With the MLL draft tomorrow night I’ve decided to look at the chance of an MCLA player getting drafted. With Connor Martin (Chapman ’10) being the only field player in the MLL from the MCLA, I think the chances of having an MCLA player drafted this year may be a long shot. I’m not knocking the players in the MCLA right now, I’m knocking the MLL really. What I mean is that there a number of players in the MCLA that could have good careers in the MLL.
The players that I mean there are guys like Steve Johnson (St. Johns) and Tyler Novotny (Pitt). When you look at these players you see a dominance in the MCLA that I believe could easily transfer to a healthy career in the MLL.
Steve Johnson- The most dominant defensive player in the MCLA. Barring an injury of catostrophic proportions he will become the only player in MCLA history to be a 4-time All- American. Johnson has garnered the reputation in MCLA as the #1 defender and will take on every other teams top attack man. In the last 2 seasons he has had 44 and 53 ground balls. He also has been an MCLA Scholar Athlete for the last 3 season. Johnson has won almost every award you can possible win, except for Player of the Year, and he has gone up against some the best players in the MCLA and yet even his chances are extremely low.
Tyler Novotny- Novotny is on everyone’s Player of the Year lists and has a good chance if he can lead Pitt past the first round of the National Tournament this year. Novotny is a fundamental attack man, he is a great player on team that got to the first round of the National Tournament last season. After 2 seasons in the MCLA he has gone from a 2nd team conference award to a 2nd team All- American in one season and probably could have made a 1st team had the attack men class last season been just a hair less impressive. His chances are also extremely low.
The MCLA is a good league and I know that the MLL is made up of predominately D1 players, but I think that the MLL needs to expand their player base. By this I mean drafting D2, D3 and MCLA players. Now this would expand the league and could also create a minor league program much like the AHL is to the NHL.
