Most of the attention in the 2015 MLL collegiate draft went to the defending champion Denver Outlaws for having some outstanding picks. There’s also plenty of talk surrounding the Florida Launch and the excessively high number of offensive weapons now available to head coach Stan Ross. The team that I believe quietly walked away with one of, if not the, best drafts of the year is the Rochester Rattlers.
In my team draft preview, I felt their emphasis would be building out a second offensive midfield line, looking to their defensive midfield and maybe taking a close defender for depth. They had the best defense in the league last year, but short stick defensive midfield has seen the most instability on that side of the field since Tim Soudan has been coaching there. Attack was not a priority at all for the team since they are loaded there. When you scratch Mark Matthews for most of the games he’s available for, you’re definitely in a good spot with your lineup.
This draft was dominated with talk about NLL commitments. With the MLL now starting on April 12 and playing games on Memorial Day weekend while the NLL is running their playoffs all the way into late May, the league overlap is pushing the limits with regards to player availability. As things stand right now, if an NLL player makes it to the Championship in 2015, they can join their MLL team for two games before the all-star game the following week.
They then have six games before playoffs. That’s the worst case scenario. The best case scenario for NLL overlap is an additional three games if their team misses playoffs. So with a 14 game season, NLL players will miss anywhere from three to six games. Unfortunately by the nature of professional lacrosse, three to six games isn’t too bad compared to normal operations, although it isn’t ideal either. The point is that while it is a major factor to consider, it is not going to doom a team to miss playoffs if they have a good core of full time field players.
Rochester has plenty of NLL talent, and fortunately, they are spread across three different teams. With all of this in mind, the risk of adding a few outstanding players that will likely play in the NLL is definitely a risk worth taking versus choosing players that will not be as good of a fit just because they are available. What Rochester did with their picks greatly mitigates this risk and the players they chose offer nothing but tremendous potential if they pan out.
In order, Rochester chose Jesse King (6th overall), Jack Near (7), Jordan Stevens (21), Randy Staats (29), Sean Young (37), Mike MacDonald (44), Sam Somers (51), and Kyle Aquin (59). King, Near, and Aquin are all midfielders. Staats and MacDonald are attack with Stevens and Young being long poles. Somers is a goalie.
I personally am a huge fan of their midfield picks. Jesse King from Ohio State will likely wind up playing NLL, but he also represented Canada in this past summer’s field world games. It’s worth mentioning that King made the team as a midfielder over fellow Rattler Jordan MacIntosh, who was a late addition due to John Grant Jr.’s availability. Given MacIntosh’s success in the MLL, this is a huge sign of what King may be able to do. King has great size for midfielder and is very versatile, having almost an even split between goals and assists last season for the Buckeyes.
Near will be primarily a defensive midfielder which will be a welcome addition. He has great size, which is vital against MLL midfielders, and he’s very comfortable in the fast break game, which anybody playing defense in front of John Galloway needs to be. Aquin is an interesting pick as one of the few division III players to be drafted. Being an in-town RIT player means he should have an easy transition for his first year. RIT has produced several professional players recently, including MacIntosh and former Rattler Jerry Ragonese, who currently backs up Greg Gurenlian as a FOGO in New York. Aquin is coming off a 63 point season and looks to lead the highly ranked Tigers in their search for a school-first championship.
At attack, Staats and MacDonald could pan out to be great additions. Staats is always associated with injury concerns and is going to be a star indoors without question. He plays with a knee brace which is a constant reminder of his past injury problems that shortened his junior indoor career and have affected his time at Syracuse a little as well. When he’s fully healthy though, he is capable of taking over games. He is the second Rattlers pick who played in the world games as he was a primary contributor to the Iroquois Nationals’ bronze medal run. He can be a dodger, feeder or finisher, so he will be comfortable filling in whatever role the Rattlers need him in.
MacDonald doesn’t have huge size for the MLL, but he does have the box pedigree which would mesh well with the rest of the Rattlers unit. He does not offer too much extra in addition to their current roster, but he likely could slide into the lineup seamlessly if needed, which is sometimes exactly what the team is looking for. As I mentioned earlier, neither of these picks were done to address a need, but they both offer huge potential.
Stevens and Young are both good picks to build up the defense. They won’t be asked to play a key role right away, but they can play into the rotation at close defense. Stevens led Cornell in groundballs among those who didn’t take face-offs and was second on the team in turnovers. What’s impressive with his stat line is that with 52 ground balls, he only had five turnovers. That’s a great ratio and an indication that he is very sound in the clearing game.
Botched clears in the MLL are gigantic goal risks. The biggest thing that Young has going for him is that he plays at Syracuse. The Rattlers have always had a premium on Orange alums, especially on their defense. He would be playing aside fellow Orange grads Galloway, Joel White, John Lade and Steve Ianzito. The biggest benefit that this provides is ease of communication. The Rattlers had the best defense in 2014, so they are not going to do much to jeopardize that. Both of these players have a good shot at finding playing time in Rochester.
The Rattlers have no need for a goalie right now. If Galloway stays healthy and his coaching at Providence College does not provide any conflicts, he will be a rock for the Rattlers again. Their current backup is a local product, Jason LaShomb, who saw less than 21 minutes last season. Drafting Sam Somers out of Army is a great addition for no reason other than added security. He was second in NCAA D1 in save percentage and led a defense who was top in the nation for goals allowed. While there is always uncertainty about drafting West Point grads, the last goalie to make that jump was Adam Fullerton, who was drafted by the Rattlers in 2008. He did miss some time due to military commitments, but also won a gold medal with team USA and is currently playing with the Florida Launch. If Somers follows in these footsteps, he has several years of good lacrosse ahead of him. He also has fellow West Point alum Jeremy Boltus on the Rattlers who was selected in the most recent supplemental draft.
The Rattlers did not lose much from their roster last year and have added depth across the board. They are in prime position to build on last year’s performance in search of a championship. Unfortunately, they are not going to be playing under the radar like they did last year. The rest of the league knows that this is a team to beat.
