June 11, 2024
By Evan Lepler
Tobe Decraene, Montreal Royal
The young Belgian continues to produce eye-popping numbers on a weekly basis for the rising Royal. On Saturday against the Rush, Tobe Decraene accumulated five goals, three assists, one block, and 692 total yards, which were split dead even between throwing and receiving. He also added four hockey assists and finished with a season-high 51 completions in Montreal’s 22-20 win over Toronto. He currently ranks number one in the UFA in scores per game (7.4) and is less than half a yard behind Detroit’s Jake Felton for the top spot in total yards per game as well. He’s certainly assured a spot on the UFA All-Rookie Team, and if he can up his completion percentage above 90—it currently sits at 88.7 percent—he could earn serious consideration for All-UFA honors as well.
Walker Frankenberg, Oakland Spiders (Pictured)
There were so many heroes for the Spiders on Friday night—Jonah Malenfant and Aaron Rosenthal both were strongly considered for this week’s scintillating seven for their own singular moments of jaw-dropping brilliance—but Walker Frankenberg gets the Honor Roll nod for his steady and standout performance. He led Oakland in scores (7), blocks (2), and total yards (570) in the Spiders’ thrilling 18-17 win over the Summit, a victory that further solidified Oakland’s presence in the West Division playoff chase.
Gordon Larson, Minnesota Wind Chill
Playing 16 O-points and eight D-points, Gordon Larson continued his super solid all-around performance for the Minnesota Wind Chill in their not-as-close-as-the-final-score-would-indicate 24-21 victory over Indy on Saturday night. The 24-year-old finished with three goals, two assists, two blocks, and no turns, good for a career-best plus-seven. In three games this season, the St. Olaf-alum has 11 scores to go with nine hockey assists and just two turns, numbers that represent his growing importance to a Wind Chill team that’s increasingly looking like the class of the Central Division.
Allan Laviolette, Carolina Flyers
There is something so normal about Allan Laviolette’s four-goal, three-assist, one-block, no turn performance on Saturday that it can be easy to just take it for granted, but the relentless consistency from the 35-year-old Flyer merits our continued appreciation. Laviolette finished 23-for-23 in Carolina’s 26-19 victory over Austin, churning for a season-high 477 yards along the way. On the year, Laviolette, despite missing one game, leads the Flyers with 19 assists, has completed all nine of his huck attempts, and presently has just two throwaways for the only remaining undefeated team in the UFA.
Nanda Min-Fink, Colorado Summit
There were many marvelous efforts from relatively unexpected sources around the league this past weekend, and one of these key storylines was undoubtedly Nanda Min-Fink’s emergence as a consistent O-line playmaker for the Summit. The 20-year-old made his UFA debut just 10 days ago against Atlanta, playing a solid but still somewhat forgettable 11 points, eight on the D-line, in the Summit’s home loss. One week later, Colorado’s coaches tossed him on the O-line for their daunting road trip through Oakland and Salt Lake, and Min-Fink played with a cool confidence that helped stabilize the unit. In two games, he produced six assists, three goals, seven more hockey assists, and 81 completions with just one throwaway. His completions weren’t all resets either, as he tossed for 318 yards against Salt Lake’s notoriously tough D-line on Saturday night. It wasn’t just Min-Fink—Atkin Arnstein and Zeke Thoreson were other young and hungry playmakers that gave the Summit O-line a boost—but it spoke volumes just how involved he was in the team’s success; only Jonathan Nethercutt had more touches than Min-Fink during the Summit’s roller-coaster road trip weekend.
Aaron Wolf, Seattle Cascades
Another under-the-radar rookie who’s quietly having a super solid season, Seattle’s Aaron Wolf had his biggest passing performance of the season on Friday against LA, accumulating 38 completions with no turnovers and throwing for a game-best 419 yards. Wolf also went 2-for-2 on his hucks against the Aviators and is 4-for-5 on the season on his throws of over 40 yards. He played primarily on the D-line during the opening four games of the season, but switched onto offense before the May 25 victory over Portland. In his four games since, he’s produced 9 assists, 8 hockey assists, four goals, and, most importantly, four straight wins.
Jimmy Zuraw, Houston Havoc
Trivia question: what players own the top two individual plus/minus performances so far this season? The answer: two members of the Houston Havoc. Ben Lewis produced a plus-14 in the team’s season opener in late April, and Jimmy Zuraw enjoyed the finest night of his career this past Saturday, churning for plus-12 in the Havoc’s latest win over the Legion. The 31-year-old UNC-alum accumulated seven assists, two goals, and three blocks, while completing 41 passes with no throwaways in Houston’s two-goal win. If the season ended today, Zuraw and the Havoc, who are sitting at 3-3 and in third-place in the South, would be in the playoffs as the third-place finisher in their division. Now, Houston remains a heavy underdog in four of its final six games and it would be a major surprise to see the Havoc finish ahead of Austin, but they have clearly made progress as a second-year franchise, most notably having already surpassed their win total from 2023.
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