NLL Insider

Rumors were hot and heavy before Wednesday night’s National Lacrosse League draft in Buffalo but when the dust finally settled at the conclusion of the draft just after 9 p.m., not a whole heck of a lot had happened. That doesn’t mean general managers and coaches walked out of the Harbour Club unhappy. There were plenty of team execs satisfied with the direction the draft took their team. Minnesota (with Zack Greer pictured) and Colorado got some much-needed offensive help, Washington picked up some defensive help, Rochester got a little help for both ends and Toronto is excited about the offensive talent it picked up to drive the goal of restoring the franchise to its glory days.

ROCHESTER selecting Sid Smith No. 1 overall didn’t surprise anyone. The Knighthawks always have prided themselves on defense and when a fella like Sid Smith is available for the taking, you take him. Smith’s skills are evident on the field and indoors, and his Six Nations roots made him an easy choice for a franchise owned by Curt Styres, also of Six Nations.

“I’m more happy to be playing for Rochester than for being the top pick,” Smith said during a draft party in Rochester. “I’ve played with a lot of the guys on the team already so I expect to be part of a really good team.”

What Rochester was going to do with the No. 2 pick was a bit of a mystery. There was plenty of offensive talent to choose from, but with the anticipated return of John Grant Jr. and Scott Evans from knee injuries, would the Birds be looking for a goalie to back up Pat O’Toole? That was clearly an area the Rochester team struggled in last year. Or would the Knighthawks trade the pick to acquire an established veteran? Well, they selected New Westminster offensive stud Ilija Gajic and team president Lewis Staats said they didn’t draft Gajic to trade him.

“We did some checking and we obviously know him well from the Minto Cups in 2005 and 2006,” said Staats. “We’re going to do everything we can to get him in here.”

Luring players to the opposite coast can be a challenge in the NLL, for sure, but can the Knighthawks convince Gajic to come east to play for Paul Gait? They’re both British Columbia guys and Staats confirmed that Gait will indeed coach Rochester again this year and his brother Gary will be suiting up again as a player.

Speaking of coast-to-coast, the CALGARY ROUGHNECKS and new coach Dave Pym were stoked even before they arrived in Buffalo. The trade for Craig Conn solidifies their right side. “He’s a fierce competitor and has the intangibles we’re looking for,” Pym said.

Pym admits it’ll be tough for rookies to earn a spot in the lineup of a defending champion, but Carlton Schuss could give the Roughies a big presence on offense and Garrett Werschke just may figure into the transition game with his skills at both ends.

Still out West, the WASHINGTON STEALTH were one of the more active franchises in selecting seven players and making a pair of trades, and the tone was evident. They used their first pick of the draft, No. 13 overall, to get Matt Beers who many consider to be one of the best defenders to come outta B.C. Erik Sage is a solid defender out of Victor, B.C., North Carolina middie Ben Hunt is a big fella at 6-5, 220 pounds, Rhys Jones is nearly as big at 6-4, 225 pounds and is known for his punishing checks, and Chris O’Dougherty out of Rutgers University is a defenseman. Goalie Ray Hodgkinson can make up for the trade of Aaron Bold to Minnesota, and the selection of Georgetown middie Chris Taylor, a native of Mercer Island, Wash., gives the franchise a local name for fans to identify with.

Still, it was all about defense for the Stealth, who were victimized last season by inconsistency in the back end. “We were looking at building our defense,” said general manager Johnny Mouradian. “We wanted to get bigger and stronger and we feel we accomplished that.”

Dealing Frank Resetarits to Buffalo wasn’t easy, said Mouradian, because of his dedication to learning the game and his loyalty to the franchise. His emerging offense will be missed, but the trade enabled the Stealth to add more defensive depth to a team that appears to be in good shape on offense with the offseason acquisitions of guys like Luke Wiles and Jamison Koesterer, Jason Bloom and Peter Morgan to work with Colin Doyle, Rhys Duch and Jeff Zywicki.

For the TORONTO ROCK, the mood is upbeat after assistant coach Matt Sawyer and team owner Jamie Dawick had six picks, three of them in the first round. They took Garrett Billings and Joel Delgarno, both out of B.C., and their final pick of the first round was Stephen Leblanc, who just finished a solid season with the Langley Thunder. All three bring solid offensive credentials to a team that hasn’t lived up to expectations the past few seasons and Dawick made no secret of his team’s draft goal.

“I remember sitting in that arena, it was nuts,” said Dawick. “We’re moving in a positive direction and we’re bringing in the right players who want to wear this jersey with pride.”

The MINNESOTA SWARM came into the draft looking for a big left-hander and they got that in Zack Greer. Although Greer’s been absent from the indoor game lately, the Whitby native shouldn’t have any problem coming back to the game and the Swarm hopes he can energize the power play. “Special teams are so huge in this game,” general manager Marty O’Neill said. “And the power play last year kinda let us down a little.”

