Players To Watch: Playoffs - 7/27

Image may contain: 2 people, people playing sports and outdoorKeegan North holds on after skying multiple defenders

July 26, 2019
by Matt Rezin

There are only two spots left in San Jose for semifinal games on August 10th, they'll be decided tomorrow evening at 7pm ET, both games start at the same time with one airing on Stadium and the other available on AUDL.tv. 

Catch all the action live or on-demand on AUDL.tv and the AUDL Game of the Week on Stadium!

Saturday, July 27

Dallas Roughnecks at Raleigh Flyers - 7:00 PM/ET

  • Carson Wilder (DAL) — Leading the Roughnecks in goals scored despite playing in 10 games this season, when Carson is avialable for the Roughnecks he's instant offense. He lead the team in plus/minus in 2019 thanks to his role in the gameplan, opening up the downfield space (which keeps throwaways and completions down as he isn't doing many resets or dumps. Wilder is able to utilize the open space to make plays after he receives the disc. For a player with only 11.5 completions per game this season it's pretty remarkable that he scores on roughly half of his touches.

    2.40 assists/g | 3.10 goals/g | .80 blocks/g | 92.7% on 115 completions
     

  • Jacob Fairfax (RAL) — On a team loaded with talent this season, Fairfax was able to stand out in the box score and led the Flyers with a plus/minus total of 63. Like Wilder, Fairfax lets his teammates do the bulk of the handling as he gets downfield to make things happen and keep the offense flowing toward the goal. Jacob leads the team in assists (39) and wound up 3rd in goals (30) as he converts that downfield flow into scores with ease. On a team built around their offensive attack, Fairfax has been able to make an outsized impact when he finds himself on the other side of the disc, finishing third on his team with 7 blocks though he spent 81% of his time on offensive lines.

    3.25 assists/g | 2.50 goals/g | .58 blocks/g | 94.8% on 184 completions
     

Pittsburgh Thunderbirds at Indianapolis AlleyCats - 7:00 PM/ET

  • Thomas Edmonds (PIT) — After a half season in 2017 and a summer out of the league, Edmonds rejoined the Thunderbirds as a high volume handler, imposing himself on the offense like a league veteran. As the Thunderbirds role players have stepped up in the playoffs, and Max Sheppard gets attention for his all-star MVP and second half surge, Edmonds has been quietly dominating his Midwest opposition. A huge part of Sheppard's second half has been his partnership with Edmonds as they range around the field moving in and out of the handler set. The two have a knack for finding the other for scores, as they have 38(!) times this season. Beyond his direct scores Edmonds also had 29 hockey assists, 10 to Sheppard, in just ten games.

    4.10 assists/g | 2.60 goals/g | .50 blocks/g | 96.8% on 517 completions
     

  • Keegan North (IND) — Though he was only available for 8 of the AlleyCats 12 regular season games, North was still able to finish third on the team in plus/minus, using his time with the team to produce goals and assists efficiently while limiting turnovers. When Keegan is on the field the offense flows much more easily, beyond the statistics listed below, North averages 2.9 hockey assists per game. Indy will be glad to have him active as they welcome the Thunderbirds to town for the Midwest Champsionship game, watch for North to rise ot the occassion and have a big game Saturday evening.

    3.75 assists/g | 2.88 goals/g | .63 blocks/g | 95.6% on 258 completions
     

Watch every game this season on AUDL.tv & Stadium!