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MLL Supplemental Draft Musings

Draft time, baby!

There were 8 picks in each of the 18 rounds of the MLL Supplemental Draft and that means around 165 guys got drafted.  I am not going to go through the entire list, but if you want to, make sure you check out the MLL’s website.  What I will do is break down picks that I think are interesting for one reason or another.  Maybe I think someone has a good shot at making a team, maybe it’s a weird pick, maybe I just know the guy.  It’s all possible.

Chazz Woodson went number 1 to Ohio.  Maybe he’ll stick the LXM, maybe he’ll be able to play in both, or maybe he’ll just play in the MLL.  At this point, who knows?  What I DO know is that Chazz can still rip it up.  He’s as exciting as ever and seems to have a new drive to play lax at the highest level.  It would be good to see Woodson back in the MLL.  Woodson and Martin on the same attack line?  An exciting pair to be sure.  Charlotte took Steve Panarelli at #2 overall, and I think he does a lot for them right away.  He can play with a pole or a shortie and brings a lot to the table.  He’s another guy who seems excited to get back out and play in the bigs.  Hamilton’s pick of Ken Clausen was a good one, and Boston went with a D3 guy they know will dedicate to the team in John Hayes out of WNEC.

The second round saw 6 of the 8 picks go as midfielders.  Out of this group I really like Rochester’s Jordan MacIntosh selection.  I think he could find a place as a midfield scorer for them, especially with Crotty distributing from X.  Hamilton kept it Canadian by picking up Rhys Duch and Boston shored up their defense with Ryan Nizolek.

Ohio picked up Matt Witko from Tufts who was also dradted in the NALL.  Witko is a strong kid who could adjust to the requirements of the MLL but will need an opportunity to do so.  With a third round pick, Ohio seems willing to give it to him.  Garrett Billings and Geoff Snider are both great pick ups by Hamilton and Scott Perri could find some time at attack for Long Island as they need to revamp their offense a little bit and get younger.  Long Island followed this trend by selecting speedster Glenn Adams in the next round at the midfield position.  Adams played for Long Island with good success a couple of seasons ago before heading to Boston for a season where he didn’t get much of a look.  Boston’s choice of Tom Burke shows they’re loving the D3 guys now though.  Burke is a gifted and smart player who has been with team as a practice player before.

In the 5th round, Ohio picked up Ian Dingman.  Remember him?  Big guy, played for Navy, came from Carthage, NY?  I haven’t heard a THING about him in years so I’m really curious to see if he’s kept up with the sport and can play.  Intriguing pick, or Ohio knows something I don’t, which is also quite likely.  Almost all of the players selected in the 5th and 6th rounds are solid, but will really have to bring their A-game to make a team.  The one other that stands out to me is Tom Compitello, who was selected by Hamilton.  I think he could fit in well there and help out at X.

In the 8th round, Charlotte picked up John Glynn, and while he might not be the biggest guy on the field, Glynn is a battler.  He loves to scrap and win and can really do it all.  He’s the kind of guy who could help them out right away and add a little competitive fire.  Mike Cama going to Long Island also makes sense as Cama has the potential to be a truly great FoGo, just like he was at CW Post.

Ryan Cranston could see time for Charlotte, and if Compitello doesn’t work out in Hamilton, perhaps Kenny Nims will.  Craig Dowd was picked up by Charlotte and he could definitely push for time on that team depending on how dedicated he is.  Dowd is a truly gifted player and it would be fun to see him tearing it up in the MLL on a consistent basis.  Ryan Heath could see time for Long Island, and Brian Vetter is an interesting pick by Boston, as he could add a little more punch to their already strong midfield.

Down in the 12th round we begin to see much more interesting picks.  Charlotte picked up Doug Shanahan, former Tewarraton winner, early 2000s Hofstra grad, ALMOST a NY Jet, and Team USA mainstay and Shanahan has been playing a lot down in Florida, so he may be ready for a true comeback.  Players from NY Tech, Roanoke and Endicott were also picked up in the 12th.  This really is where the picks get interesting!

In round 13, Charlotte picked up Steve Wittenberg, Chesepeake took Mike Simon out of Stevenson and Boston went with DJ Hessler out of Tufts and in the 14th round Rochester picked up Craig Bunker, a FoGo out of Colby College in Maine.  In the 15th round Denver took Joe Yevoli, which a total surprise to me as I didn’t think Joe was playing as much anymore.  But if Yevoli is playing again?  This could be fun!

The two biggest bang for your buck selections came in the 18th round and with the additional picks.  Rochester picked up Craig Point, who could definitely add some scoring punch immediately, and Chesepeake picked up Zach Howell out of Duke.  Last minute selections could reap big rewards.

Overall, teams took guys to fill out spots, and push starters for time.  They picked dedicated guys for the most part, but also took some really big risks.  Teams went back to guys they knew and once in a while rolled the dice on an unknown.  It was an interesting draft, but the process to see if any of these guys make it, and then see time is still in its earliest stages.