NLL Insider

With this kinda being my first post-NLL season pro related, well, post, I wanted to set one thing straight before the rumours started getting too out of hand. So in response to the countless number of emails I’ve been swarmed with, yes that is my body that Marc Mesh has been using in their recent string of ads, with Jamie Taylor’s and Lewis Ratcliff’s heads just photoshopped onto my mid section (plus tats). I’m kinda shy and was a bit hesitant at first to let them use my six pack, but in the end, how could I not share that with the masses.

Now that that’s out in the open and off my chest…

After watching the Detroit Red Wings win the Stanley Cup this past week, the one thing I’m hearing from all the hockey experts out there is just how important and what a big impact the Wings’ drafting over the years has been in relation to this year’s Cup win. It’s not something you see much of in any sport in the era of big money free agent signings and guys playing on a whack of teams before their careers are up.

So it got me thinking, how important is the Entry Draft to NLL teams? We don’t have those big loot contracts, but over the years, especially in the 08 season, big name ballers swapping sweaters was about as en vogue (that was for Jiloty) as those nasty Crocs every God damn person wears these days.

As part of our NLL Entry Draft breakdowns, not only will we highlight a host of players available in this year’s draft throughout the summer, we’ll also take a look at past draft years and the impact they’ve had on current NLL teams.

The first thing I really wanted to look at were the OG’s. The guys that were drafted, or in some cases even picked up as free agents, that were bred through their club’s system.

So I brokedown the ball players that fit that bill (found just slightly below). In some cases, there were some exceptions though.

Guys that were drafted but then traded shortly after draft day are listed. So that includes guys like Devan Wray, Brandon Swamp, Blaine Manning and I even included players like Nathan Sanderson, who may have worked out at a team’s camp but then signed with another club prior to the start of the season. Bobby McBride kinda fell under that cut-off too, so I included him for Chi-Town.

Also included guys like Josh Sims and John Gallant, who only traded shirts cuz of their team changing cities.

Left off guys that maybe were drafted by a team, but then moved around the league, only to end up on the same club that originally gave them their start. In the same breath though, I included the likes of Jake Bergey and Jack Reid, who were scooped up in an expansion draft but then dealt back shortly after.

And my final “restriction”, I only included guys that actually put in pro minutes in 2008. So the guys that have actually made the jump from being drafted or sitting on a pracky roster to the big leagues.

I’m sure I made the odd error, and I’m equally sure I’ll hear about it, but the players that made the grade are below.

Does it matter though? Does harvesting your own vets mean anything in today’s NLL? And how many of those rooks and sophs on the list do you actually see sticking it out with their current club? Hit the boards and let us know.

Philadelphia Wings (14)
Athan Iannucci
Jake Bergey
Merrick Thomsom
Geoff Snider
Kyle Sweeney
John Christmas
Rob Van Beek
Pat Heim
Jim Borell
Drew Westervelt
Thomas Hajek
David Mitchell
Brett Moyer
Peter Jacobs

Rochester Knighthawks (13)
John Grant
Scott Evans
Shawn Evans
Stephen Hoar
Matt Lyons
Mat McLeod
Scott Ditzell
Regy Thorpe
Jak Reid
Pat Cougevan
David Brown
Andrew Potter
Grant Crawley

Buffalo Bandits (11)
Billy Dee Smith
Clay Hill
Brandon Swamp
Joe Smith
Rich Kilgour
Kyle Schmelzle
Brett Bucktooth
Roger Vyse
Delby Powless
Brandon Francis
Dan Sams

Toronto Rock (10)
Blaine Manning
Aaron Wilson
Ryan Benesch
Rob Marshall
Matt Carroll
Mark Scherman
Jay Winder
Mike MacLeod
Dan Ladouceur
Nathan Sanderson

Colorado Mammoth (9)
Jamie Shewchuk
Dan Carey
Jason Bloom
Josh Sims
John Gallant
Dylan Llord
Tom Ethington
Chris Gill
Matt Leveque

Minnesota Swarm (9)
Craig Point
Dean Hill
Rory McDade
Travis Hill
Kyle Ross
Colin Achenbach
Justin Norbraten
Chris Courtney
Kevin Croswell

San Jose Stealth (9)
Jeff Zywicki
Frank Resetarits
Eric Martin
Tom Johnson
Steve Holmes
Kyle Sorenson
Paul Dawson
Steve Pannarelli
Todd Fairlie

Chicago Shamrox (8)
Cody Jacobs
Bobby McBride
Josh Wasson
Bill McGlone
Kevin Ross
Mike Kirk
Mike Hobbins
Mack O’Brien

Calgary Roughnecks (7)
Devan Wray
Jeff Moleski
Mike Carnegie
Scott Carnegie
Andrew McBride
Peter McFetridge
Dan Dobbie

New York Titans (7)
Jordan Hall
Brendan Mundorff
John Orsen
Greg Peyser
Mitch Belisle
Rory Smith
Anthony Kelly

Portland Lumberjax (6)
Brodie Merrill
Pete Jacobs
Cory Conway
Tyler Codron
Matt Holman
Joel Weber

Edmonton Rush (4)
Steve Hutchins
Mac Allen
Cory Melville
Kris Hartzell

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