May 12, 2026
By Adam Ruffner
After the first three weeks of play in the 2026 season, it's time to start investing in some rookie player scouting. There has already been a number of significant contributions on contending teams, and we're still a couple weeks shy of Memorial Day and the end of the college season. Here are some first year players standing out on film so far.
Chander Boyd-Fliegel, Oakland Spiders
A tall and mobile thrower with a wide array of release angles, Boyd-Fliegel fits in perfectly with Oakland’s love for frenetic action and red zone flow. Unsurprisingly, the Oregon product is a bit of a gunslinger, and has flashed equal parts power (4-of-4 on hucks) and impatience (four throwaways in four starts). He’s always in-rhythm regardless, and that has matched the Spiders fire out of the gates.
Kai Creed, Indianapolis AlleyCats
One of the more anticipated debuts on a Indy team with lots to talk about, Creed wasted no time taking to the skies and ripping down his first pro score in a pack of players. The 19-year-old plays big and sticks his nose into lanes, and added two assists and a block to his performance, which was slightly offset by his two throwaways. And after a heartbreaking one-goal loss in Week 3, Creed and the ‘Cats have an opportunity for a major rebound at home this Saturday against the reigning division champs from Minnesota.
Lander Decraene, Boston Glory
After beginning his pro career with a five-block “Defensive Player Of The Week” performance in Week 1, the MVP’s older brother followed it up with a backside block on one of the top scorers in the world in Week 2. Not only are the numbers and plays impressive on their own merits, the matchups Decraene is taking in his first two starts are All-UFA caliber, and he’s not breaking stride.
George Gust, Austin Sol
First year defenders are notoriously some of the hardest players to judge on film. They often take down-lineup matchups, and their enthusiasm for sellout layouts can sometimes obscure otherwise poor defensive technique and fundamentals. Gust is not one of those players, however, and his bottle rocket quickness in reading lane throws has already yielded a league-leading eight blocks in his first three starts. Something to keep an eye on: Gust is also second in the association right now in total pulls. The only rookie to ever lead the league at the end of the season in total pulls was in 2014 when Peter Graffy did it with Madison, the same season he also set the single-season blocks record.
Enzo Forget, Montreal Royal
A bronze medalist with Team France at the 2025 U24 World Ultimate Championships, Forget has a cannon and reach that makes him formidable in operating space. He went 50-of-50 for four assists and 452 passing yards against Pittsburgh on Sunday, and his range as a thrower allows the offense to be less dependent on their primary passers; Montreal can really churn over their downfield receivers with their backfield handlers, and that positional versatility makes defense a headache on the large pro field.
Jacob Louie, Carolina Flyers
Just three games into his pro career, and Louie already feels like the perfect “cleaner fish” for Carolina’s efficient and high-powered offensive attack. The pocket passer is fourth overall in the UFA in completions (124), and has the highest completion percentage (99.2 percent!) out of the top 52 throwers in 2026. Louie’s unflappable start in the backfield has allowed the Flyers stars more latitude, making Allan Laviolette and Jacob Fairfax somehow even more dangerous at this point in their historic careers.
Anton Orme, Oakland Spiders (Pictured)
Orme was due to make a big impact for a contending team given his winning resume from college, but I just did not expect this kind of focus and multi-dimensional impact to make such an immediate transition. As a defensive starter, Orme is averaging 1.7 scores, 1.7 blocks, 21 completions (95 percent), and over 200 total yards per game over his first three starts, and has been equally successful in lockdown coverage and initiating the counterattack. “Resolve” is the word that keeps popping into my brain watching Orme do work, and it’s becoming a wider feature on this overpowering Oakland roster.
Max Pettenuzzo, Toronto Rush
It was just a one-game sample size on a resurgent and young Rush squad, but I’m fully onboard the hypewagon for Pettenuzzo. It might be easy at first to overlook the University of Victoria product amongst the trees on Toronto’s lineup, but Pettenuzzo’s pop as a playmaker became apparent after just a few points in the pros. He’s explosive and poised, and may have delivered the killing blow to Montreal last Saturday with his layout-to-backhand combo finisher midway through the fourth quarter. Pettenuzzo finished his Rush debut with four assists and nearly 400 total yards compared to just one throwaway, and it felt like just a glimpse at how deep his bag really goes.
Ian Piper, Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
The 30-year-old out of Dallastown, PA had one of the most bombastic throwing debuts in league history in Week 3, dropping five assists, five hucks, and 582 passing yards for the Thunderbirds in their home opener. Most impressive was Piper’s ability to generate full-field throwing power from a standstill, activating a formerly dormant Pittsburgh deep attack; the T-Birds finished 18th in hucks per game last year (6.3), and completed 11 versus Montreal last Sunday.
Simon Ruelle, Montreal Royal
With French scoring legend Quentin Bonnaud indefinitely sidelined, 25-year-old countryman Simon Ruelle emerged in Week 3 as a capable fill-in on the Royal offense. Alongside worldbeaters Malik Auger-Semmar and Christophe Tremblay-Joncas, Ruelle offers another striding big to facilitate the fastbreak. It took two games for Ruelle to get comfortable—and a flip over to the offense—but there’s an emerging throwing repertoire and mobility for his size that could prove a tough matchup for many East Division defenders.
Wiebe van den Brink, DC Breeze
True to what his highlights showed coming into the season, this Dutch import is a lane filler and quick-twitch playmaker who can disrupt seemingly simple passes. And for a DC team that has historically struggled to get the block in the big moment, especially against the Empire, van den Brink’s Week 3 “pick six” at the buzzer in overtime was a megaton blast on the existing order in the East, and potentially seeding come Championship Weekend.
Nicholas Whitlock, New York Empire
Big pulls and big skies have defined the first two pro starts for the New Zealand star. The 6’5” Whitlock is currently leading the league in pulls per game (17), and has put an emphatic hat on numerous plays in the endzone already. He finished with three goals and a block in 25 total points against DC in Week 3, and could be a defensive workhorse throughout the season.
