105
6
8
13
1
1
94
32
16
220
158
.195
71.82%
4-9
Lyle led the Swarm in goals, assists, points, goals for per game, points per game, and was tied for the most power play goals on the team. He was second in assists for per game, loose balls, caused turnovers, and shooting percentage among forwards.
Compared to his MVP season, Lyle’s shooting was particularly effective. He set a new high in shooting percentage while taking less shots, and his shots-on-goal percentage was better by 2.5%.
Among NLL forwards, the University at Albany product was third in goals and points, eighth in assists, fourth in loose balls, and led in caused turnovers.
The hustle | Photo Credit: Kyle Hess
MVP COMPARISON
How does Lyle’s season compare to previous MVP winners? Pretty solidly:
WINNER
YEAR
GP
G
A
PTS
PIM
PPG
PPA
SHG
SHA
LB
TO
CT
S
SOG
S%
SOG%
FO
Mark Matthews
2018
18
32
84
116
6
10
33
2
0
67
66
7
222
150
.144
.676
0-0
Lyle Thompson
2017
18
45
71
116
8
10
27
3
1
126
62
15
232
161
.194
.694
21-44
Dhane Smith
2016
18
72
65
137
9
16
13
1
2
111
43
12
337
247
.214
.733
0-0
Shawn Evans
2015
18
47
83
130
39
4
31
5
3
96
77
10
254
184
.185
.724
0-0
Cody Jamieson
2014
18
36
72
108
26
8
11
1
4
70
58
3
200
140
.180
.700
0-0
Shawn Evans
2013
16
32
80
112
25
12
29
0
3
69
61
15
186
139
.172
.747
0-0
John Grant, Jr.
2012
14
50
66
116
24
19
20
2
1
57
54
2
219
192
.228
.877
0-0
Jeff Shattler
2011
15
29
46
75
20
5
6
4
1
93
51
12
142
107
.204
.754
0-0
Casey Powell
2010
14
44
36
80
12
10
8
1
1
53
–
–
199
166
.221
.834
0-0
Dan Dawson
2009
16
30
74
104
8
2
24
3
1
54
–
–
207
158
.145
.763
0-0
Athan Iannucci
2008
16
71
29
100
35
17
10
5
0
138
–
–
352
253
.202
.719
0-0
John Grant, Jr.
2007
15
51
60
111
40
14
22
5
6
81
–
–
272
199
.188
.732
0-0
Colin Doyle
2005
16
42
69
111
21
14
31
0
3
94
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
(A couple quick notes: we only have statistics going back to 2005, faceoffs weren’t tracked until 2006, and turnovers and caused turnovers weren’t tracked until 2011. Hence those empty cells you see. All the math below accounts for these discrepancies. Also, every MVP since ’05 has been a forward, except for when Steve Dietrich won it as a goaltender with Buffalo in 2006. He’s obviously missing from the above graph.)
Average all that out, and you get:
G
A
PTS
PIM
PPG
PPA
SHG
SHA
LB
TO
CT
S
SOG
S%
SOG%
44.7
64.2
108.9
21
10.9
20.4
2.5
2
85.3
59
9.5
235.2
174.7
.190
.746
Lyle’s just under the averages for goals, assists and points. He’s surpassed the loose balls total by a health margin, has a healthier gap between the average turnover rate and his 32 this season, and is nearly double in the caused turnover category. As noted earlier, his shooting percentage is higher than when he won MVP in 2017 and is .5% above the average.
Also of note is how Lyle’s six penalty minutes matches the low mark set by Mark Matthews last season when he won MVP. And finally, Lyle’s the only player on here to participate in faceoffs, helping showcase all he can do on the floor.
TWO-WAY PLAYER
While we unfortunately do not have a wealth of defensive statistics to pull from, we all remember a time where Lyle played an offensive shift, transitioned to defense, then went right back to offense like it was nothing. Not many players have the motor that Lyle has to play as much as he does, and fewer still can be a dynamic offensive threat and play some shutdown defense.
And that shutdown defense is the real reason why we know Lyle’s the best player in the world. Like a shark sensing blood in the water, Lyle knows when to strike and get the ball back for his team, and the efforts he goes through to help the Swarm regain or extend a possession are unmatched.
Forwards sometimes get caught playing a defensive shift, and coaches tend to hold their breath hoping they aren’t taken advantage of and scored on. With Lyle, there’s no such fear. He plays cerebral defense and will go after a loose ball like his life depends on it.
Season after season, we’ve seen Lyle elevate his game and remain the game’s most complete player no matter what side of the floor he’s on. His 2018-19 campaign was no different as Lyle terrorized both zones.
And when you have a player make an impact both offensively and defensively, something few in the NLL can claim, well, that seems to us to be the definition of a Most Valuable Player, no?
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