AUDL Set To Take Flight

 

After 21 months, the American Ultimate Disc League (AUDL) is set to begin their 2021 season this weekend.  As with most sports leagues, the AUDL cancelled last season's play due to the COVID-19 pandemic.   This year they are ready to get started with 22 teams.  Due to continued COVID-related travel restrictions, the three Canadian teams will play in an independent series called the Canada Cup.  The 19 U.S. teams will play in three divisions:  Atlantic, Central and West.  Here is the alignment for the 2021 season:

Atlantic Division

• Atlanta Hustle
• Boston Glory
• DC Breeze
• Philadelphia Phoenix
• Pittsburgh Thunderbirds
• Raleigh Flyers
• Tampa Bay Cannons
• New York Empire

Central Division

• Chicago Union
• Detroit Mechanix
• Indianapolis Alley Cats
• Madison Radicals
• Minnesota Wind Chill

West Division:

• Austin Sol
• Dallas Roughnecks
• Los Angeles Aviators
• San Diego Growlers
• San Jose Spiders
• Seattle Cascades

Canada Cup:

• Montreal Royal
• Ottawa Outlaws
• Toronto Rush

The New York Empire won the 2019 AUDL Championship and will begin their quest to defend their title this weekend against the DC Breeze.  The Empire will also be looking to extend their 15-game winning streak.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Detroit Mechanix have 38 straight losses and have not won since their 23-14 win over Chicago on April 29, 2017.  They will open the season against Indianapolis on Friday.

According to the AUDL's "Tuesday Toss" (which you should bookmark during the season - always packed with good information) here are the top players going into the season:

Rick Gross, Indianapolis AlleyCats  
He played through injury in 2019, meaning that his season-ending plus/minus was just 12th best in the league. Obviously that’s still excellent, but pales in comparison to finishing first and third in league-wide plus/minus in 2017 and 2018. He’s only 26—turning 27 in July—and a healthy Gross should be a weekly difference-maker for the AlleyCats.

Ryan Osgar, New York Empire
Back in 2017 while playing with Minnesota, Osgar finished +77, the seventh-best plus/minus in the league. His production dipped a little bit in 2018, and he did not play in 2019, but he enters an absolutely perfect situation in New York, and I fully expect him to thrive. “I’m a super competitive person, so I feel like I have a lot to prove, honestly,” Osgar said on the Empire podcast earlier this spring. “These dudes just won a championship without me, so they clearly don’t need me, but that’s not how I want it to feel at the end of the year. I want to make a difference.”

Khalif El-Salaam, San Diego Growlers
The former Seattle star has a change of scenery, and San Diego should be a perfect fit. El-Salaam went 1-9 in the 10 games he played with the Cascades in 2019, but should be emotionally rejuvenated by his new surroundings. “With the Growlers, I’m excited to win games and be competitive and set ourselves for am opportunity to win an AUDL Championship,” said El-Salaam. The 27-year-old has never lacked confidence and will certainly bring some swagger and explosiveness to whatever line he joins. A bit more on Khalif coming next week.

Elijah Jaime, Atlanta Hustle
He may not yet be a household name nationally, but Jaime’s hustle did not go unnoticed here. In 2019, he scored 52 goals in just 10 games, the only player in the past three seasons that’s crossed the half-century scoring mark in that few appearances. “He cuts hard and with a quiet intensity which is fun to watch,” teammate Matt Smith told me a couple years back. “He’s definitely a player to keep an eye on in the future, as he’s got all the tools to really make a big splash in the league.”

Carson Wilder, Dallas Roughnecks
He’s improved gradually every single year, progressing from +13 and  +25 with Austin in 2016 and 2017 to +35 to +54 in his two most recent seasons with the Roughnecks. It’s not an especially bold prediction, but the upcoming campaign should be his best season yet. Not only will he play an important role for the league’s perennial contender, but he’s also surrounded by great players and tremendous depth. His brother plays Big 10 football for the Wisconsin Badgers, and the two trained together for a large chunk of the pandemic, making it highly likely that Wilder will be just as explosive as he was in the past, if not even moreso. 

On a personal note, I love this league.  If you haven't seen an ultimate game, you need to support your local team.  This is a very high-scoring and exciting game.  If you want action, this game has it.  I am bummed that we lost our local team - the Nashville Nightwatch - a few seasons ago.  They never could seem to catch on here and couldn't produce a winning product on the field.  In my opinion, this league in an a pivotal year where they could become a more viable league or continue as an obscure sport which gets little or no media coverage by their own news outlets.  If you aren't near an AUDL franchise, you can watch the games on AUDLtv.  Subscription is $9.99 a month.