The Toronto Rock entered Thursday night’s draft with the fewest picks of all the teams. Arguably, they had the fewest holes to fill. General Manager Jamie Dawick ended up trading a future pick as the Rock added six young players to their ranks. It was a long wait for the first pick, 30th overall. With it the Rock made a somewhat surprising pick in TD Ierlan from Yale. On the…
NLL: Swarm clean up with eight picks in 2020 draft
The Georgia Swarm had a strong showing during the 2020 NLL Draft, which was held virtually for the first time ever. Georgia picked up eight players – four in the first round alone. In the first round, the Swarm held the sixth, eighth, 10th, and 13th picks. They used those four picks to make some significant splashes and grab talent that will bolster the Swarm’s roster now and in years…
NLL: Wings stay local in first virtual draft
The Philadelphia Wings had eight draft picks in Thursday’s National Lacrosse League draft. Thirty-eight per cent of their picks were from Johns Hopkins as the Wings seem to be banking on local connections to support their fan base. Most of their picks also have a great mix of box and field experience. Their first pick was the 16th selection in the draft, the last pick of the first round. They…
NLL: Thunderbirds targeted defence at the 2020 draft
The Halifax Thunderbirds targeted defence during the 2020 NLL draft. They took a defender in the first and second rounds, and they also acquired Tyson Bell from the Calgary Roughnecks for their 14th and 20th picks. “We were trying to shore up our defence with young talented defenders,” said head coach Mike Accursi. “We did that tonight with Riggs, Bell, Terefenko and Friesen. They are all fantastic young big defenders…
NLL: Seven players on the move after trades during draft
Seven current NLLers have new homes after being traded during Thursday’s NLL draft. First to move was Jeff Wittig, who was sent to the Rochester Knighthawks for the 28th pick in the draft. Witting is a forward who will enter his third year in the league with 13 goals and 16 assists under his belt. Rochester needed to bolster their roster and Witting should start to come into his own…
NLL: Ninety-three players selected during 2020 draft party
It’s finally official – Jeff Teat is a member of the New York Riptide. Jim Veltman made the announcement shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday night as the NLL hosted its first virtual draft. Ninety-three players were selected over six rounds. Though the NLL doesn’t have a return to play date yet, things are already in motion to prepare for the next season. The draft was the first major step…
NLL: Wild draft night set for Thursday; who goes after Teat?
In a world and time of unknowns, there are three certainties: death, taxes and that Jeff Teat is about to become a first overall pick. Teat’s Brampton Excelsiors Junior A numbers were not only historic, they were the best since the mid-1970s (eight all time in assists, 14th all time in points). He proved quite quickly he can play with men unanimously winning the Major Series Lacrosse Rookie of the…
ILWT Feature: Burdick ready to lead Webber University lacrosse program
Lacrosse continues to grow across the Sunshine State as Florida’s Webber University announced the addition of men and woman’s lacrosse for the 2021 season. Located in Babson Park on the shores of Crooked Lake, the Warriors look to take the field for their inaugural season playing in the NAIA Division I Sun Conference. ILWT correspondent Andrew Baker caught up with Chris Burdick, the Director of Lacrosse and men’s team Head…
Editorial: MLL, PLL tournaments provided necessary dose of medicine during pandemic
March 8th was my last great day. I worked for the NLL at the Toronto Rock game, got a hug from my favourite Calgary Roughneck and took a ball in the chest from Tom Schreiber during warmup (he apologized; I thought it was hilarious). It was a great day. It was the last great day, because then COVID-19 hit. If you’re reading this, you’re probably as nuts about lacrosse as…
ILWT Feature: Orangeville home to the best of the past, present and future generations of lacrosse
Orangeville, Ontario is a small town approximately 80 km (that’s 40 miles for our American friends) outside of Toronto. It is not a huge area, home to around 29,000 people. It is a pretty little town similar in many ways to other Canadian towns. Most people outside of the lacrosse world probably wouldn’t give it a second thought; however, lacrosse greats of the past and the present are changing that….