On Monday January 13, 2014, the Denver Outlaws traded M.J. Kiekebelt, defenseman from RIT who they acquired in the 62nd round of the Supplemental Draft on December 11, 2013 to the Rochester Rattlers in exchange for midfielder Dan Groot.
I asked Outlaws General Manager Tony Seaman the reason for the trade. He said, “The only reason we traded M.J. Kiekebelt is because he just was hired at Cornell as an assistant coach and he will not be able to attend any of our training camps or games until the very end of May and one of the main reasons we drafted him was to fill in the gap created by the loss of several of our regular players who play in the NLL in the early part of our season. So the main time that we needed M.J. he would be unavailable. By playing for Rochester he is much closer to where he would play and his schedule might allow him to make a couple of their games. I believe it is always important in this league to help our players with geographical problems do their full time jobs.
“By obtaining the rights to Dan Groot we bring on board a player with outstanding credentials and someone who is moving to Denver in early May which is great for the Outlaws. Dan has played in the MLL for three years and was a college all star as well. We welcome him aboard.”
Groot will be entering his sixth Major League Lacrosse season in 2014, and has totaled 12 goals with 8 assists for 20 points as well as 78 ground balls in his first five seasons with Washington (2009), Denver (2010), Rochester (2011, 2013) and Ohio (2012). He was a two-time All American at the University of Maryland and is currently an assistant coach at Rhodes College. He has experience, will help impact the team and is a great acquisition for the Outlaws.