A trade with Washington got Alex Turner and goalie Aaron Bold, and a trade with Edmonton sent Richard Morgan to the Swarm. That’ll help solidify the defense and the team hopes for pleasant surprises from later picks Kevin Colleluori (Colgate), Cody Johnson (Six Nations) and Matt Kelly (Virginia). But it’s the way his offense is shaping up that has O’Neill most excited and can you blame him? As it stands now, on the left side he’s got Ryan Benesch, Kevin Buchanan, Kevin Ross, Chad Culp, Turner and Greer. On the right, there’s Aaron Wilson, Dan Marohl and Sean Pollock.

For the COLORADO MAMMOTH, coach Bob McMahon is pretty happy too. Picking up Cliff Smith and Alex Gajic will do that for a team that struggled offensively last season. “We had to address the goal-scoring,” McMahon said. “We generated shots last year but just didn’t put the ball in the net. We have to be more complete in the offensive end.”

Gajic brings tremendous scoring touch and Smith is a commanding force. Both are coming from out West and the team’s third pick, Brad Richardson gives the Mammoth a trio that is very familiar with the Denver area. All three played at Denver University. The remaining picks give the Mammoth some projects, and it’ll be interesting to see if standout defenseman Ryan McFadden out of Duke can make the transition indoors. Shaun Dhaliwal, out of B.C., could give Colorado some more depth to an offense that already added Ryan Powell and Cory Conway after the dispersal draft earlier this year.

All the Mammoth have to do now is stay healthy. McMahon said the team had nine season-ending surgeries last year.

The BOSTON BLAZERS  came away satisfied with the acquisition of Max Seibald, the Cornell middie who coach Tom Ryan has been impressed with for a few years now. “We expect him to fit in well,” said Ryan. “He plays hard and physical and plays both ends well.” Ryan said a lot of positive things happened in Boston last season and he’s even more excited for the upcoming season because he came in to the draft with a short list and was able to land most of the guys he was after.

Syracuse middie Matt Abbott was one of those players, and Ryan loves his versatility. The selections of Scott Kahoe (SU), Matt Messina (NYIT) and Mike Stone (Middlebury) give the Blazers the kind of blue-collar guys they love, grinders who work hard and aren’t obsessed with personal stats. Ryan also said he’s happy to know that Brett Queener will be back with the team. The zany personality belies his dedication to the game and it was unfortunate that a sprained ankle last year suffered after stepping on a ball in practice kept him off the floor as much as it did.

The BUFFALO BANDITS picked up a couple of solid defenders in Chris Corbeil and Steve Priolo, which shouldn’t surprise anyone who knows coach Darris Kilgour. The team’s first-round pick, Kyle Clancy, has a ton of offensive potential but Kilgour isn’t expecting him to crack the lineup right away. The team’s biggest acquisition on Wednesday wasn’t even in the draft. When the trade offer came to get Frank Resetarits, Kilgour jumped. Later, they traded the 40th overall pick for journeyman Jon Harasym.

“Jon is a blood and guts guy and Frank is from (Buffalo suburb) Hamburg,” said Kilgour. “The guys out West didn’t know who he was. They know who he is here and we’re happy to have him.”

With the draft picks, Kilgour said more important than improving the talent of this team, he thinks he improved the attitude. The Bandits got a little complacent last season, he said. “Tonight, we got younger, stronger and more athletic,” he said.

The EDMONTON RUSH have all sorts of reasons for optimism and that was before the draft even started. Offseason acqusitions of guys like Brodie Merrill and Derek Malawsky give Corey Small, the team’s first pick on Wednesday, some solid veterans to learn from. Small’s heart has been on display at the University at Albany, but he’s no stranger to the indoor game with plenty of experience with the St. Catharines athletics and the Kitchener-Waterlook Kodiaks. Scott Tinning out of Brampton can win faceoffs for the Rush and Dane Stevens brings a versatile offensive set.

Later picks like Brett Mydske (New Westminster) is a defender who can score and offensive depth might be provided by Geoff McNulty (St. Catharines), Craig Zeeh (Kitchener) and Shane Lopatynski (Edmonton), who led the Eclipse in scoring at the recent Minto Cup.

The PHLADELPHIA WINGS were relatively quiet with just four picks, but they picked up some solid sticks. Bobby Snider (Bellarmine U) was the team’s first pick and he should have no trouble adjusting. Older brother Geoff is on the team and if Geoff isn’t winning faceoffs, Bobby can step right in. He’s a solid defensive guy with three Minto Cup rings. John Glynn out of Cornell is an old-school middie who can do a bit of everything and Peet Poillon out of UMBC and PT Ricci out of Loyola can add speed to the transition game.

The ORLANDO TITANS were pretty quiet too and didn’t pick until midway through the second round. They used that pick to nab Dan Hardy out of Syracuse, who should be ready to step right in. Yeah, he’s a field player but he knows the box game and more importantly, he’s eager to be a part of the NLL. Michael Evans out of Johns Hopkins brings a physical presence to defense. Another SU guy, Kenny Nimms has the offensive stick to finish and Ryan Learn out of Burlington brings a speedy offensive skill that can come through in the clutch.

Rate This Story:

(+68 rating, 15 votes)

 Loading ...