Roster Reactions: North Division pt. 2
Edited by Keegan Remy-Miller
Detroit - Tessa Mullins & Vincenzo Cicco
PC: Detroit Innovators
Detroit is looking at another year of a big roster change with two thirds of their 2021 roster not returning for the 2022 season. However, the Innovators are looking to keep the wheels spinning with their small, but strong, core of returning players coupled with young talent who are looking to make their mark.
Returning chasers Emma Vasquez and Kaegan Maddelein join Jeannette High on the coaching staff. Vasquez is coming off of a standout 2021 MLQ season as well as their first USQ club season with Boom Train and will likely bring some new strategies back to Detroit after making a run to the elite eight at US Quidditch Cup. Maddelein was one the Innovator’s leading scorers last season alongside Leo Fried and JD Hopton, both of whom are not returning. Losing Fried and Hopton this season means developing quaffle players with high scoring capacity is a must.
Excluding utility players, only three beaters are returning from last year’s roster, including David Wier, Zach Zyla, and Cam Kniffen, who is stepping up as an assistant coach. According to the MLQ website, David Banas will be spending this season as a designated seeker which will be a stark contrast from his substantial beating minutes last season. Detroit is making up for this veteran beater deficit by recruiting a strong core of seasoned University of Michigan beaters in Reina Brodeur, Ryan Hsu, and Elizabeth Williams.
New additions to the Innovators have been sourced from surrounding college programs with many making their MLQ debut. Detroit has a great opportunity to rebuild this year and retain these new players for years to come. A team composed of so many unknown players will make scouting difficult and could lead to some shocking upsets this season.
Their regular season comprises of just two series, Minneapolis and Inndanapolis. While Detroit lost to these teams in the 2021 season, many of the games were in close range. Perhaps, with the pool of young and excited talent alongside the returning stars Vassquez and Maddelein, Detroit can convert those close rage matches into wins.
Prediction: 2-4
Indianapolis - Sam Nielson
PC: Indianapolis Intensity
A look at the Indianapolis Intensity roster for the 2022 season reveals a very different team than last year, with only 12 players returning from 2021. Joining these returners are an additional 12 players making their MLQ debuts, including eight players who played in the college division during the 2021-22 USQ season. Rounding out the roster are several players either transferring from other teams or returning to the Intensity after a season or two away.
Beater should be a position of stability for this Indianapolis team, which returns several key players from last season, including Harold Advincula, Tad Walters, and Dany Yaacoub. They will likely still miss the departures of players like Sam McNew and Tim Kwan, but Matt Brown (returning from injury this year) and Linnea Schultz (returning from the 2018 roster) among others should be able to step into these gaps.
The quaffle game includes a lot more turnover, where head coach Nathan Digmann and assistant Coach Kennedy Murphy are the only returning players from the last year’s MLQ championships active roster. While the departing players are numerous, among the most missed will likely be Nick Kaufmann and Alyssa Marassa, both of whom brought solid ball carrying and physical defense to the 2021 team. While Indy will need some of their less experienced chasers to step up into significant roles (maybe recent USNTDA add Allyson Manzella?), they will also have help in the form of three veteran transfers for the 2021 Kansas City Stampede: Ryley Andrews, Cole Collins, and Anna Holmes. Collins especially could make an immediate impact, having previous experience playing with many of the Intensity on Boom Train during the USQ season.
With as much turnover as the quaffle game has, the Intensity are hit even harder in the seeker game, losing both of their primary seekers in Matt Melton and Jeff Siwek. The 2022 roster does not include any dedicated seekers, so how they fill this void and play around the seeker game will be a huge question going into Indy’s first series.
The Indianapolis Intensity come into the year off of their worst regular season finish since 2015, going 6-3 and getting swept by division champions Minneapolis Monarchs in 2021. This year they will look to integrate a lot of new players, many with limited MLQ experience. Expect the Intensity to lean on their experience and depth at beater early in the season while their quaffle game adapts to players stepping into new and bigger roles. This may turn out to be a rebuilding year, but if all goes well, a back-loaded schedule could find them again at the top of the North Division.
Prediction: 4-2
Rochester - Jack Moseley & Tyler Beckman
PC: Rochester Whiteout
The Rochester Whiteout are coming off of a disappointing but encouraging season, failing to qualify for MLQ Championships but stealing two wins in a crowded East Division. With a North Division leading (tied w/ Monarchs) 19 returners, a strong group of young players poised to make leaps and a move back to their old division home in the North, this team has real cause for optimism as a potential worst-to-first finisher.
Leading the way are longtime Whiteout veterans Basem Ashkar, Mitch Brown, Patrick Callanan, Alyssa Giarrosso, Sollie Gominiak, and Cody Keefer. The pair of Emily Hickmott and Ashley Dolan (formerly Boston Forge) will get to showcase their stellar utility ability, don’t be surprised to see both playing big minutes at chaser, beater, and seeker. Rounding out the list of veterans to watch is Justin Barnard (formerly Washington Admirals) who will punch up the team’s beater rotation. The loss of key contributors like Tommy O’Connor and Amanda Michels hurts, but the additions of Dolan and Barnard, combined with the expected growth of younger players, should keep the core of this team plenty strong.
Despite returning 19 players, more than half of this team is going into their first or second season of MLQ action. Madeleine Fordham (U of R), Joseph Lombardi (Skyline), Jack Moseley (RPI), Kit Powpour (BOSNY), Josh Tombline (U of R), and Mitchell Vargas (Dark Snare) headline a deep group of second year players looking to improve upon impressive rookie seasons. Powpour leads the team’s seeker rotation this year and stands to benefit greatly from a summer spent with snitching savant Justin Barnard. Rounding out the roster are MLQ newcomers like University of Rochester’s Ashley Wilson and Mike Pirrall and Dark Snare’s Allen Yang. With a team this young, and a division that should produce winnable games, this iteration of Whiteout is situated to focus on player development while still pushing for a division crown.
Prediction: 5-1
