NLL Insider

Can Derek Keenan and the Lumberjax match last summer's impressive Entry Draft selections?

This year’s NLL Entry Draft is shapin’ up to have a pretty solid first couple rounds and even a couple interesting likely mid and late round picks that many feel have the legs to transition their game to the bigs.

So although we’re comin’ atcha with The Hot 30 tomorrow, lookin’ at the 30 best ballers available in this year’s draft, today we’re lookin’ at what each of the NLL’s 13 teams will probably be lookin’ for based on their current roster needs.

So after the jump, check out what we think team’s will be lookin’ to stock up on this weekend in Boston… 

Boston Blazers
GM Tom Ryan has actually done a pretty decent job of putting together a team that should be able to compete right outta the blocks. Obviously the Sting Dispersal helped a bit, but Ryan is also gainin’ a rep as a rookie GM that isn’t gonna get pushed around on the horn when wheelin’ n’ deelin’. With the first overall pick, you’d have to think Boston will either trade it or draft the best guy available, Daryl Veltman. After that though, Boston will likely want to look at beefin’ up their D a bit. With John Gallant still rumoured to be traded back to Colorado, Boston’s D will have some pretty young American defenders runnin’ the show. If Dan Dawson and Jake Bergey remain in Boston, then Ryan will likely be looking at adding some depth in the back-end with some solid pure defenders.

Buffalo Bandits
It’ll be very unlikely that Buffalo even lands a guy that will crack their roster in camp. No team has more depth and high quality ball players at the top of their charts than Buffalo does. It’s the reason they were champs last year, bottom line. If there’s someone Darris Kilgour really wants in the first round though, he’s shown in previous drafts he’s definitely not afraid to trade up (ie. Billy Dee Smith and Delby Powless). Losing a guy like Kyle Laverty in the Dispersal Draft will hurt a bit, so don’t be surprised to see Darris draft one of Randy Mearns‘ two Canisius D kids in Matt Hajek or Eric Lamothe, or even Six Nation’s hulking two-way stud, Logan Kane.

Calgary Roughnecks
Over the years, the Roughnecks have lost some pretty big names that were a big part of a scary O press. Guys like Rob Kirkby, Jesse Phillips and even Taylor Wray, were the kinda guys that could really get the opposition’s O on their heels breaking outta their own end. Ohio State grad and Coquitlam tranny Steve McKinlay might be a pretty good fit with the Necks and fill in  that two role need, one they appear to have tried to fill with Airdrie Knights’ tranny Brad MacDonald. They’ll also need to start thinking about getting a legit backup for, at least for now, starter Pat Campbell. The two best ‘87 keeper prospects from out West would be Victoria’s Matt Flindell and probably Burnaby’s Scott Lowe. With Dane Dobbie on the sidelines for almost all of last year, plus Tracey Kelusky back to 100%, it’s unlikely a rookie O guy will have much of an impact for Calgary in ‘09.

Chicago Shamrox
With only one guy crackin’ the 20 goal barrier last year, and outside of Cody Jacobs steppin’ up his O game late in ‘08, Chicago needs some additional scoring threats to go along side long time vets like Mat Giles, Jason Clark and Jonas Derks. The thing is, after dealing their first round pick in the Anthony Cosmo deal, can they still find a decent secondary O option at the 16th overall spot? Will that draft pick be better than say, someone like Kevin Ross, who saw limited minutes in nine starts last season? Might be worth seeing if they can grab a guy like Andrew Chapman, who’s draft stock has for some reason dropped over the summer, but the box first kid has more than shown scoring a sh** load of goals comes pretty naturally. He might still be around when Chicago steps up to the podium.

Colorado Mammoth
Colorado could definitely use some more D. With Gallant still Boston property and Pat Coyle retired, it leaves two gaping holes in the Mammoth’s back-end, at least for now. They have some pretty decent depth at O and their keeper team is one of the best in the bizz, so they’re OK in those two areas for sure. At the fifth pick though, it might be tough to pass over some of the decent O talent available. Curtis Manning is one guy that might still be there. Manning is draft eligible but still has a year left at SFU, so might not be able to play pro ball this year, unless otherwise convinced. Manning would be a perfect fit in the Mammoth’s style of play, but can they potentially wait a year to have him in camp? He’s gonna be a tough guy for anyone to pass up.

Edmonton Rush
Bob Hamley has set himself up pretty nicely heading into the Entry Draft, patching up holes all over the court since coming aboard in Edmonton. With two older tenders in the cage with Steve Dietrich and Curtis Palidwor, the Rush might be looking for a keeper to mold for the future, but drafting a tender is usually a huge gamble in this game no matter how amazing guys were in Junior. It’s unlikely Hammer would use one of their first two rounders on a goalkeeper this year. It sounds like Jamie Floris will still be around when Edmonton steps up at the number four pick, and they can probably continue beefing up their O with guys like Cayle Ratcliff or Tim Campeau four picks later. And although it’ll be tough to find a spot in the Rush’s pretty impressive D line, the Rush could also go with defensive prospect Mike Gilmore outta Burnaby. Like we said, Hammer has set himself up pretty nicely.

