Toronto Raiders Season Preview: Ready to Raid
Author: Jack Levy
Last Season:
The start of May means the raccoons are getting ready to raid cities across the North Division. The Toronto Raiders are back and ready to compete in their fifth season of MLQ. Last summer the Raiders finished fourth in the division, their lowest regular season finish to date. Nonetheless, they still played in a handful of competitive serieses and qualified for MLQ Championships. In their series against Minneapolis, they fell by 40 and 45 in the first two games. Against Detroit, they fell by 55 and 45 in their last two games. They also swept Cleveland, with their closest game being a 95-point win. While the Raiders might have only finished fourth, they were a competitive team throughout the season, and their close losses to strong franchises show for it. Now, the team is ready to build on last summer and prepared to claw their way to the top.
Returners
Scott Rousseau (Mischief Quadball)
Grace Davey (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Joanne Lam (Montreal Flamingos Quadball Club)
Madeline Matcheski (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Calla Shantz (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Alex Scherger (Mischief Quadball)
Nathan Reid
Derek Taylor (Mischief Quadball)
Gabriel Kwok (Mischief Quadball)
Michael Wanless (Mischief Quadball)
Bryan Melchior (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Isabel Kirby (Mischief Quadball)
Will McMillan (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Brittany Taylor (Mischief Quadball)
Christos Kaldis (Mischief Quadball)
Lauren Matherson
Kieran Smith (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Lachlan Craig (Mischief Quadball)
Shira Hersch (Mischief Quadball)
Matthew Bunn (Mischief Quadball)
Additions
Brianne Howden
Marissa Noftle (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Grey Scott
Aaron Jin (University of Toronto Centaurs)
Tanner Hill (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Siri Beke (University of Guelph Gryphons)
Notable Losses
Diana Shakhova
Levi Medeiros
Callum Noble-Gresty
Sid Puri
Savannah Campbell
Sarah Dykstra
Robert Ali
Emma Sherwood
Piotr Makuch
The Season Ahead
The Raiders will play on opening weekend June 7th, where they will travel to Cleveland to take on the Riff in their season opener. The two franchises typically play against each other to start the season, and this year looks to be no different. Last year the Raiders won in dominant fashion. In fact, the Raiders have never dropped a game to Cleveand. This season poses a different challenge. The Riff, with a full 30-person roster, are ready to rock like never before, and will most certainly be looking for an upset. This will be a key matchup for Toronto’s season, as a win in Cleveland might be what they need to qualify for MLQ Championships later down the line.
On June 28th, the Raiders host the Detroit Innovators. After traveling to Detroit last year, the Innovators are crossing the border to Canada for the first time since before the pandemic. Last summer, Toronto fell to the Innovators for the first time in their franchise’s history. They will look to bounce back in what is becoming one of the most heated rivalries in the North Division. Expect the tension to be extra high with two former Raiders joining the Detroit squad this season.
Finally, in the first weekend of August, the Raiders will head to Illinois where they will face the Minneapolis Monarchs and Chicago Prowl in a SuperSeries. This will be the team’s toughest test, maybe in franchise history. While Toronto was able to play a pair of close games against the Monarchs last season, Minneapolis has loaded up on talent. Meanwhile, the Prowl remain at the top of the North, coming off back-to-back finals appearances. To take on both of these talented teams in the same weekend is brutal. The Raiders will want to enter this weekend with their ticket to Buffalo already punched.
If the Raiders can take care of business in June against the Riff and the Innovators, they will look forward to being the closest team to this year’s MLQ Championship on August 16th. The importance of winning one of their first two series cannot be overstated. One series win means we will likely see Toronto in the play-in bracket. If they lose both, they will need to beat one of the strongest teams in the league in either the Prowl or the Monarchs. The Raiders do not want to be in a position where they need to win games in Chicago in order to make the postseason. Ideally, the squad can beat Cleveland and Detroit, likely setting us up for a heated final week game between the Riff and Innovators to determine who the last team is to make MLQ Championships. This would alleviate much pressure for the Raiders and the team could use the SuperSeries weekend to prepare for a play-in bracket run.
Why They Won’t
The Raiders have a lot of question marks this season, but the headliner is their beating losses. Last season Toronto had seven beaters that played over 50 drives. Out of those seven players, only four are returning. The loss of Piotr Makuch, Levi Medeiros, and Emma Sherwood will hit the team hard this season. In one of their most important matchups of the year, Medeiros will be wearing teal for the Innovators. Every beat he throws will sting a little harder knowing those dodgeballs used to pave a path for the Raiders’ success. Yet, the absence of Sherwood from the roster will hurt even more. Sherwood has been a staple for Toronto over the past couple summers, leading the team in stops for the past two seasons. New beaters will need to step up if the Raiders are looking to trash teams again.
In the chaser game, the Raiders are also losing a good amount of goal production. The biggest loss for the franchise in the quadball game has to be Sarah Dykstra, who made the move to Detroit in the offseason. Dykstra put up 100 points for Toronto last season and was the team’s leading scorer against the Prowl. She was also one of the two leading scorers at Championships the previous summer for the Raiders. This production in high-level situations is difficult to come by. The team is also losing Robert Ali, Savannah Campbell and Callum Noble-Gresty, who combined put up the same number of goals as Dykstra during the regular season. While the Raiders will still have a handful of returning chasers, they will need to find ways to replicate these major absences.
The franchise is also experiencing a decline in depth. Last season, the Raiders were able to roster 29 players, but this year, the group is only bringing 26. Cleveland, who struggled with rostering a full-30 last season, is now at max strength. It won’t be as easy for the Raiders to take on a team that now has added depth and talent. Although, it should be noted that the Innovators also saw a similar decline in roster spots.
Why They Will
While the Raiders are experiencing a number of issues entering this season, all these players are quite familiar with each other. Of the team’s 26-person roster, they are returning 20 players. That’s 77% of their roster returning from last summer, one of the highest percentages in the league. The team is also returning the same head coach and manager, Sinan Keyder and Noelle Starling. Toronto’s familiarity playing with each other will provide a major edge for the team this season, allowing the experienced coaching staff to build off their play from last year. Expect some players who left their mark last season to step up in a major way, now that they’re comfortable playing in the Raider’s system. Some names to look out for include Lachlan Craig, Izzy Kirby, and Michael Wanless.
While Dykstra is a major hit in the chasing game, the team is still returning many of their stars from last season. The group’s leading scorer, Nathan Reid, who came over from Ottawa two seasons ago, is coming back to Toronto again. The team is also bringing back long-time Raider Bryan Melchoir, who trailed Reid by only one goal. Not to mention, the team has found a lot of success in no-dodgeball situations on offense. When dodgeballs are down, the Raiders have scored 75% of the time. That was the second best in the North and fifth best in the league in 2024. While the questions surrounding their beater depth remain, there’s no doubt the team can execute if the beaters can create no dodgeball drives for the chasers.
The Raiders have also found an ace seeker. Christos Kaldis, who tied for fourth in the league in runner catches, is returning to Toronto for the summer. Kaldis has proven that if he gets even a couple seconds with the flag runner, he will execute. There’s no better feeling than knowing your team has a seeker that can perform in clutch time and get you 35 points. Last year watching the intense battle between Kaldis and Detroit’s seeker Neil Peterson was thrilling. Expect this season to be no different. In most games this year the Raiders will have an edge after 20 minutes with Kaldis wearing the yellow headband.
Toronto has the pieces to find success this season in the North Division and reclaim their third place spot. This next month will be crucial for the Raiders as they play their most important games in June. Can the Raiders prove themselves and punch their ticket to Buffalo?
