The first day of scrimmages at training camp finished up on a gorgeous Monday evening in Albany. 

The Philadelphia Waterdogs defeated the Carolina Chaos 13-8, the Boston Cannons beat the California Redwoods 10-5, the Utah Archers toppled the New York Atlas 10-7 and then the Maryland Whipsnakes handled business against the Denver Outlaws, winning 8-4. 

There was plenty to gather and glean from Monday’s action and the first four days of camp. So, without further ado, here are 10 observations from the first day of training camp scrimmages:

Connor Shellenberger is hunting his shot early and often

Shellenberger is one of the best quarterbacking attackmen in the world. He’s an elite feeder with the vision and IQ to find his teammates and keep an offense on track. Against the Archers on Monday, though, Shellenberger was assertive in finding his shot. He attacked from X time and again, took a handful of step-downs in transition and put up a hat trick in the process. 

“Connor was great,” Atlas head coach and general manager Mike Pressler said.

Pressler also noted that, largely due to injury, Shellenberger hasn’t seen the field since September. He’s knocking the rust off quickly, though, and looks the healthiest he’s been in a while. 

Shellenberger shot 31.8% on unassisted shots as a rookie – which was 13th in the league among players with at least one unassisted attempt per game. But he only took 22 in the regular season, which was the 43rd-most. That’s likely to change in Year 2 as he takes on more of an onus to attack the cage. If he can pose a more frequent threat to score for himself, that makes matching up with the Atlas a difficult decision.

Veterans get first looks in scrimmages

Many of this summer’s camp battles are between a veteran and a young guy. Dillon Ward and Matt DeLuca are competing to be the Waterdogs’ starting goalie. Will Manny and Coulter Mackesy are both options for the Cannons at lefty attack. Even the Whipsnakes’ attack unit is working itself out among a few veterans (Matt Rambo and Rob Pannell) and a couple of young guns (TJ Malone and Matt Brandau). 

In each of those cases, the vets got the first reps in Monday’s scrimmages. Ward started in the Philly crease before DeLuca played the second half. Manny played the first half before Mackesy got the second. Pannell and Rambo started with Malone before Brandau filtered in for all three of them as the scrimmage wore on. Coaches are making the young guys prove themselves. Many have been up to the challenge. 

Sam King is more than ready to fill in for Archers

King had himself a day in the Archers’ scrimmage against the Atlas. The Utah rookie had the first two goals of the scrimmage before adding another later on. His ability to be an effective dodger anywhere on the field stood out. Despite playing as an X attackman at Harvard, he looks to seamlessly fit into the Archers’ positionless offense. 

“He’s showing pretty quickly that he’s going to be able to play,” head coach and general manager Chris Bates said. “He’s confident, he’s aggressive, he’s efficient and puts the ball in the back of the net. So, at the end of the day, that’s a real positive for us.”

King thrived dodging on the righty wing Monday evening, repeatedly beating shorties and poles alike either solo or with a pick. He repeatedly found success getting underneath and stinging the far corners. 

With Tre Leclaire on the PUP list, King projects to earn time immediately. What happens when Leclaire is back is uncertain. Until then, though, the Tewaaraton Award finalist is primed to have a tangible impact on an Archers offense that is already stacked with must-pole dodgers. King has proven he can beat short sticks consistently. How will teams match up when he’s playing alongside legends such as Tom Schreiber and Grant Ament in the midfield?

Coulter Mackesy looks the part

Mackesy is as advertised. He scored his first goal of Boston’s scrimmage with the Redwoods less than a minute after he stepped on the field. His presence as a shooter and a finisher helped convert looks that the Cannons struggled to capitalize on before he came in at attack in the second half. 

“I thought he looked really comfortable,” head coach and general manager Brian Holman said. “I don’t think much is going to faze Coulter.”

Goalie battles are heating up 

The Whipsnakes, Waterdogs and Redwoods goalie battles came to life in Monday’s scrimmages. Each team’s most veteran goalie saw early action with Brendan Krebs and Ward playing the first halves and Chayse Ierlan playing for part of the first. The Woods then filtered in Matt Knote before handing the keys to Fracyon in the second half. Philadelphia’s DeLuca and Maryland’s Emmet Carroll played the entirety of their team’s second stanza. 

DeLuca strung together more notable saves than Ward. Both only allowed four goals, however, with Ward looking like the favorite for Bill Tierney to start over the weekend. 

Krebs versus Carroll looks like a true battle. 

“Both goalies really played well,” Maryland head coach and general manager Jim Stagnitta said. “They made a lot of saves. … They were consistent, they didn’t give up rebounds, and the thing that goes a little bit unnoticed is they were really good in the clearing game.”

California’s goalie situation is very up in the air. Any three of the currently rostered keepers could be the team’s starter this season. Any of them could also probably be cut. 

