Major league Lacrosse (MLL), the premier outdoor lacrosse league, had their teams announce their 23-Man Protected Roster. Any players that weren’t protected will enter the player pool for the 2016 season. The next important roster date will be Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 when teams will have to submit their 10 to 12 Player Expansion Protected Roster from their 23-Man Protected Roster.
-10 players if the team protects two goalies
-12 players if the team protects one or less goalies
These final rosters announcements will be in preparation for the 2016 MLL Expansion Draft, where any player not protected by the 10 to 12 Player Expansion Protected Roster will be available for selection. The MLL Expansion Draft will be held on November 18th, 2015 via conference call. More details regarding the Expansion Draft will be provided at a later date. This article will give an analysis of the 23-Man Protected Roster of the New York Lizards. After celebrating his team’s championship victory, Coach Joe Spallina returned to work filling out the 23-Man Protected Players. Although there weren’t many hard decisions for Coach Spallina.
23-Man Protected Roster
Drew Adams (G)
John Austin (M)
Charlie Cipriano (G)
Ned Crotty (M)
Steve DeNapoli (D)
Joe Fletcher (D)
Matt Gibson (A)
Gregory Gurenlian (M/FO)
Kyle Hartzell (D)
Steve Holmes (D)
Chris LaPierre (M)
JoJo Marasco (M)
Conrad Oberbeck (A)
Dylan O’Shaughnessy (LSM)
Tom Palasek (A)
Rob Pannell (A)
Paul Rabil (M)
Jerry Ragonese (M/FO)
Michael Skudin (D)
Brian Spallina (D)
Michael Stone (M)
Kevin Unterstein (M)
Ryan Walsh (A)
Of course with these selections came the decision to cut other players.
Non-Protected Goalies
Sean Brady
Matt Pollon
Non-Protected Defensemen
Lukas Mikelinich
Chris Piccirilli
Nicky Polanco
Non-Protected Midfielders
Mike Malave
Matt Poskay
Mike Rooney
Mike Unterstein
Non-Protected Attackers
Hakeen Lecky
Cody Jamieson
The Lizards kept the key players from 2015 on their 23-Man Protected Roster. These players included Goalie of the Year Drew Adams, Defensive Player of the Year Joe Fletcher, FOAthlete of the Year and MVP Greg “The Beast” Gurenlian, Paul Rabil, and Rob Pannell. It’s obvious that the Lizards had no intention on letting any of these players go into the player pool and be picked up by some other team.
The real tough decisions will come with the 10 to 12 Player Expansion Protected Roster. There is just so much talent on this team that it will be tough to cut 11 to 13 players from this roster. Fans can expect Adams, Gurenlian, Fletcher, Rabil, and Pannell to be back next year. But now that only leaves five to eight spots to fill. Should the team keep some defensemen? Kyle Hartzell, Brian Spallina, and Steven DeNapoli are some good options. What about the midfield? Mike Stone, JoJo Marasco, and Ned Crotty should be strongly considered if the Lizards head in that direction. Maybe they keep some attackers. Matt Gibson and Tommy Palasek made their presence known last season. Or maybe the Lizards decide to mix it up and take a couple from each category. Whatever decisions the Lizards make come October 7th, it will be worth watching
