Roster Reactions: North Division
Edited by Keegan Remy-Miller
Cleveland - Madeleine Fordham & Joseph Lombardi
PC: Cleveland RIff
The Cleveland Riff are coming off of their best season since 2017. While a 1-8 record might not look impressive on paper, don’t let the numbers fool you; the Riff showed substantial improvement from their previous seasons. Two of the games the Riff lost last season were within snitch range, and their one victory was against the Minneapolis Monarchs, last season’s North Division Champion. Their tightly contested Day 1 loss to League City at the Benepe Cup Play-ins showed just how much this team has improved.
The Riff claim 16 returners and have acquired 11 new players for the 2022 season. This new core of players features a variety of college and club experience that will provide a solid body for the Riff’s continued growth.
With a third of the team composed of new members, veteran leadership will be essential to the Cleveland Riff’s success this season. The new head coaching pair of Gabe Boris and Austin Howe will provide the must-have leadership required to bring together this new-look Riff team. On the quaffle-side of the ball, Peter Bretching, Gabe Boris, and John Gaffigan will head a steady offense, as they attempt to fill the hole left by the departure of 5-year veteran, Matt Dwyer, from the Riff this season. In the bludger game, an already well-established core of Jennifer Conard, Austin Howe, Aaron Oehler, Claire Shuey, and Ben Strauss will continue to drive the Riff’s beater squad.
Aside from veterans, a few other players are expected to make huge leaps this season. Carrie Brittson is returning for their second year with the Riff. Brittson was one of the team’s top goal-scorers last season, as well as a strong defender with a large portion of the team’s takeaways on the year. With the departures of team leading goal-scorer Harry Daniel and Nathan “Stripes” Severance, expect Brittson to play an influential role in the Riff’s offense this season. Andrew Tudor is returning to the Riff after a distinctly strong season for the Ohio Apollos in the 2021-22 USQ Season. Expect to see some major improvements between Tudor’s play from last season and the current one. Among the fresh faces to the newly amassed Cleveland squad, keep an eye on budding stars Rae Barnes and Fiona Gaffney. Rae Barnes captained the Bowling Green Falcons in the 2021-22 USQ season, and Fiona Gaffney will be captaining former national champions, the University of Rochester Thestrals, for the USQ 2022-23 season. Their leadership and knowledge will likely play a big role in improving the youth of the newly gathered Cleveland Riff squad.
While the departures of former veterans and leading scorers can’t be overlooked, the Cleveland Riff have the pieces to formulate a solid 2022 season. The retention of their veteran beater core will be an invaluable asset for the Riff and can be a huge decider in how this season goes. How the new coaching staff decide to operate the Riff’s offense and defense team and how quickly the team can gel together will tell the tale of this season, as the Riff go up against the Toronto Raiders in one of the earliest match-ups of the season on June 4th.
Season Prediction: 1-5
Minneapolis - Beckett Brueggemann
PC: Minneapolis Monarchs
The Minneapolis Monarchs are ready to #RiseUp for the 2022 season. They ended strong in 2021 winning the North Division Championship before ending their MLQ Championship run in a 0-2 series against Boston Forge. Even so, they took the North Division by storm. Throughout the season they lost only one game to the Cleveland Riff. This season however, they’ll also have to face off against the Toronto Raiders and Rochester Whiteout. With these two teams shaking up the division, the Monarchs will have two new challenges ahead as they have not faced either team since the 2019 season.
Led once again by their head coach, Cody Narveson, the Monarchs are back with a strong beating core with Nicole Nelson, highlighted on the MLQ Facebook page last summer for her quick switch to beating and decisive plays on the field. Beater April Grabner also stood out on the field last season and was named MVP of the North Division. With such an exciting entry into Major League Quidditch, she’ll be a player to watch this summer.
Max Meier, Alexander “O.B.” Obaner, and Emma Persons will be leading the chasers with their quick and clean passing offense. However, this starting line has a hole to fill with the exclusion of Henry “HBB” Baer-Benson. Finally, the Monarchs will be filling their seeking game with Zeke Majeske and Mike Devine. Majeske previously played as Michigan Quidditch’s main seeker and has recently played with the Twin Cities Quidditch Club, however he had no good catches in the MLQ game last season. On the other hand, this will be Devine’s first MLQ season following his time playing with Kansas Quidditch. He will be the seeker to watch as he steps into this major league position.
