Major League Lacrosse (MLL), the premier professional outdoor lacrosse league, has announced the teams have submitted their 23-Man Protected Roster for 2016. All players left unprotected will be entered in the player pool for the 2016 season. The next critical roster management date is Wednesday, October 7th, 2015 at 5:00PM ET when 10 to 12 Player Expansion Protected Rosters are due. Each of the eight teams will submit their 10 or 12 Player Protected lists from their 23 Player Rosters
– 10 players if the team protects 2 goalies
– 12 players if the team protects 1 or less goalies
The final roster cutdowns will be in preparation for the MLL Expansion Draft where any player not protected by a Team’s 10 to 12 Player Protected Roster will be available for selection. The MLL Expansion Draft will be held Wednesday, November 18th, 2015 at 2:00PM ET via conference call. Further details about the MLL Expansion Draft will be provided at a later date. Each MLL team will have the opportunity to fill their 40-man rosters in the upcoming 2016 MLL Supplemental Draft, which will be held on Wednesday, December 16th, 2015 at 2:00PM ET.” – majorleaguelacrosse.com The following give an in-depth analysis on the Protected Player’s list of the Rochester Rattlers. With the end of the season, Coach Soudan had to make some tough decisions, and it’s reflected in the following releases: Released Kyle Aquin (M)
Released Mike MacDonald (A)
Released Sean Young (D)
Released Jeremy Boltus (A)
Released Mark Cockerton (A)
Released Jason LaShomb (G)
Released Matt Miller (D)
Released John Ortolani (M)
Released Jeremy Thompson (M)
Released Casey Dowd (M)
Released Austin Gorman (A)
Released Michael O’Neil (M)
Released Michael Tota (A)
Rochester Rattlers 23 Man Protected Roster:
Kyle Denhoff (M)
John Galloway (G)
Jesse King (M)
Will Koshansky (D)
John Lade (D)
Dave Lawson (M)
Michael Lazore (M)
John LoCascio (D)
Jordan MacIntosh (M)
Michael Manley (D)
Mark Matthews (A)
Donald Moss (M)
John Near (M)
Mike Poppleton (M/FO)
John Ranagan (M)
Kevin Rice (A)
Sam Somers (G)
Randy Staats (A)
Jordan Stevens (D)
Ty Thompson (A)
Justin Turri (M)
Joel White (D)
Jordan Wolf (A)
The midfield was by far a no brainer for Coach Soudan. Rochester was one of the deepest teams offensively, with multiple players able to initiate, dodge, pass, and score. All the contributors from this past year were protected, from Jordan MacIntosh to Kyle Denhoff. The one risky move however was the release of Jeremy Thompson.
Not only does he have the name and the notoriety, along with the championship pedigree, (winning titles at Syracuse and the NLL), but his ability to play the transition game, be solid on defensive assignments, Face-Off, and score was a valuable asset to a team that places such heavy value on midfield play. In his place was the protection of Jessi King.
The Ohio State grad and FIL World Champion put up huge numbers for the Buckeyes. A fantastic offensive midfielder whose familiar box finishing ability would have made him right at home in Rochester, not suiting up this year gives his protection over Thompson a huge gamble. Another questionable decision was the releasement of Jeremy Boltus. The Army grad was a fantastic scorer for the Rattlers in the first half of the season, and with such a heavy Canadian presence on the Rochester squad, and the limited attackmen present on the squad, his non-protection is also a questionable move.
However, being on Active Duty, potentially not showing up for the season might have been the deciding factor leading to Coach Soudan’s move. Defensively, quite a few names were saved. Interestingly enough, it was a lack of defensive ability in the second half of the championship game that did Rochester in, with the idea that defensive drafts were what top priority heading into the 2016 College season.
The move to save all but two players might be Rochester’s way to make sure that defensive personnel, especially with the draft, is the number one priority for next season, after 2014 Defensive Player of the Year Mike Manley went down for the season.
