Lamberti’s Power Rankings: Can Atlas find consistency?

The New York Atlas are heating up behind a vintage Jeff Teat performance. The Maryland Whipsnakes are quietly building momentum with rookie Aidan Carroll stepping up. Meanwhile, the Denver Outlaws are showing flashes of life, fueled by Jared Bernhardt and rookie goalie Logan McNaney.

Four weeks into the PLL season, every team still has something to prove.

Here are my power rankings heading into San Diego Weekend:

1. Boston Cannons (3-1)

Boston leads the league standings and my power rankings.

The Cannons have a very complete roster, but their stars are starting to shine more brightly.

Asher Nolting is struggling to win his matchup and score goals, but that might not matter all that much with the way he can dish the rock. His 11 assists — including a surgical five-assist performance against the Maryland Whipsnakes on Saturday — are second in the league behind Michael Sowers (15).

Matt Campbell is one of the best midfielders in the world and had back-to-back three-point games, and it still feels like he isn’t playing his absolute best lacrosse yet this season.

Defensively, the Cannons have four players in the top 10 in caused turnovers, and Colin Kirst is having another good season in net.

It’s true anyone in the league can beat anyone on any given day, but Boston has the highest floor of any team in the PLL right now with how well it’s playing on both sides of the ball.

Next game: Saturday, June 28 at Carolina Chaos (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

2. Utah Archers (2-2)

Not worried about the Archers.

They were in control of their game against Denver before going scoreless for the last 20 minutes of the game. They’re still battling injuries offensively and, much like a team like the Kansas City Chiefs, will start playing their best lacrosse later in the season.

Grant Ament only has two assists on the season while shooting 0-for-9. Mac O’Keefe is shooting just 3-for-22 (13.6%). They’re due for positive regression, and I wouldn’t be shocked if that happens within the next few weeks.

“If I’m pointing to one thing for us, at the beginning of the year, we’re not shooting the ball well,” head coach Chris Bates said after Saturday’s loss to the Denver Outlaws.

One positive? Rookie Sam King.

King leads all rookies in assists (seven) and ranks second among rookies in points (11).

My No. 4 prospect leading into the draft, King was a gift for the Archers in the third round and is a top contender for Rookie of the Year honors.

Next game: Friday, June 27 at New York Atlas (11:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

3. New York Atlas (2-2)

The biggest risers this week are the Atlas.

The reason? Teat is starting to look like the best player in the league again. His eight-point (5G, 3A) outing propelled New York to a massive win over Philadelphia.

Reid Bowering was a big part of Teat’s success. Bowering got the nod over veteran Kyle Jackson as a lefty pick partner for Teat and had three points (2G, 1A) while setting screens all day long to free up his fellow Canadian.

When Teat goes, this whole team goes. Now, it scares me a little bit that a team is that dependent on one player, but when that one player is an elite scorer, feeder and off-ball player who elevates everyone around him, that’s not a bad game plan to have.

New York has the highest ceiling of any team in this league, especially offensively.

Next game: Friday, June 27 vs. Utah Archers (11:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

4. California Redwoods (2-1)

No game for the Redwoods this past weekend, but I’m still a big fan of what they’re doing offensively.

They focused heavily on offense in the draft, and that’s already paying dividends with Chris Kavanagh and Andrew McAdorey.

McAdorey in particular is a game-changer. His speed out of the box forces teams to not only put the pole on him, but also press out to him, which opens up so much space for other players to operate.

California signed short-stick defensive midfielder Carter Parlette in the wake of Chris Merle’s season-ending injury, and I’m predicting a Sam English breakout game this week with his ability to make plays on both ends of the field.

Next game: Friday, June 27 vs. Denver Outlaws (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

5. Philadelphia Waterdogs (2-2)

Similarly to the Redwoods, I’m a fan of the Waterdogs offense. When they are humming offensively, the rapid ball movement is a beautiful sight to see.

The biggest change from last year? Their midfielders are throwing the ball forward to Sowers after they draw slides.

It seems like a simple thing, but it allows Sowers to dissect the defense as it’s scrambling to recover. He’s the MVP front-runner with a league-leading 15 assists. Meanwhile, at the midfield position, Jack Hannah is becoming one of the league’s most feared dodgers.

The kicker? Philadelphia has yet to play with top draft pick CJ Kirst, who is recovering from a hand injury. Kirst is a premier offensive talent who, with his ability to do it all offensively, will slide in seamlessly into the lineup once he’s healthy, whether that be at attack or coming through the box.

A young defense is the concern for this squad, but an offense that has the ability to score 15-plus goals on any given day makes them super dangerous.

Next game: Saturday, June 28 at California Redwoods (6 p.m. ET; ESPN)

6. Denver Outlaws (2-2)

Two Maryland Terrapins have transformed this team: Bernhardt and McNaney.

Bernhardt might be the most talented offensive player on a team that includes three other Tewaaraton Award winners. How many players have you seen beat 2021 Defensive Player of the Year Graeme Hossack clean?

Bernhardt should start at attack, and Denver should let Brennan O’Neill come running out of the box with a head of steam.

But McNaney, the rookie goalie, might be more impactful, which is saying something. It’s a two-game sample size, but he’s saving the ball at a 63.8% clip, and his clearing has been so important to this Denver squad.

“Getting the ball upfield as fast as he does, it’s kind of sparked our transition game,” head coach Tim Soudan said after McNaney made 16 saves at 61.5% in Denver’s win over Utah.

Though he’s only played in two games, McNaney is the front-runner for ROTY, and his performance has rejuvenated this whole squad.

Next game: Friday, June 27 at California Redwoods (9 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

7. Maryland Whipsnakes (2-3)

The Whipsnakes are a polarizing team.

Yeah, they put up 20 on the Carolina Chaos, but how good actually is this offense? Time will tell, but the biggest reason Maryland can make another run at the title is the play of the rookie attacker Carroll.

Carroll earned his first PLL start at attack, where he played in college, on Sunday and put up a team-high seven points (5G, 2A) against Carolina. He’s not the flashiest attacker in the league, but he consistently does the little stuff well and is shooting a ridiculous 57.1% with 12 scores on the season.

TJ Malone leads the league in points and will continue to be the top option for this offense, but if Carroll can continue his production, this attack unit could turn into a two-headed monster that could propel the Whips into September.

Next game: Saturday, July 12 at Denver Outlaws (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+)

8. Carolina Chaos (1-3)

There’s a massive gap between Carolina and every other team.

Put simply, they just are not talented enough offensively to compete in this league. They are last in the league with nine goals per game, and they just don’t have an identity offensively.

Rookies Owen Hiltz and Jackson Eicher are bright spots, but they should be on the field at all times.

The Chaos play an offense where they’ll shuffle between two righties and a lefty on attack and vice versa depending on the box side so they can get into their pairs offense more quickly. But it’s just not working.

I like the idea, but Chaos just don’t have the talent to run that style of offense yet. There is no reason why Hiltz shouldn’t be on the field at all times.

While I like Hiltz, and think he will only improve as the talent around him improves, Carolina still deserves scrutiny for taking him over Kavanagh, who has nine points on the season (7G, 2A).

Carolina was the clear outlier in terms of talent on paper entering the season, and that’s coming to fruition in the on-the-field product.

Next game: Saturday, June 28 vs. Boston Cannons (8:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+)