NLL Insider

The Rochester front office at the '09 entry draft in Buffalo. (Photo: Chris Sherrer)

Will four varying positioned first round draft picks be enough to pry the first overall selection away from whatever team, last place or possibly expansion, hold the first overall grab at the 2010 entry draft?

As has been rumoured for the past almost two years, the Rochester Knighthawks are definitely hoping they’ve stockpiled enough future picks to be the team trading for and then planting their jersey over Cody Jamieson’s dome at next summer’s already much talked about and debated draft.

To imagine Jamieson in any other pro sweater than the teal, white, black and purple trim of the K’Hawks once he goes pro would be like catching a glimpse of John Tavares decked out in a Toronto Rock uni at the ACC on a Saturday night in January. Even with Troy Cordingley now coaching in TO, it just ain’t gonna happen.

After moving Gavin Prout and Dean Hill to the Edmonton Rush in exchange for yet another first round pick, this time in 2011, and a conditional second round selection sometime over the next two drafts, team owner and GM, Curt Styres, tells the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, “We’ve been playing a chess match in preparation for the 2010 draft.

“We want as many first-round picks as we can get. We have four now and hope to get more.”

Many felt that Jamieson, who won a national championship with Syracuse University last spring, would opt out of his final year playing for the Orange and simply go first overall to the Hawks in the ‘09 draft, one which Rochester owned the first two picks in. It certainly looked like a perfect storm in the making, well, for the Hawks at least.

Jamieson of course returned for his final year at Syracuse this year and the Hawks instead drafted Jamieson’s Six Nations Arrows, Chiefs and Syracuse teammate, Sid Smith, using their second pick on the day to draft Gajic, which later turned into the Colorado Mammoth’s first round picks in next year’s draft, along with Prout and Andrew Potter, Prout again scoring the Hawks additional picks over the next couple years, all evidently ammunition to score Jamieson, via yesterday’s trade.

“We went out and were looking for players and we were fortunate to get Gavin Prout in the Ilija Gajic deal,” added Styres. ”We wanted to get four picks for Ilija and now we got them.”

Jamieson spent this past summer playing his rookie year in the MSL, easily leading Ontario in scoring with 96-points, named the league’s rookie of the year and MVP. The last time a player led the province in scoring and also landed rookie and MVP hardware was in 1989, when Gary Gait (95-points) did all three with the Brooklin Redmen. No player has really come close since.

Coincidentally, both Gait, who currently plays for the Knighthawks, and Jamieson, won national titles with Syracuse University with one-goal wins the same year they also landed the above mentioned hardware.

Is Rochester’s chase for a shot at Jamieson worth all the fuss, some fans are asking? The Gait parallels alone would certainly have most instantaneously screaming yes. The better question might be, even with a truckload of picks and possible vet players offered, will the team holding that first pick be willing to part with it or just build around one of the most sure thing prospects to come down the pipe in a long time.

The much talked about Syracuse senior is considered by most to be the biggest first pick lock since Brodie Merrill went first overall to the Portland Lumberjax in ‘05.

Styres also confirmed with the Rochester D&C that the rumours of John Grant moving to the Orlando Titans in exchange for Jordan Hall and Matt Vinc were 100% false.

Grant has been linked in trade speculation since just before the ‘09 entry draft, former Rochester-owner and current Orlando-owner Steve Donner’s Titans the team that keeps coming up in the Grant rumour mill.

PLUS THE LINKS

Johnny Mouradian honoured – Team Canada and the Washington Stealth’s GM will be honoured by the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in their field ball category. “We had three box sticks that were spliced and made into long sticks and two broke in training camp.” (St. Catharines Standard)

Casey Powell in Hawaii – Titans star talks about why he loves checking out the Hawaii Invitational every year. (Inside Lacrosse)

Jordan Hall in Hawaii – Ditto, plus a bit about why he hates AM games. (Inside Lacrosse)

Team of the Decade - A whack of box-first ball players headline IL’s Team of the 2000’s, plus other NLL talent round things out. (Inside Lacrosse)

Gavin Prout trade backlash – Fan opinion on yesterday’s blockbuster move. (NLL Forums)

Wings’ draft pick John Glynn – To put it mildly, “John Glynn is lacrosse.” (Inside Lacrosse)

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