With the MLL Championship Weekend coming to Philadelphia this weekend, its time to reflect on what steps these teams have taken to be in contention for the title. Congratulations to the Charlotte Hounds for making it to their first Championship Weekend appearance. They hit a nice groove to conclude the season and they have made great strides for such a young team. The Hamilton Nationals and Chesapeake Bayhawks, welcome to another Championship Weekend. The Bayhawks have been a staple for playing this time of year since the league’s inception. The Nationals have made a few moves, but continue to produce winning teams. Two of the more successful teams in league history, their semi-final match up should be a great contest.
Denver, oh Denver. For the past few years, the fans of the MLL have watched you come close to that first elusive title. There have been a few great teams that have made it to Championship Weekend, but failed to etch their name on the trophy. This could be the year. After winning each contest of the regular season, going undefeated through the regular season, they are the odds on favorite for sure. But how does this team differ from the last few teams that the Outlaws have brought to the playoffs? Developing draft pick is the answer.
In this league, it is not uncharacteristic of teams to pass on the draft and make moves through free agency to best put them in the playoff picture. The year after the Bayhawks won the title, they had to manage their roster carefully to make sure they stayed under the salary cap with the talent they brought in. Denver has mostly developed their talent from their collegiate draft prospects and this could be the year that it pays off.
A closer look at the roster:
Attack: The roster has Chris Bocklett, Zach Greer, Jeremy Boltus, Brendan Mundorf, Will Mangan, and Eric Law as the available players to hold down the offensive end of the field. The Outlaws, via the collegiate draft, picked up Bocklett, Law, and Mundorf. Bocklett is as consistent in this position as he was at Virginia. His goal scoring ability is unquestioned. Law might be the surprise of the group. He continued his success after a great senior season at University of Denver. I have seen him play for a while now and I had some questions on how he would produce in the professional game. Well, he answered any and all questions and he is a regular member of a stacked, young attack line for the Outlaws.
Midfield: Maybe the weakest point in my argument, but still proves the success that the Outlaws have found through the draft. First, Justin Turri is not an original draft pick of the Outlaws, but here is why he is mentioned. Missing out on Turri must have weighed on the Outlaws because they made it a priority to acquire him early in his career. It was early enough that his production and need could be in doubt. The Outlaws certainly won that battle. Drew Snider also fits in this mold, as a player that early on made it to the Outlaws roster and developed into a true professional lacrosse player. Jeremy Sieverts was a practice player on the Bayhawks, but made his way onto the Outlaws roster. Becoming an All-Star in the league, he has blossomed into a great player for Denver and it really feels that he is still improving. Terry Kimener was acquired through the Supplemental Draft and has produced well for the Outlaws. Hard to believe how long and consistent he has been for Denver, but it goes to show that the Supplemental Draft does produce some gems. Steven Robarge and Landon Carr are both on the roster as collegiate draft picks of the Outlaws and have the potential to be very successful developing behind some great talent.
Defense: Roger Ferguson, Brian Megill, Chris O’Dougherty, and Dillon Roy are players drafted by Denver via the collegiate draft. I have commented on Megill at length on this site and I think he is the prototypical professional stay at home defenseman. With only Lee Zink and Matt Bocklett as the only non-Denver drafted defensemen on the roster, the team relies on the talent that they brought in directly from college to be the staple of their backline. Even Ken Clausen was drafted by the Outlaws, but he remains on the injured list. That is a lot of talent that the organization believes will develop into solid professional players. Zink has been Defenseman of the Year and has been a favorite to watch since his arrival in the league from College Park.
Goalie: The easiest way to see that the Outlaws know how to draft is with their goalie, Jesse Schwartzman. I can remember his interview where he was laughing at his 40-yard dash time and the hilarity he saw in the other drills they had him do. Schwartzman just won Goalie of the Year honors and has started in Denver since leaving Hopkins in 2007.
Even the practice squad has players that were very successful during their college days. Steve Schoeffel, Kyle Smedley, and Andrew Lay produced well for their respective college programs and the Outlaws acquired each via the draft.
So what conclusions can be drawn from this review of the Denver Outlaws roster? The draft is important to a team’s results and success. Acquiring and developing talent is a highly underrated business given the nature of professional sports. The teams that have done well have developed talent via their respective draft processes. Those draft picks can become Player of the Year in their respective leagues. Lee Zink spent a little time outside of Denver in his career, but Schwartzman and Mundorf have been Outlaws all along. They are the best in their positions and have been catamount to the success of the Outlaws. By keeping them on the roster, Denver has been able to draft players that support their superstars and that has led them to an undefeated season, a number one seeding, and the early odds on favorite to win it all this season. Maybe it has something to do something with playing in a big time stadium, living in a beautiful city, and the overall thought of being in Denver, but the Outlaws have done well with their draft and the players that have made their way West are enjoying a great deal of success. The depth that Denver roster provides has enabled success to be recurrent. From top to bottom, the depth of the roster has made sure that opposing teams cannot take a break while playing the Outlaws.
So as we enter the final weekend of the 2013 season, the best of luck to the teams left. Championship weekend will produce some great story lines for sure. Either the completion of the first undefeated season in league history, or “the what could have been” scenario will dominate the headlines next Monday. Given the talent on the field, anything is possible. The Denver Outlaws have written the guide to successful drafting and the reasons how a team views a successful draft. If the Outlaws can finish the journey, then teams will begin to look within to see how their needs are to be addressed through the draft in the future.
