The Ohio Machine had quite a turnaround season in 2014 after owning the worst record in the MLL at 2-12 the year before. Thanks to several key acquisitions through trades, the MLL Draft and the LXM player pool, the Machine made the MLL Playoffs as the No. 4 seed after going 8-6. The Machine lost to the top-seeded Rochester Rattlers 15-11 in their semifinal game and as they prepare for 2015, the Machine are looking to take the next step to becoming one of the elite teams in the MLL.
With the MLL Collegiate Draft a couple of days away, here is a look at which positions the Machine need to upgrade in order for them to continue to improve.
Midfield:
Specifically, the Machine are weak at the faceoff ‘X’ as Eric O’Brien started as the team’s main faceoff man but ultimately lost his job to Robert Dattilo. O’Brien was 104-for-220 at the ‘X’ winning 47 percent of his faceoffs. Meanwhile, Dattilo fared much better as he won 53 percent of his faceoffs while taking only 155 of the draws for the Machine last season. With several high-profile faceoffmen in this draft, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Ohio use an early round pick to bolster the position.
Other than the faceoff position, the Machine boast a strong midfield unit with Tom Schreiber, Kyle Harrison and Peter Baum providing the offensive firepower. They may choose to address the midfield unit to improve both their No. 2 offensive line and to have someone pair with Dominique Alexander on the defensive midfield unit. A name like Notre Dame’s Jack Near is attractive to the Machine because of his defensive ability as well as his proximity to Ohio being from Notre Dame (yes that is actually a factor in drafting).
Defense:
The defense will be the main focus of the Machine’s draft this season as they allowed the second most goals in the MLL last season as they surrendered 189 goals. Only the Florida Launch allowed more goals as they allowed 193 goals. The defense suffered a big loss when Greg Bice retired but was offset by the addition of Brian Karalunas on defense. Karalunas joins Brian Farrell, Dana Wilber and Max Schmidt on a defense that gets more versatile thanks to the addition of Karalunas. Karalunas can play both long pole midfield as well as at close defenseman. However, the Machine still need to add a defenseman or two to really strengthen this unit.
Goalie:
The goalie position may be headed towards a competition as Scott Rodgers and Brian Phipps duke it out with each other for the starting job. I realize that Phipps was the starter and played in twice as many games as Rodgers but their goals against average are nearly the same. Additionally, Rodgers posted a 54.8 save percentage compared to Phipps’ 48.1 percent save percentage.
While those two battle it out for the starting spot, Will Haas and Stefan Schroder will duke it out for the final spot on the roster. Honestly, the Machine could take a shot at a goaltender late in the draft to see if they can get some youth and talent out of the college ranks. Could Notre Dame’s Conor Kelly be a sleeper pick for the Machine considering his strong showing in last year’s Final 4?
Attack:
The Machine boast the best attack unit in the league. Marcus Holman, Logan Schuss and Steele Stanwick combined for 124 points last season. This is the last position that the Machine need to address honestly. Schuss will have his NLL commitments but Derek Maltz is more than capable in chipping in while the NLL season winds down. However, if they choose to pick an attackman, there are several solid collegiate players later in the draft who could make an impact. Some names to watch out for are UNC’s Joey Sankey, Syracuse’s Randy Staats or Colgate’s Ryan Walsh.
Conclusion:
I expect the Machine to draft heavy on defense especially at midfield. If the Machine can come away with several defenders and a couple offensive players for depth purposes, Ohio can propel itself into the discussion of competing for a MLL Championship.
