Rob Pannell is a proven winner. The 2013 Tewaaraton recipient, a two-time gold medalist with the US men’s national team in 2014 and 2018, 2013 MLL Rookie of the Year, 2015 MLL champion, 2018 MLL MVP, and an eight-time All-Star in his pro career, he’s made a name for himself as a generational talent at every level he’s played.

Well, almost every level.

“He hasn’t won the most at Catan but that’s because he hasn’t played the most. He’s getting better,” said teammate Ryder Garnsey.

Aside from his developing board game skills, in his second season with the Redwoods, Pannell’s exceeded all expectations since he first put on a Woods uniform.

The quarterback of this offense, we’ve seen his game ascend to a new level this season, a wild statement for a guy who’s already done more than enough to establish his legacy at age 32. 

“We didn’t trade for Rob to win us a championship. We’ve had a championship-caliber roster;  we brought him in to quarterback this offense and he’s done just that,” said Redwoods head coach Nat St. Laurent.  

Of the Redwoods’ 53 assisted goals this year, Pannell’s been a part of 22 of them. His 22 assists rank second in the league, trailing the Waterdogs’ Kieran McArdle by one. He’s third in points with 38, with 16 goals to complement his 22 assists. 

“Defenses have to allocate a certain amount of attention to stop him because you never know what he’s going to do. Rob gives role players like myself more opportunities with the ball. I feel like I’m shooting better than ever before with him there,” said Garnsey. 

Indeed, Garnsey’s just one example of the way Pannell has improved the game of those around him. Garnsey’s shooting 40%, a career best for the attackman since his 35% shooting percentage in his rookie year back in 2019. 

“He takes a lot of pressure off not just guys like Ryder and [Matt] Kav, but also our midfielders like Charlie [Bertrand], Myles, Perk, and Jules,” said St. Laurent. “He definitely absorbed that pressure our offense was feeling in the first half of the season.” 

A 1-4 record in the first half marked the Redwoods’ worst start ever. St. Laurent felt not only was his offense playing too tight, they weren’t doing a great job at meshing their midfield with their attack.

“We’ve typically been a midfield heavy group in the past and we weren’t seeing that connection between our middies and attack. Rob’s brought balance between the two, especially in the second half of the season. We see it in those assisted goals and those crazy stat lines he’s putting up in games, but we also see it in those big plays from young guys like Ryder and Charlie.” 

Pannell’s leadership on the field from X created a ripple effect on this Redwoods offense in the second half of the regular season. 

“In the pro game it’s tough to have a quarterback from X but it’s a role I’ve had throughout my career. As this veteran presence on the offensive side of the ball, it’s important to get everyone to buy in on the thought that there's not one guy on an offense who’s the focal point,” said Pannell. “I’m someone who’s used to having the ball in my stick, but if you share the ball and let everyone get their touches, you have to trust it’s going to come back to you.”

As the Redwoods sharpened their focus following the All-Star break, sharing the ball more is only one of the adjustments they made. 

“Early in the season we were beating ourselves a lot. That time at the break to reset was huge - we had time to reflect both as a team and on our own individual performances,” remarked Pannell.

His own harshest critic, while we all see crazy stat lines such as his 8-point game versus the Waterdogs with 2 goals and 6 assists and look back in awe at the greatness, Pannell sees quite different.

“I’m never happy with the way I played. It could be a great game but I’ll be thinking about the three plays I didn’t make,” he said. “When you start the season 1-4, there’s a lot of changes that can be made as a team and as an individual. Though I guess it’s better that it happens earlier than later,” he laughs. 

In their first game back from the break in Fairfield versus the Atlas, we saw those changes follow suit immediately. The Redwoods got off to a 5-1 lead over the Bulls. A fiery first quarter against a fierce Atlas team, early on it seemed as if the tides were turning for the Woods.

Of course, the Atlas offense can only be contained for so long. A seven-goal second quarter including a two-pointer from Cade van Raaphorst put Ben Rubeor’s club ahead by three at the half 9-6.

“The way we responded to that, at such an important part in our season, it gave us much-needed confidence and energized us as a team,” recalled Pannell. 

The Woods fought back in the second half, sharing the ball and playing unselfishly. They recorded five different goal scorers in the third and fourth quarter, including timely two pointers from Sergio Perkovic and Eddy Glazener. Pannell netted a goal himself in the fourth to bring the Woods within two, right before Glazener buried the two pointer to tie the game.

“We came into that game with a lot of urgency. I think it was a turning point in seeing that we could fight back and respond like that.”

While his performance on the field speaks for itself, Pannell’s been just as impactful off the field in his sophomore season with the Redwoods.

Coming into a tight-knit locker room like the Woods last summer with so many big personalities and established voices, he entered with a mindset of accepting whatever role was needed for him and doing whatever was asked of him. 

“I found a happy medium as being a leader, but also still being me,” he remarked. “They had their established vocal leaders, you know we had Kyle Harrison, we have guys who lead the huddles. It’s all about time and place.”

“Rob’s a special one,” said Harrison. “He’s this generational talent, but also an incredible person. Even at his level, he came into our locker room not wanting to step on people’s toes. He allowed our established leaders to lead, but stepped up and spoke when he knew it was needed. His on-field play really did a lot of the talking for him.”

“It says a lot about him,” said Greg Gurenlian, who played with Pannell on the New York Lizards in the MLL from Pannell’s rookie season through 2017, as well as a former Redwoods player himself. “Even as a rookie [in the MLL], we knew the level of talent he had. He has the most complete arsenal of offensive capabilities and he came onto our team and was just basically handed the keys to our offense. When you’re put in that role, you’re expected to be a leader and for him, he led by getting it done on the field and the respect came for him over time because of it.” 

By the time Pannell was traded to the Redwoods, there was never a question of respect for Rob Pannell, the player. However, it was Rob Pannell, the person, who left such a lasting impression on his new teammates immediately.

Harrison recalled Pannell setting up a dinner for the team on Long Island early last season. “He put the whole thing together. He paid for everything and drove a lot of us there. When you’re a rookie in a locker room you do everything; that’s what you feel you have to do as a rookie. But this is one of the best of all-time coming in and doing things like that… that says a lot about the kind of teammate and guy he is.”

Team dinners, board games, it’s safe to say Pannell’s bought into the Redwoods culture. Now more than ever, he’s become an integral part to it both as a player and a leader.  

“It sounds weird but I think right now he’s having more fun playing lacrosse than he has in a long time,” said St. Laurent. “When we traded for him after his season with the Atlas in the bubble, it felt like he wasn’t having fun anymore. I see it in his game now on the field and in the locker room when he’s with the team, he’s happy where he is.” 

As the Redwoods prepare for the quarterfinals this weekend against the Archers in Boston, it’ll be a full-circle moment for Pannell and the Woods. In their last game before the All-Star break, the Woods fell to the Archers by one goal 10-9 in their fourth loss of the season. Pannell recorded 5 points with 1 goal and 4 assists as he put on one of the gutsiest performances Archers’ goaltender Adam Ghitelman said he had ever seen. A deflated Woods team, Pannell remarked in the postgame every game on here on out was a playoff game for them.

Since that loss, the Redwoods battled back, following through on their word. Now it really is playoffs, and the mindset has shifted.

“It’s a whole new season,” said Pannell. “The regular season, our record, it doesn’t matter. We have to take care of business now.” 

Just like the Settlers of Catan, Pannell’s sights are locked in on settling this Redwoods offense.