In the 2013 Major League Lacrosse collegiate draft, the Charlotte Hounds selected nine players to join the team upon graduation from their respective colleges. The Hounds finished their inaugural year with a 5-9 record, putting them in 6th place at the end of the year. After the season ended, the Hounds made several waves amongst fans when they traded two of their most beloved players and brought in several new guys. The players departing from Charlotte were attackmen Billy Bitter and Jeremy Boltus. Coming in from Denver are midfielders Peet Poillon and Casey Cittadino. Poillon is expected to bring some more offensive help to Charlotte’s midfield group while Cittadino is more of a defensive-minded midfielder. Coming in to draft day, the Hounds really needed a couple of strong attackmen after losing Bitter and Boltus; and they got what they needed.
With their first pick in the draft (third overall) the Hounds selected defenseman Tucker Durkin from Johns Hopkins University. Durkin is a tenacious defender, and is known to be a bruiser on the field. Last season as a junior Durkin won the William C. Schmeisser award for being the nation’s top defender. Durkin will immediately step on to the field and help bring even more physicality a defense that allowed a third-worse 193 goals against during the season. A great pick for the Hounds, Durkin’s name had been mentioned early in draft talk, but faded after trading away Bitter and Boltus. Ryan Flanagan and Tucker Durkin will complement each other very well and be a great front-two force for this defense.
Charlotte’s second pick went to home-town boy Mike Sawyer from Loyola. Sawyer had a spectacular season with the Greyhounds scoring 52 goals en route to a National Championship. Sawyer will combine for former teammate and Laxie Award Winner Eric Lusby on attack for the Hounds. Those two will pick up right where they left off and paired with veteran Matt Danowski, this attack unit looks pretty formidable. A great offensive talent and being a local boy ensures that Sawyer will want to play for Charlotte, this pick will definitely prove beneficial.
With their third pick in the draft the Hounds took Maryland attackman Owen Blye. Last season for the Terrapins, Blye had 40 points with 20 goals and 20 assists during their run to the title game. Last season Blye was a team captain for Maryland and is expected to repeat as so this season. Blye will see play time behind Lusby and Sawyer once he finishes up at Maryland.
Longpole Mason Poli was selected by the Hounds with their fourth pick. Poli is a great pick for the Hounds because not only is he big and strong, but he also loves to score. During three seasons with Bryant, Poli has scored 30 goals and tallied nine assists. Tell Ricky Pages to watch out, this kid might want to be the highest scoring pole for the Hounds this coming season. He has 56 caused turnovers in 3 seasons and 120 ground balls. Look for Poli to make an immediate impact on this team after school; especially on face-offs and in transition.
One of the most underrated picks that Charlotte chose was attackman Matt White from Virginia. White is a great player who helped Steele Stanwick achieve what he did during his time at the school. White had 31 points last year and is expecting to have a bigger year this year for the Cavaliers. I love the Hounds selecting White, I think he’ll be a big underdog that will end up having quite an influence on this team. In two of his three years so far at UVA, White has been named to the All-NCAA Tournament Team.
I really like the Hounds’ next two picks, both midfielders from Cornell and Georgetown respectively. Max Van Bourgondien recorded 29 points last year for Cornell behind 17 goals and 12 assists. I look for his assist totals to jump this year with the return of Rob Pannell for his fifth year. Brian Casey is a do-everything type middie. He had 20 points last season while switching between the midfield and attack positions. Van Bourgondien will fit in with the midfielders that Charlotte has very well and should be ready to make an impact as soon as they will let him.
Charlotte’s last two picks of the draft were defenseman Michael McCormack from Yale and goalie Kyle Feeney from Bucknell. McCormack led the Bulldogs with 34 caused turnovers last season and was named a captain for this upcoming 2012-2013 season. At 5’9, 170 lbs McCormack is small in stature but he makes up for it with his IQ of the game and his tenacity. Last season in goal Feeney had a .560 save percentage and allowed 8.77 goals per game. He set a personal record 169 saves during the season. Feeney is impressive in the cage but will sit upon arriving in Charlotte behind started Adam Ghitelman and backup Mark Manos.
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