The Buffalo Bandits added a little bit of everything on Monday night in Oakville at the 2013 NLL Draft. The Bandits drafted five players and acquired two players via trades; Joe Resetartis from the Calgary Roughnecks and Mitch Jones from the Vancouver Stealth.
Buffalo’s main concern heading into the draft was to add some offense to their lineup for 2013. They addressed this concern by drafting several transition players that will look to input their offensive skills this season. The Bandits selected Courtice, ON native Nick Diachenko with the 14th overall pick and Mitch Wilde from Brooklin, ON. Diachenko notched 39 goals for the Delaware Blue Hens in his senior year, while Mitch Wilde scored seven points in 13 games for Robert Morris University in his Junior season.
Wilde believes he will fit in well with his big body and physical presence on the floor. He feels his season with the KW Kodiaks (MSL) playing alongside Jay Thorimbert and Glen Bryan really prepared him for the draft and the upcoming season with the Bandits.
With Buffalo’s third pick of the night, they selected Eric Penney from St. Catharines, ON 38th overall. This pick will hopefully fill the Bandits need for a back-up up goaltender this coming season.
A family affair occurred Monday night with Kevin Pym; son of Assistant Coach Dave Pym, being picked 47th overall. The 21 year old played for the Okotoks Jr A Raiders last summer scoring 59 points.
Dylan Goddard was selected 53rd overall by the Bandits with their last draft pick in the 2013 NLL Draft. Goddard is a two time OLA Jr B MVP with the Clarington Green Gaels. The Courtice, ON native states he is going to bring his offensive capabilities and do whatever he can to make the best of his time in training camp. Goddard said he is looking forward to the chance to prove himself in the pros”. This will definitely be his biggest challenge had he never made the jump to the Jr A level in his five years of Junior.
