On Wednesday, November 18, 2015, Major League Lacrosse will welcome its newest team, the Atlanta Blaze, by hosting the MLL Expansion Draft. The rules of the Draft are simple. Held on Wednesday via teleconference; there are 15 rounds with three minutes per pick for the first five rounds and two minutes for the remaining rounds. Each of the eight current MLL teams protected 12 players and left nine unprotected, so the Blaze have a pool of 72 players to choose from. The Blaze can also pick only up to three players from a single team, but, as many might have guessed, this might be unlikely.
Instead of a structured breakdown through different positions on the eight different teams with a varied number of specific guesstimations of picks, which might be completely wrong in every possible way and end up being the furthest thing away of what ends up happening (which is all, like, totally likely), this analysis will be a vague, broad, generalization of assumptions from each of the teams in the league for the Blaze. It’s been said that Coach Tucker is a unique person, a wandering soul that knows no formality and marches to the beat of his own drum (kinda groovy), so with that spirit in mind, this preview will go as such:
MLL Champion New York Lizards:
The Lizards, despite what is probably a huge hope by many opposing players, coaches, and organizations, will most likely not change, at all. In fact, Coach Spallina is probably going to be busy dusting off his championship ring and humming to himself while attending this draft in some way, obviously forgetting why he was there because he was also too busy thinking about how many points Pannell and Rabil might put up in the 2016 Final Game. Yes, that was quite a run-on sentence.
So, maybe it won’t be that bad, but there are very few significant players available to choose from in New York. Not to knock on members of the reigning MLL Champions, but the impact players that truly paved the way for New York… will stay in New York. For the Blaze, possible picks might be an unprotected defensemen or maybe an underperforming midfielder, but for the most part, NY will remain NY.
Rochester Rattlers:
The Rattlers shook up the offseason trade acquisitions by re-obtaining their best player from their resurrection in 2011: Ned Crotty. He, or another, might not stay. Yes. Really. Pick that jaw back up, it’s unbecoming. I see you.
The Rochester Rattlers have finally finished their offensive transformation into a group of rangy initiators from everywhere on the field, to Rice and Wolf show. It’s obvious for Coach Soudan that, if twice you make it to the championship game, and twice your offense fails to produce a championship, then how good you are now is meaningless. There had to be a change for him, and that change isn’t done yet. If Crotty is back, Crotty has to play attack. It’s simple. Even in New York, it was obvious that it only worked the way it did because it’s New York, and like I mentioned in another piece, it would be naïve to assume that Crotty’s ability to actually share in the green and black will transition (well) here. However, with Rice, Wolf, and a Crotty attack-line, who exactly will stay for Coach Soudan? The midfield still needs work, and early NLL commits, which weakened Rochester early on, are even less of an investment now that the Rattlers are scary before the month of July. A possible trade might be Randy Staats.
Ohio Machine:
The Thompson-led UAlbany of the MLL, the Ohio Machine is quite possibly the most fun team to watch, and maybe to play for, in the league. In 2015, Boston might have tried to emulate that type of fast-paced style, but throughout the whole field, and not just in the six-on-six. The Machine play fast and fun, the Cannons, coached by Tucker, played fast and fun. Cannons. Machine. Cannons. Machine. I think it’s pretty simple math (it’s not math, there’s no numbers, thankfully). The other side of the binary with New York might ultimately be the Machine. Midfield takes will be on the shopping list from the Machine aisle for Coach Tucker.
Boston Cannons:
There is probably not much that can happen here. Honestly. Like New York, the Cannons, for the most part, saved what was essential to them in 2015. Despite the fact that he coached this team, this is a new group, a new mentality, and a new Coach. Coach Tucker will not look to replicate what he did in Boston. Possible picks might be a Ryan Young.
Denver Outlaws:
Like Ohio, Denver is going to be very heavy on the drafts. Unlike Ohio, Denver’s pool might not be as appetizing as it might seem. Some of the players, like Sean Cannizzaro or Ryan LaPlante, were alright in school (with an NCAA championship and the historic legacy of being the first championship lacrosse team west of the Mississippi showing this) but are unproven in the MLL.
An array of defenders and midfielders are waiting to not be chosen. Most likely.
Chesapeake Bayhawks:
The MLL is often understood as a midfielder’s league, and no team is a testament to that more so than the Chesapeake Bayhawks. Falling from grace in the past couple of years, the Bayhawks have a plethora of midfield presence to choose from. Like Ohio, the general assumption here is that the Blaze might take the most from the Bayhawks. In fact, Chesapeake has such a plethora to choose from, that an entire second-line defensive unit can be taken by the Blaze themselves from them. The Bayhawks have hauled talent in for years, and it is in expansions like these that these giant talents that are under-utilized or obscure can finally have a bright stage to play on.
It helps having what could be an MLL team on its own in terms of the sheer amount of talent being released by Chesapeake for the Blaze to pick and choose from. Possible picks would be mostly defensemen, with one possible midfielder being a Sam Bradman.
Oh, just because it should be done, I will go against the grain here and assert that with completely baseless and factless evidence, Ben Rubeor will be taken. I think that should be like, pretty obvious.
Florida Launch:
The Launch have a lot to offer for Atlanta. Chazz Woodson and Curtis Dickson would be fantastic assets to an attackline for the Blaze, while Jordan Hall and proven goalie Adam Fullerton might be just what they need as they shore up on defense. Defense is pretty important.
Charlotte Hounds:
Like Denver, Charlotte doesn’t seem to offer a huge amount to the Blaze, and like NY, for the opposite reason, Charlotte may not see a lot of their released players taken. A possible pick might be Jack Runkel, but trades between them and the collegiate draft picks in the first round might have resounding effects on both this roster and the Blaze roster.
Only time, which is in about five hours, will tell.