Minnesota Swarm
The big loss for Minny was definitely Andy Secore, who added another element to their O last year. Secore obviously got picked up by Edmonton in the second Sting Dispersal and doesn’t sound like he’s going anywhere. Can Minnesota find another Craig Point drafting at the ten spot? It’ll be unlikely, unless someone drops outta most team’s projected order, but GM Marty O’Neill has shown over the years he’s not afraid to work the phones to get what he wants… ever. The Swarm will also want to replace last year’s other impressive rook, Kyle Ross, a high energy, in your face defender that got handed some super tough assignments in ‘08. Ross was taken by Boston in the Expansion Draft. One of those first three picks the Swarm own in the first round will likely be used on a pure defender, someone like Orangeville’s Jon Harnett or even Gilmore.

New York Titans
Losing Jeff Ratcliffe on O is gonna sting a bit. Jeff opened up a ton of space on O for the Titans last year, and even though his numbers weren’t career highs, the work he did for the rest of his crew is gonna be damn hard to replace. Like a lot of teams, trying to land a backup keep will be on their to-do list, cuz even though Eric Miller is a solid backup, he won’t be around forever. Will be tough to find another Mitch Belisle too, who impressed large last winter. With that said though, the buzz is that New York is gonna work their ass off to try and land Paul Rabil, and some of what’s been mentioned as possible trade value is pretty crazy. Should be an interesting draft for the Titans if any of the rumours floating around are true. There’s a host of Americans interested in joining the NLL this year, with NY being maybe the most desirable situation to play in.

Philadelphia Wings
The Wings lost a ton on O over the off-season. Gone are Jamie Rooney, Jason Crosbie, and for the time being, Jake Bergey. That’s a lot of juice gone. And by juice we mean 60 friggin’ goals GONE. The word is obviously that Philly will try and land Kevin Huntley, coach Dave Huntley’s son. And although some may scream nepotism, who cares, cuz the kid is lights out good and definitely has the tools to blow it up in pro box. Not only is he good, but Huntley wants to play in the league and would be a good fit in the Wings’ lineup. If he’s available, the pick definitely makes sense for a variety of reasons, outside of just the obvious.

Portland Lumberjax
Obviously with the loss of Dawason, O will likely be on the top of their grocery list on the weekend, or at least it should be. The Jax D is definitely decent and more than mobile enough to do well in the NLL. Now their O needs to be as diverse and athletic as their back-end. But with most teams likely to take the O guys early in the first round, will there be enough for Portland to take at the 12th overall pick? Can they get an impact O guy at nine? Can they afford to trade any of their vets to move up in the first round? Will they take the best overall guy available like they did last year with the sixth overall pick? With Tyler Codron, Cory Conway, Peter Jacobs and Joel Weber picked up last year, the Jax management have proved they know how to do their homework heading into the draft. Can they do it again this year? It’ll be tough.

Rochester Knighthawks
Based on where they draft and their sometimes slumping offense last year, Rochester will no doubt go with an O guy at the fifth overall pick. Their scoring after their big four (Grant, Williams and the Evans boys) dropped off Wile E. Cyote styles last year, with that fifth scoring option, rookie Matt Lyons, going to Boston in the Expansion Draft. Although a bigger role for sophomore Matt McLeod is expected, especially after a stellar season with the Orangeville Northmen this summer, you’d have to think the Hawks will want to beef up their usually potent offense even more. A lot of this year’s top projected O talent comes from the West, which might make it tougher to get a guy playing FT this year in the East. Wouldn’t be surprised to see this pick traded.

San Jose Stealth
It was smooth sailin’ last year on O until Luke Wiles went down for the season. The team seemed to scramble to fill his spot with Gary Rosyski, a healthy scratch for four games, and Peter Veltman, who plays a different role on O than the one needed to replace Wiles. Sean Morris, who exploded onto the scene in his debut, was left on the sidelines and then taken by Boston recently after failing to impress after that initial blowup. And even though Cam Sedgwick had an MVP year in the WLA, it’s unlikely he’ll be relied on to do the same with the Stealth. It’s pretty likely San Jose will either land a pair of guys like Rhys Duch and Floris with those early two picks, or deal one away to a team trying to land Rabil. Either way, look for O guys to come aboard and likely some athletic American defenders/trannies in the later rounds. Wouldn’t be surprised to see some MLL San Fran guys taken either, namely Matt Lalli.

Toronto Rock
With their underachieving offensive output last season, you’d think the Rock should be looking at grabbing some O talent, but don’t be so sure. The Rock now have Craig Conn on board, Jason Crosbie and Lewis Ratcliff for an entire year. With some stability on O and no off-floor stuff to get in the way, the Rock’s offense is actually lookin’ pretty decent. What they’ll want to replace is their slumping transition game. Although Chad Thompson will add a spark to their press, lossing Jim Veltman and having Chris Driscoll closing in on 40, isn’t gonna help matters. Although the Rock don’t draft until 17th overall, depending on how the first round plays out, they may still be able to get some good, athletic defenders that could add to their two way game. With the loss of Mike Poulin in the Expansion Draft, they’ll also likely be looking for a keeper in the mid to late rounds.

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