“That’s another tough scenario,” Redwoods head coach Anthony Kelly explained. “[Jack Fracyon] literally just came in this morning from Penn State. So, we’re trying to get him in and get him some looks but also put the pieces in and build to where we need to be.”

Chaos and Redwoods offenses still finding their identities

The energy in the Chaos and Redwoods practices has been notable this week. That carried over into the scrimmages. Although both squads lost by five, the young offenses showed flashes. 

Garrett Degnon has been the stock-riser for the Chaos. The big lefty can absolutely hammer the ball from the outside and he’s started to show that he can create for himself as well. Against the Waterdogs, he nailed a nice righty rip down the alley after a left-to-right split. 

“One thing the kid could always do, since I coached him at DeMatha, was shoot the ball,” Carolina general manager Spencer Ford said. “What a lot of people don’t know is that he can actually be crafty inside as well and find his shot. So, we’re expecting some big things from him with that lefty cannon of his.”

While Degnon and other new pieces including Josh Zawada and Jackson Eicher showed flashes, Carolina’s offense is still meshing ahead of opening weekend.

“I think our offense was OK, but we definitely have some work to do as far as getting into the system,” head coach Roy Colsey said post-scrimmage.

California is in a similar boat after scoring eight goals against the Cannons. With a batch of options to work through at attack, Kelly and offensive coordinator Chris Bocklet have been trying different combinations all week. Ryder Garnsey, Chris Kavanagh and Dylan Molloy started, but both Brendan Nichtern and then Jackson Morrill filtered through. 

“We’ve got to find our rhythm on offense,” Kelly said. “We’re pretty confident we’ll get there as we’re putting the pieces together.”

Payton Cormier faces stiff competition

Cormier’s place within the Atlas offense is a question mark ahead of the regular season. Kyle Jackson, Cole Williams and Reid Bowering are other lefties he’s competing with to come out of the box. Then New York’s attack line is loaded with Shellenberger, reigning MVP Jeff Teat and Xander Dickson. 

On Monday, though, Cormier got an opportunity to start at attack as Teat sat out of the Atlas’ scrimmage.

“We didn’t play Jeff Teat for many reasons,” Pressler explained. “But he’ll be ready to go in the weekend.”

In Teat’s place, Cormier started at attack alongside his former Virginia teammates Shellenberger and Dickson. 

“Payton is a load,” Pressler said. “He is a load in a very positive way. He had some chances today that he has finished in practice that he didn’t finish today. We had a lot of opportunities that we left off the board. But we really like our team and especially that attack group.”

If Cormier is going to play, he’s going to have to come out of the box. There’s heavy competition to be one of the Atlas’ five offensive midfielders, though. Has he done enough to prove to Pressler and the staff that he should own a spot on the 19-man roster?

Jim Stagnitta may have done it again 

Stagnitta might have cooked up another banger of an offseason. Drafting Aidan Carroll, Scott Smith and Emmet Carroll and trading for Brandau filled important holes on the Whips’ roster. 

Caroll, the midfielder, has adjusted to the pro game quickly. His strength creating his own shot was on display on Monday. Brandau has adjusted well, playing both midfield and attack and creating offense from both spots. Carroll, the goalie, owned the second half. Smith looks like a valuable depth piece and potential contributor at long-stick midfielder this summer.

Outlaws’ new offensive core still coming together 

Denver head coach and general manager Tim Soudan pointed to how the Outlaws’ collection of young offensive superstars needs time to mesh together after they scored four goals against the Whips.

“I think we were rushing at times and jamming the ball inside when guys were covered,” Soudan said. “Just simple things we can fix and be a little bit more patient in the shot clock.”

Pat Kavanagh, whom Denver acquired via trade in the offseason, is one guy who will benefit from more time around his new teammates such as Brennan O’Neill and Logan Wisnauskas.

“Pat was great,” Soudan added. “Still, I think it’s another continuity piece for him. To get folded in and get used to how people move and cut. We played three different attackmen with him tonight.”

Archers’ young defensive pieces on the precipice

Utah’s two most recent first-round draft picks – Brendan Lavelle and Mason Woodward – both flashed on Monday. Woodward started at close defense before taking some runs at LSM in the second half. 

“Woody is Woody,” Bates said. “Woody comes in second year with a next level of confidence and the team’s confidence around him. Knocks down some passes, he made a couple saves, picks up ground balls. His flexibility is obviously going to help us being able to play up top and down low.”

Lavelle, who came in at close in the second half, is turning heads despite, for now, playing behind Woodward, Graeme Hossack and Warren Jeffrey.

“[He’s] tough, as advertised,” Bates said. “When he got in, you just see his physical presence. He plays with an edge and our guys rally around him which is fun. That says something, when vets start rooting for you and supporting and seeing the value you bring, that’s a good sign. So it was good to get him some live work.”