Rookie Forward Jameson Bucktooth Gets First Taste of NLL Competition

DENVER – After being selected by the Colorado Mammoth during the second round (30th overall) of the 2025 NLL Entry Draft, forward Jameson Bucktooth may have imagined a bigger role during his rookie National Lacrosse League (NLL) campaign.

At the same time, Bucktooth represented the third forward the organization had selected within its first four picks last fall when the Mammoth front office set up its war room inside Ball Arena.

With standout forward Braedon Saris confirmed for camp, having exhausted his Jr. A eligibility at that point and selected No. 5 overall, Bucktooth began making a depth chart in his mind.

That said, Saris was a big-bodied righty, so not exactly direct competition.

Yet, when Colorado was on the clock for its first second-round selection, the organization doubled down on offense, this time welcoming forward Stuart Phillips into the fold.

However, Phillips was slated to return to complete his collegiate eligibility ahead of the 2025-26 campaign. And, again, was a righty.

So, by the time Bucktooth heard his name called two picks later, he may have been the third forward setting sails for Mammoth Training Camp, but the first lefty.

And with both Saris and defenseman Connor Nock (selected No. 10 overall) essentially making the opening day roster the night they were drafted, Bucktooth would eventually serve as the highest-drafted rookie atop the squad’s self-scouting charts come Training Camp.

Forced to live in the shadows of fellow lefties Andrew Kew, Will Malcom, Thomas Vela, Jalen Chaster and company throughout the four-week ramp-up sessions, Bucktooth stood out enough to gain some meaningful reps during preseason scrimmages.

And put enough on tape to make the team’s roster in his own right!

As mentioned, though, he was forced to grind his way into any given starting lineup with the aforementioned grouping of established talents sitting ahead of him on the depth chart.

But with Kew getting banged up during Colorado’s season-opener, “Bucky” found himself participating in the Mammoth’s third contest of the year.

He didn’t score in that game, nor did he record any points in his second appearance, which came nearly three months later. But he gained some valuable experience and began to understand what preparing for a gameday as a professional looks and feels like.

When his third regular season appearance dawned the very next weekend, March 13, Bucktooth recorded the first two points (0g, 2a) of his professional career, having registered a pair of helpers during a showdown against the Buffalo Bandits.

Building on said outing during his fourth and final regular season opportunity, he went on to notch his first NLL goal during a 13-11 road win over the Saskatchewan Rush, alongside another assist.

Ending his rookie campaign with four points (1g, 3a), five loose balls and one caused turnover as a rotational forward with limited playing time, Bucky checked many of the boxes Mammoth Head Coach Pat Coyle wanted to see checked in year one.

Primed to continue fighting for a spot on the depth chart with the re-emergence of veteran forward Eli McLaughlin, who’s set to be at this fall’s 2026 Colorado Mammoth Training Camp, Bucktooth will once again have to earn his spot on the squad. But he’ll have some Mammoth fans cheering him on this time around!

Mammoth fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels for the latest news, transactions and beyond!