BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Several members of the Buffalo Bandits organization have been named 2025 National Lacrosse League Awards finalists.
Forward Dhane Smith was named a finalist for both Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year. Smith finished the regular season with 32 goals and 102 assists for 134 points. His 102 assists broke his own NLL single-season assists record and his 134 points tied for the NLL lead with teammate Josh Byrne. Smith is a two-time NLL MVP, he won the award in 2016 and 2022. He is one of five players in league history to win at least two MVP awards.
The other finalists for MVP are San Diego Seals forward Wesley Berg and Rochester Knighthawks forward Connor Fields. The other finalists for Offensive Player of the Year are Fields and Ottawa Black Bears forward Jeff Teat.
Goaltender Matt Vinc was named a finalist for Goaltender of the Year. This is the 10th time in his 19-year career that he has been nominated, he has won the award eight times. Vinc finished the regular season with a 10.71 goals-against average, which was third in the league among qualified goaltenders, and he stopped over 79 percent of shots faced, which was tied for fourth in the league.
The other finalists for Goaltender of the Year are Calgary Roughnecks goalie Nick Rose and Saskatchewan Rush goalie Frank Scigliano.
Forward Kyle Buchanan was named a finalist for the NLL Sportsmanship Award. This is the fourth time that Buchanan has been a finalist for the award; he has won it once. The award celebrates a player who "embodies exemplary sportsmanship values on and off the lacrosse field." Buchanan finished the regular season with 34 goals and 21 assists for 55 points. His 34 goals and 55 points were third on the team. He also finished the season with just four penalty minutes. He has had just eight penalty minutes during his Bandits career.
The other finalists for the NLL Sportsmanship Award are Vancouver Warriors forward Keegan Bal and Georgia Swarm forward Lyle Thompson.
Scott Loffler has been named a finalist for Executive of the Year. This is the third time he has been named a finalist. The Bandits said Loffler was a critical part in breaking the NLL attendance record this season, with 166,238 people packing the KeyBank Center, also known as "Banditland," for the team's nine home games this season. During the regular season, the Bandits had four sell-outs and never had an attendance number below 17,240.
The other finalists for Executive of the Year are John Catalano from the Halifax Thunderbirds and Jason Thorne from the Vancouver Warriors.
John Gurtler, long-time Bandits play-by-play man, has been named a finalist for the Tom Borrelli Media Person of the Year Award. The Bandits said Gurtler has called over 400 consecutive games since he started doing play-by-play for the Bandits in 2004. The award is named for longtime Bandits writer Tom Borrelli, who covered the team for The Buffalo News.
The other finalists are Maki Jenner and Teddy Jenner.
The NLL said all awards are based on regular-season performances and voting took place before the start of the 2025 NLL Playoffs. Media, coaches, and team personnel ranked their top five selections, and the finalists are the top three vote-getters in each award category.
