The one thing that the MLL has over every other professional sport is the unique ability to select college players before their respective final seasons on college campus. It has its advantages as well as its disadvantages. A team could pick a diamond in the rough and pick the player that breaks out in his final year on campus. On the other hand, a team could pick a player that did well his junior year and then regresses the year after. With that in mind, how are some of the draft picks doing from this year’s MLL Draft? Let’s take a look.
Tom Schrieber, M, Princeton, Ohio Machine—The No.1 pick in this year’s MLL Draft certainly lived up to the billing on Saturday. Princeton looked as if it was primed for an early season upset to Hofstra. However, Schrieber had other plans in mind. He recorded a hat trick and sparked a key four-goal run for Princeton in their victry to pull even with Hofstra in the third quarter.
His blend of size, speed, lacrosse IQ and shooting power from the outside is a handful for any defense and with weapons around him, he will keep showing why he was worthy of the No. 1 pick.
Jordan Wolf, A, Duke, Rochester Rattlers—Wolf has been the main cog on the best attack line in the nation. He has great speed and shows fearlessness in obtaining a better angle on his shots while knowing he will get pummeled by a sliding defenseman. That is something that is hard to teach a lot of players and Wolf does it routinely.
His 19 points (10 goals, nine assists) leads the nation and he has this Duke offense operating at a great pace. He will be a welcomed addition to the Rattlers after his final season in Durham.
Niko Amato, G, Maryland, Florida Launch—Amato leads one of the nation’s best defenses. After going up against inferior competition in Mount Saints Marys and UMBC, Maryland dominated Syracuse and Amato saved 11 of the 19 shots he saw. He currently ranks eighth in the nation in save percentage and should continue to build on an impressive resume in his final season in College Park.
Brendan Fowler, FO, Duke, Charlotte Hounds—Has picked up where he left off last season. He has won 57 faceoffs, good for a 64 percent clip. He also has 38 ground balls for the Blue Devils and a goal on the season. He is key for Duke, giving them the unique opportunity to push the ball right back down the opponent’s throat after scoring a goal. This wears down a defense and keeps their own defense fresh and ready to go. He can really help Charlotte in 2014 as they only won 48 percent of their draws last season.
Mark Cockerton, A, Virginia, Rochester Rattlers—Rochester sure got a steal by getting Mark Cockerton with the last pick in the seventh round. Cockerton has been a key part of an explosive Cavalier offense that ranks eighth in the nation in goals per game at 14.3. He is also sixth in the nation in points at 17 (11 goals, six assists) for an undefeated Virginia team looking to get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Shane Sturgis, A, Penn State, Undrafted—Sturgis has been unreal for Penn State and it is incredible how no one drafted him this winter. He is tied for second in the nation in points with 18 and put up five and six points respectively against Loyola and Notre Dame. Think about that, five points against the only college player to make the Team USA National Team in Joe Fletcher! Someone get this kid on a roster please!
Joe Fletcher, D, Loyola, New York Lizards—Speaking of Joe Fletcher, I don’t know what to make of him. He made Team USA’s final roster and everybody lauded him for his ability to do the small things well on defense, however, Loyola has allowed big games to attackmen. He allowed five points to Sturgis in their overtime victory over Penn State and also allowed Mark Cockerton to have a big game against them when they played Virginia in that thrilling first game of the season. Is he a system defender or a shut down guy? Is he tired from the Team USA rosters? If someone has the answer, let me know.
Others to watch out for- Justin Ward, A, Loyola, Charlotte Hounds
Kieran McArdle, A, St. Johns, Florida Launch
Rob Emery, M, Virginia, Boston Cannons
John LoCascio, LSM, Villanova, Rochester Rattlers
Austin Kaut, G, Penn State, Boston Cannons
