The Rochester Knighthawks have won an unprecedented three Champion’s Cups in a row, arguably making them one of the greatest dynasties in NLL history. More impressively, they’ve improved in each season during the three-peat run.
In 2012, the Knighthawks stumbled into the playoffs with an unremarkable 7-9 record before getting white hot in the postseason and taking the championship. In 2013, they improved to 8-8 before making their playoff run to their second championship in a row. And last year they put it all together for the full season going 14-4 in the regular season and gutting out their third straight Cup.
So with all that success, is there anything the K’Hawks can do in the draft to get even better?
In fact, they can.
Rochester was in the middle of the pack in goals for, loose balls and forced turnovers last year, meaning they have room to improve offensively and defensively. What the team did extremely well was keep shots on goal down and have Matt Vinc stopping most of the shots that did get through.
Still if there’s a blue-chip defensive prospect available who can scoop loosies or put more pressure on the ball carrier, they could pull the trigger. Alternatively, if there’s someone who can add more offensive depth, they may chase that person to take a little more heat off Cody Jamieson and Dan Dawson.
In the middle-to-late rounds, don’t be surprised to see the Knighthawks grab a goalie if they can find a good one. Vinc has been almost unbeatable for a couple years now, but he’s also 32 years old and could be reaching an age where he can’t make the plays he used to be able to.
