NLL Insider

Ok at least thats what Boston General Manager Tom Ryan says. As recently as a few hours ago Ryan told me that he will draft Daryl Veltman with the number one pick in tomorrows  draft. 

 On the day preceding the draft I take most comments from coaches and managers  with a grain of salt - no make that a bag of salt. NLL executives are very secretive about who they really like and there is so much  misinformation  floating around that one coach has dubbed this weekend as The Meeting of the Liar’s Club. However with the first pick overall there seems to be little incentive for the Boston General manager to be secretive about his pick and I sat down with him this morning to talk about the Blazers and the draft. Of course its not impossible for things to change based on tonight’s combine game but as of now, Ryan says he will go with Hobart’s Daryl Veltman.  When Boston recently traded Peter Veltman back to San Jose I assumed that a side deal had been made whereby Boston would pass on Daryl Veltman so that the Stealth could have both brothers on the west coast this winter. Not so according to Boston and the San Jose. However the distrustful side of me makes me think if San Jose truly coveted Veltman it would be in their best interest to down play it. And if Boston was willing to leave Veltman for San Jose they would likely up his value by telling everyone how much they want him.

This is a draft where there are a lot of conflicting opinions. One scout told me that while there is not a superstar in the Brodie Merrill, Athan Iannucci mold, he feels that you could probably make an good argument for picking any of about 20 players in the mid first round.  However most GM’s agree that the top 5 players will  definitely include Veltman, Paul Rabil, Rhys Duch.

According to Boston’s Tom Ryan they feel Veltman is the most sure thing in the draft and they need lefties. Some thought that Ryan would take Paul Rabil, the most high profile American, for some added marquee value but Ryan stated that 2^nd year player Sean Morris (recently acquired from San Jose) of U Mass  will fill that void.   Some of the other things Ryan had say was that he hopes to trade expansion draft picks Jake Bergey, John Gallant, and Mike Kilby (probably back to their original teams) for more picks in this years draft. He would like to build the Blazers with youth in the mold of the New York Titans. Although he recognizes the need for experienced box players to lead the offence he feels that Adam Mueller proved that American field players can become dangerous transition players in the NLL.  

Here a few more random things seen and overheard so far.  As I’ve already mentioned, take everything with a grain of salt.

Although the Philadelphia Wings would love to draft Kevin Huntley (son of coach Dave) most GMS don’t believe he will be available when the Wings pick in their current position (9^th overall).

A few managers have told me that Paul Rabil is the best player in the draft and he should go number one.

Darris Kilgour, who doesn’t have a pick in the first two rounds, said that if he had an early pick he would be  taking Pat McCready’s nephew Joel McCready.

I had chats with field stars Matt Danowski and  Paul Rabil and both players have convinced me that that sincerely want to play in the NLL and are willing to ride whatever learning curve is necessary.

Daryl Velltman said that he would be honoured if he were to be picked number one and would be happy to play in Boston but he also recognizes that many things could happen within the next 24 hours. Playing with his brother in San Jose (2^nd and 3^rd picks) would not be bad either.

Its still early  and there are guaranteed to be trades and movement before the draft. Stay tuned to NLLinsider for updates.  A lot could change in the next  12 hours.

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