The New York Lizards have had a busy offseason in 2014 and are primed and ready to take a big step forward. With additions like Matt Striebel and Ned Crotty to go along with Tommy Palasek and Rob Pannell on offense, the Lizards offense will be a force to be reckoned with. They also have some defensive talent in All-Pro defenseman Brian Karalunas and goalie Drew Adams. So how can they improve heading into this weekend’s MLL Collegiate Draft? Well, they now have the third and fourth pick in the draft after trading Justin Turri as well as the second and 32nd picks to Rochester.
With the offense pretty much set for the upcoming season I would think that the Lizards will look towards the defensive end with one or both of their top four picks. They even have the luxury of adding another offensive weapon to an already impressive squad. So who would be available at that point in the draft?
The prevailing thought around the league would be that Loyola defenseman Joe Fletcher as well as Princeton midfielder Tommy Schrieber will be the top pick. Figuring that both those players will be gone the Lizards could go defense with the next two picks. Personally, a guy I would think is perfect for the Lizards is for them to take a look at Karalunas’ alma mater and take Villanova LSM/D Joe LoCascio. LoCascio has many of the same traits as Karalunas as they are both big takeaway guys. LoCascio had 53 caused turnovers last season while the next closest guy had 38! With Karalunas as well as Kyle Hartzell and CJ Costabile on the squad, LoCascio provides flexibility to either go up top or play down low and let one of them go up top.
The next pick, I could see either them taking Maryland midfielder Michael Chanenchuk or a goalie like Penn State’s Austin Kaut to replace Drew Adams with the assumption that Adams will miss time due to Team USA commitments. Chanenchuk is a dodging threat from up top that can create his own shot and has a big shot from the outside as well. He can also find the open man if he draws the double and that could be deadly with guys like Seibald and Striebel set up around the outside.
Kaut is unquestionably the nation’s best goalie and a much better option than Mark Manos and Devon Wills on the roster. He is also a Adams “protege” so it would make sense that he continues to learn from him in New York.
As for targets later in the draft, the Lizards will not have a third and fourth round pick. Therefore, with their second round pick, I could see them addressing the attack position or defense again. While the four attackmen they currently have are all studs in their own respect, the attack position is very deep this year and adding a young gun would be a smart move. At this point in the draft I would expect them to take a chance on a pure goal scoring type like Alex Love out of Hofstra or Mark Cockerton out of Virginia. Both guys scored 40-plus goals last season and would be a perfect compliment to Rob Pannell and Ned Crotty.
In terms of a defensive player in the second round, I would say they take a guy like Scott McWilliams out of Virginia or Joe Leuer out of Ohio State. Both are All-American type players and are the most important players on their respective squads defensively.
Honestly, there isn’t much for the Lizards to improve upon so there shouldn’t be much from them on draft day other than adding the missing pieces for what they hope is a deep run for MLL Championship Weekend.
