The Barrie Blizzard enter 2013 as the only expansion team in the history of the Canadian Lacrosse League, and after taking talent from the other rosters, they look pretty good.
Antony Lackey, a former Toronto Rock player, was selected from the Brampton Inferno. Colin Boucher from Durham, Travis Bland from Toronto, Jason Mainer from Toronto and Brice Queener from Niagara are all players of note who were picked.
However, Bland will likely be playing in the NALL with the Kentucky Stickhorses instead of Barrie this winter. Mainer scored 33 points last season with the Oshawa Machine (now the Toronto Shooting Stars) and is the highest scoring player to be drafted by Barrie.
Other players of note are Garret Kikot, who scored 22 with Peel, Boucher who scored 14 with Durham and goaltender Scott Komer.
Komer is trying out for the backup job with the Philadelphia Wings in the NLL, but if he does not make it he would be the starter for Barrie. They also drafted goalie Brandon Noble, who is expected to play with NALL’s Rhode Island Kingfish.
Cameron Murphy scored six points with Peel last season in six games. Derek Collins was the backup goalie in Peel to Komer, but if Komer and Noble do not play this season, he could be the starter for Barrie. He played five games last season to a GAA of 15.24.
Lackey’s 19 points in Brampton came in just seven games, so he could be an important scorer for the Blizzard. Tyler Patterson scored one goal in three games as a defenseman for the Inferno last season.
Mike McLeod, meanwhile, scored 24 points in 12 games with the Inferno in 2012. Brad Trottier had two assists with the Machine last season in nine games. Tyler Collins scored nine points in nine games for the Durham Turf Dogs. Ryan McClelland also played in two games for the ‘Dogs, scoring one point.
The Blizzard also drafted prospects such as Mike Teeter, Caleb Wiles, Robert Pollock, and Cody McMahon. Teeter is at Minnesota Swarm training camp, but if he does not make it, he will be a sure fire bet for the Blizzard.
Wiles has played with the Brooklin Redmen and formerly the Barrie Lakeshores before they folded. Pollock played Jr B with the Wallaceburg Red Devils.
McMahon has played with the Orangeville Northmen and the Calgary Raiders of Jr A. They also picked up Jake Quarrie from the Brampton Excelsiors junior team.
Hayden Smith, a defenseman, was also selected, but he is pretty much a sure bet to make the Buffalo Bandits NLL roster. Tyler Gibbons, a former member of the Edmonton Rush, went to Barrie as well, giving them some good defensive depth.
Mitch Barnard who is at camp with the Bandits went to the Blizzard as well, and he will play if the Bandits cut him. Adam Jackson and James Lumley from Owen Sound Jr B were both selected to the Blizzard as well.
Kirk Gatten from the Brooklin Merchants and Markham Ironheads went as well. He was a Jr B all star in 2009. Nick Trillo from Kitchener-Waterloo was the 2010 defensive player of the year for the Braves.
