The one big thing that will help the New York Lizards going into training camp and the start of the season is basically their whole team will be there. Other teams are dealing with the fact that half their team or big stars are playing in the NLL; the Lizards only have newly acquired Cody Jamieson playing. Of course college draft picks will not be in camp but that will be the same for all teams so it is not a big hurdle.
The Lizards do have some of the biggest names in lacrosse: Rob Pannell and the newest Lizard, Paul Rabil. This will be a big weekend for Paul being on a new team. One plus is that he has played with a bunch of these players while playing for Team USA. Joining Rabil will be his old Cannons teammate Mike Stone who was also involved in the deal for Paul. Mike will be a great addition to this midfield line. Mike Kimmel will also will be having a training camp under his belt when he puts on the Lizard green this spring and summer. Kimmel was traded to New York during last season so he had to get in synched with his teammates on the fly.
On Attack the main players are Rob Pannell, Tommy Palasek, and Matt Gibson. Jamieson will still be playing in the NLL for most of the start of the season but if he joins at some point in the year he can be a huge asset. One player to watch out for in camp is Shane Sturgis who was a supplemental draft pick out of Penn State. If he can turn some heads at camp there will be a spot for him. Also Wantagh Long Island product Brandon Mangan had a solid rookie season when he saw time at the midfield last summer. Coming out of high school and Yale he played attack but can also play the midfield which will help him make the team.
On defense the team will have MLL veteran Brian Spillina who is back for the Lizards after playing the past few season for the Bayhawks. So far their close defense should look like Brian along with second year player Joe Fletcher. Joining them could be Mike Skudin who will be in his fifth season with the team. Others to watch out for are Steve Holmes who played 10 games last season and Andrew Casimir who is a very good defender out of Dowling College. Andrew is from Suffolk county on Long Island and is one of the best players to come through Dowling. He has played pro in the LMX pro the last few years. He lives out in Los Angeles but is a Long Island guy who is dedicated to lacrosse and is becoming a big time coach. LSM Kyle Hartzell is back but a huge plus will be seeing 2014 first round pick Luke Duprey on the field after coming off a knee injury. Drew Adams will be the starting goal and Sean Brady has been his backup the last two seasons but will go against former Towson starter Andrew Wascavage for the job.
Some question whether the Bratton brothers are going to be at training camp; they should be but you never know. If they are, both are very talented players and could be an impact. Matt Posaky did not play last summer and is the head coach at Wagner on Staten Island. If he plays, the former MVP is also is a high talent. Kevin Unterstein is an assistant coach at Hofstra which may make it tough to attend camp.
Things are looking up for New York. With the football and basketball teams struggling the Lizards look to be one of the top teams in the area to bring home a championship. They definitely should be able to get off to a hot start which will get them a step closer to that goal.
