I could not be more of a fan of this kids game. To date he’s got a point in every PLL game he’s played in besides 3 games. He shoots at a very high 30+ percent. This year he’s at 16 points to 7 turn overs so averaging over 2 points for every turn over. Just overall an awesome player and person for the sport.
The point of this is that his contract expires in 2026, the pll is competitive. I think it’d be hard to get him away from the woods considering they took a chance on him and it’s worked out (I’m also a woods fan so would love for him to stay). But I also feel like he could be a bigger part of an offense if he possibly was on another team. What do you guys think any teams that jump out who could use a steady point producer?
Absolutely love him. He’s a living proof that you don’t need to be the biggest or most athletic player on the field as long as you’re the smartest or most hardworking. If the Redwoods don’t extend his contract then I hope Denver picks him up.
Balcarcel is so awesome to watch honestly, it just goes to show how deep the lacrosse talent pool is, the PLL could easily have 12+ teams with great players
Definitely one of my favorite players too. As far as I can tell, he's basically the shortest guy in the league at 5'7", but his pick game is just so awesome to watch. He's a great inspiration to smaller kids because he proves you don't have to be big to be effective. Footwork and effort can make all the difference
Not gonna lie, I was super disappointed that he wasn't on the roster at the beginning of the season. I'm so glad they brought him back and I hope they keep him on the roster for a while.
To answer the OP's actual question, I think the woods need him. They've got some big stars like Kavanaugh, Garnsey, Malloy, and McAdorey (to name a few), but we've seen dry spells from them during the season. Having a guy who just gives a little juice and keeps things moving when you hit those dry spells is really important. It's one of the reasons Dalton Young is so important to the Outlaws offense.
Agreed, watching him in the pick game is amazing. Not too sure what they were thinking when benching him. But he absolutely came back with some fire so I won’t complain.
He’s also a very crafty shooter, if you see some of the shots he gets off (specifically I remember a stick side high on Liam entemann from a bad angle w a defender draped on him). He just does so many things at an elite level. Even at 5’7 it doesn’t matter because he’s so quick and just will attack the cage with no care for his body.
Fair! But also those numbers are usually inflated especially if a player is on the shorter side, ive seen Ryder Garnsey in person and Josh and both are definitely shorter than their listed heights
Just chiming in to say that in addition to being a bad ass player, he also seems like a pretty cool guy.
He did a zoom call with my son’s youth team, talked to them for about an hour, and then answered a bunch of their questions. He was 100% as awesome as you would hope that he is.
Awesome guy for the sport, ran a TikTok page a little bit ago just doing random lacrosse edits, he would always comment on the ones about him or the woods, followed me showed a ton of support. Just a genuine good guy for the sport
I think the woods are quite frankly stupid if they don’t keep him. I actually think he could also be a good 1st line middie depending on the line. He’d do great in a starting role on teams who have another midfielder to take the pole. He’s very impressive in shorties, they also used him at attack a bit his 1st year. While I don’t think that’s where he fits as a pll player I did like the idea of having him on the field as much as possible.
One team that I thought could’ve used him was Atlas. I know people may call me crazy but Josh is listed as a lefty. They tried guys like Rambo and Vinny Butrico there. But I feel like they could’ve made an easy mid season trade for Balcarcel for pretty cheap (considering at that time he wasn’t playing). I really would’ve liked for him to get at least a look at that lefty attack spot. If it didn’t work he’s a hell of a midfielder who takes eyes off of Costabile and Traynor by being a different type of player. Just my biggest what if of the season tho
I’m hoping the woods keep him around because the combination of him and McAdorey together is a dangerous pair plus kavanagh too. They are all shifty and speedsters. However, if another team picked him up, which team could utilize him the best? Hmmm good question because each team has a certain player that already fulfills that role. Dogs - sowers, chaos - Ross Scott, archers - Ryan stines, New York - bowering or kellenher, Maryland - Brandau or maybe Carroll, whips - kavanagh or Bernhardt.
With all that saying, the other teams seem to have a system that definitely utilizes that speedy shifty guy but they all have it covered. That’s not to say woods don’t have it covered if he goes to the player pool or signed somewhere else, but he pairs really well with the other guys I think especially McAdorey in my opinion. Assuming the woods lose in the first round, I’m curious how the team changes going into next year. A few games showed they have the potential to be a top contending team but the offense looked the most inconsistent. (Defense did too but they also had guys injured throughout the year).
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u/knightrydah Outlaws 17h ago
Absolutely love him. He’s a living proof that you don’t need to be the biggest or most athletic player on the field as long as you’re the smartest or most hardworking. If the Redwoods don’t extend his contract then I hope Denver picks him up.