Briefly before the 2013 MLL Collegiate Draft the Hamilton Nationals changed their coach and General Manager; Dave Huntley and Stuart Brown named to those positions, respectively.
The two made some immediate moves and changes in philosophy.
The team traded away David Earl and Steven Waldeck, two young and talented players, to the New York Lizards in exchange for the No. 5 pick in the draft. Thus began a night of reshaping the defense.
With the No. 2 and No. 5 picks the team selected defensive midfielders Chris LaPierre (Virginia) and Josh Hawkins (Loyola) respectively.
Both players are athletic midfielders that can play both ways but thrive on the defensive side of the ball and were extremely coveted prospects in the draft.
LaPierre is a two-time All-American and has picked up 206 ground balls in 51 career games at Virginia. He is a solo captain for the 2013 season.
Hawkins was a member of last year’s All-Tournament team and was named a preseason First-Team All-American by Inside Lacrosse. He’s known for his hard hits in the middle of the field.
The team had two picks in the next two rounds as well. They selected defender Jason Noble (Cornell) and midfielder John Haus (Maryland). Noble is a good takeaway defender that will have to prove he can play at the next level despite his small (5-feet-10-inches and 165 pounds) frame. Haus was third on the NCAA Tournament runners-up in points (31) in 2012.
In Round 3 the Nationals grabbed defender Casey Carroll (Duke) and attackman Garrett Thul (Army). Carroll is an interesting pick. He was a First-Team All-American in 2007 but hasn’t played since then because he has been serving in the Army. If he can return to old form, Carroll could be a steal.
Thul is a big attackman (6-feet-3-inches and 231 pounds) and enters the 2013 season with a 39 game scoring streak and is fifth on Army’s all-time goal-scoring list.
Hamilton took a long-pole defender for the third consecutive round in the fourth when they selected Loyola’s Reid Acton, who has been a starter since his freshman season. He was a leader on the championship winning Greyhounds defense, which was fifth in Division 1 in goals allowed per game last year (7.21).
Johns Hopkins face-off specialist Mike Poppleton was taken in Round 5. He will try to add some depth behind Matt Dolente, a former Blue Jay himself.
Duke midfielder Jake Tripucka was the sixth round pick and he provides a lot of value. He was sixth on the Blue Devils in points last season, deferring to big-time scorers like Rob Rotanz, Justin Turri, Jordan Wolf, Christian Walsh and Josh Dionne. Tripucka still managed to score 15 goals, some of which were very timely.
The Nationals have plenty of goal scorers and Tripucka can contribute without being the star.
Hamilton scored again in the seventh round when they took Hamilton-native and Jacksonville midfielder Cameron Mann. Another athletic midfielder, Mann led the team in points (41) and is the first player in school history to tally 100 points.
The team took midfielder Nick Doherty from Villanova in Round 8.
Hamilton’s new coach and general manager set the tone for how they want the Nationals to play this season. It was a defensive-heavy draft, but one with a lot of value, especially late in the draft.
The losses of Earl and Waldeck will hurt in the short-term, but the team did very well to select the players they did.