While full of individual prowess, what really makes this team is the way they function together both on and off the pitch. The Monarchs will first be looking to defend their title as North Division Champions entering this season, and, based on their previous records, it would not be surprising to see them finishing in the top two for the North Division. However, it stands that they have yet to win at the MLQ Championships with a collective 0-4 record. Even so, with the collection of their returning players and increase in rookies making their main roster, this team has the potential to soar and shake up the quidditch scene at Championships this year!
Season Prediction: 5-1
Toronto - Ittaana Krow
PC: Toronto Raiders
Some Old & A Lot Of New
New Leadership
The Raiders are led this season by Katie Brown (Manager) and Michael Howard (Head Coach), both of whom also lead the Canadian National Team as National Team Program Director and Head Coach respectively. This summer is expected to be a busy one for Canadian quidditch, but this duo is more than qualified to lead the Raiders to success.
Old(ish) Beaters
We see the return of a Devin Dutt, Brittany Kahane, Zac MacDonald, Sam McCaul, Cory Smithson, Derek Taylor beater core. Over the course of the last few seasons we’ve seen this core play as teammates in the regular Quidditch Canada season and on the Canadian National Team. Their chemistry & institutional knowledge will play a huge part in the success of the team this season. Joining them will be a cohort of familiar veterans: Piotr Makuch, Alexander Scherger, and Emma Sherwood. Toronto will also be adding two up-and-coming university players who are looking to make their mark: Robin Zhu and Shira Hersch.
Old(er) Keepers
Coming back into the fold are veteran keepers Andrew Kusters and Bryan Melchior. While there are clear benefits to having clarity in what the coaches can expect from Kusters and Melchior in fulfilling their many keeper responsibilities, it is worrying to only have two rostered players explicitly named as keepers (only the Indianapolis Intensity have fewer keepers rostered). The physical nature of the position at times lends itself to injuries that can change the direction of a series (at best) or a season (at worst). One could surmise that Head Coach Howard has plans to make the position a bit more fluid, and that someone in the crop of chasers will fit the skill set to fill out the rotation.
New (and new and new) Chasers
The chasers will have their work cut out for them this summer, combining for one series of MLQ experience between them (Stevie Vindua). This new group will be made up of a solid group of quidditch veterans (though new to MLQ), as well as a crop of fast-learning, super eager, university athletes.
New-Old Seekers
As we know from Toronto’s 2019 performance, the seeker position has been a weakness in the past, and getting more catches will help the Raiders close out teams more quickly. The roster has five players listed as seeker options: Jeremy Burrows-Balka, Matthew Bunn, Levi Mediros, Wils Nelson, and Cory Smithson. Each seeker brings distinct physical traits and styles, and it will be interesting to see how they are deployed over the course of the season. Will Howard lean on veteran seekers? Will he match-up to opposing snitches? Time will tell if a clear and defined pecking order can be established during the teams practices ahead of their first series.
Burning Question: What is their identity?
Good teams are characterized by an identifiable personality, which they work to establish every time they step on the pitch. How will the Raiders seek to identify themselves this year? Through a stout defense? A beater pairing that can dominate in their minutes? A superstar seeker? A pass-happy free flowing offense? An identity can come from the Head Coach, from the star players, or from hard working/scrappy role players. The Raiders need to figure out their identity sooner rather than later, as many players on this team haven't played together before, let alone against MLQ competition. It will be exciting to watch the 2022 Raiders balance game plan execution and in-game problem solving to bring their identity to life.
Looking Ahead
The North Division has evolved since the Raiders’ inaugural season. The addition of a brand new mid-season North Division Championship can’t be understated, and will be sure to bring more North coverage as teams jockey in the standings for a spot at Championship weekend. How does a team with a roster that ranges from little-to-no MLQ experience respond to more eyeballs?
It’s not easy to predict what this roster will accomplish when you also consider the uncertainties wrought on Canadian quidditch by the pandemic, so I’ll lean on the known quantities: the tutelage of Head Coach Michael Howard, the steady leadership of Katie Brown, and the returning core beaters and keepers should be enough to give the Raiders an opportunity to fight for 3rd or 4th in the division.
PREDICTION: 4-2
