PLL Entry Draft 2.0

The Mock Entry Draft for 2021 is upon us! Last year there were some serious impact players who came out of this group. Most notably of course is Zed Williams, who would score roughly 800 goals over the summer on his way to MVP honors. But other important contributors came from this draft as well. The Archers picked up Eli Gobrecht and Christian Mazzone who had solid seasons, Chrome defense was much improved thanks to the addition of Jesse Bernhardt. The Waterdogs added both Zach Currier and Ryland Rees, who were impact players. And that was with a player pool that is much smaller. This year, there’s a massive player pool courtesy of the PLL/MLL merger. The draft is three rounds, and courtesy of some trades there some changes to the expected order.

Lots of ideas contribute to a decision to draft a player. Has he played for me in the past, has he played with guys on my team in the past, does he have much pro experience or not, etc. Coaches weigh all of this, along with their own evaluation methods, when making choices. I tried to account for that as best as I could in my draft, while also addressing team needs, which should be what this draft is about.

Since our first go around, we’ve had a few more signings, and a notably faceoff man reportedly decide not to play this summer in Alex Woodall.

All signings are reflected here (save the first pick), so we should be ready for 7:30 pm tonight. Here’s my Mock Entry Draft, 2.0 for 2021 in the PLL.

ROUND ONE

Cannons — Lyle Thompson, A

Lol. OK really though, there are two possible outcomes at this spot. One, you draft Lyle Thompson, considered the best attackman if not best overall player on the planet. This is as easy a decision as drafting Lebron James. The other option is you trade the pick for a combination of multiple starter, possibly all star, level players and draft picks, because that’s what the price tag should be. If you have this pick, you take Lyle or you trade it to someone who will. There is no other way this should go. I firmly believe Lyle will sign by draft time and be taken first overall.

Archers — Graeme Hossack, D

Hossack is a new addition to the player pool, signing earlier this week. The defensive talent available isn’t nearly as deep or as eye popping as the offensive weapons available, but that doesn’t mean you can’t find strong player. Hossack is an outstanding cover defender, and just about every team in the league except maybe two (Whips and Woods) should be in the market for a defender of Hossack’s caliber. Rewatch him with Team Canada at the World Championships, he was a man possessed. Hossack is what you get when you give a grizzly bear smelling salts. Coach Bates said he’s looking for someone who can be physical at goal line with Matt Rambo, and there is no better option in this draft than Hossack. He joins Matt McMahon and Eli Gobrecht and gives the Archers a really formidable defense.

Atlas — Dan Bucaro, A/M

I still consider the Atlas to be a team that basically already has Michael Sowers. So this team, while it currently doesn’t necessarily have a QB at attack unless you consider Eric Law to be that, will be drafting one shortly. The Atlas also have openings on the defensive end, with Kyle Hartzell and Callum Robinson both in the player pool. Their faceoff spot remains as good as it gets with Baptiste, but a lot of offensive talent has been shipped out with Brown, Rabil, and Pannell all being traded. There’s a lot of offense out there, but how to decide between Bucaro and Randy Staats, who also makes sense here? I think Bucaro is a bit better fit because he can more consistently run by his defender, something the Atlas are going to need. As presently constructed, the Atlas don’t have many guys who can do that, and its what sets Bucaro apart here.

Waterdogs — Randy Staats, A/M

The Waterdogs have a lot of needs. They need a goalie, but it’s probably too early to for that. They also need offensive playmakers, and with all the openings the Waterdogs have, it makes sense to just go best available offensive weapon here. Hence Staats. He is a true do it all offensive player. He can get his own shot, has exceptional vision, plays extremely well in two and three man games, there’s no set where you can’t use him. Whatever shape the Waterdogs offense takes this offseason, Staats can fit it. This is a slam dunk.

Chrome — Liam Byrnes, D/LSM

The most versatile and best help defender in the draft, Byrnes is a solid fit for a team that lost Jake Pulver and Reece Eddy. You can drop Byrnes down low to play alongside Bernhardt and Mike Manley to have a smart, mean defensive unit. You can also split him and Joel White up top to immediately have arguably the best LSM tandem in the league. I could see a world where you have Connor Farrell taking the faceoff and double pole with Byrnes and White, and I’ll take my chances with that faceoff unit against anyone in the league. Chrome needs to rebuild the defensive spots where they lost guys, and Byrnes basically fills two spots with by himself.

Cannons — Zach Goodrich, SSDM

Goodrich stays with the Cannons, who get as good an SSDM as there is in the sport. Goodrich won the DPOY award last year for the Cannons. The list of shorties to win that award is literally just him. No other SSDM has won that award in the history of pro field lacrosse. Goodrich is the proverbial fifth pole, and can match up with anyone regardless of size, speed, or strength. Another interesting way to deploy Goodrich in settled set is by matching him up with an attackman if you like the idea of two poling the midfield. This would only happen in very specific personnel groupings, but really it illustrates just how versatile Goodrich is.

Whipsnakes — Isaiah Davis-Allen, SSDM

It really feels unfair that the two defending champs, the only team to have the league MVP, and a team with the best player in the league at multiple positions, only lost one guy to expansion and it was a role player. The Whips had losses though, in the form of Tyler Warner (Harvard Med School) as well as Joe Locascio and Jeremy Sieverts (retirement). I’m of the opinion that TJ Comizio is a rising star and can step into the space vacated by Warner, and the Whips have Jake Bernhardt as well. That said, IDA is a Maryland guy so you know he will instantly fit in the locker room, and he’s a very capable SSDM that can be a threat in transition. He’s a solid pick for the Whips. Can come in, play a role well, and not rock the boat. They have another solid athlete on defense to mix in with their stable.

Chaos — Max Adler, Faceoff Specialist

Chaos biggest need is clearly at the faceoff spot. Even with Woodall now unavailable, the Chaos are lucky in that they still likely get first crack at the faceoff talent in this draft. Tommy Kelly had a brutal bubble and went unprotected. Kelly has been dominant at the faceoff spot as recently as 2018, when he led the league in faceoff percentage, but the Chaos will be in the market for someone new. Enter Max Adler, the top faceoff specialist in this draft. Adler is a nearly 60% career winner and has a track record of success against guys like Trevor Baptiste and Joe Nardella. In today’s PLL, you need to ask yourself how your specialist will handle those two matchups, and with Adler the answer is just fine. Adler is not the offensive weapon Nardella is, but he isn’t a liability either. With his pick, the Chaos can have their one man band at the position, like the Atlas and Whipsnakes, and feel good about sending him out for every draw.

ROUND TWO:

Atlas — Andrew Kew, A

The Atlas traded away one of the best shooters in the league in Ryan Brown. His bubble season wasn’t great, but his skills are still undeniable. And if you need shooters, Kew is who you take. The Atlas had a miserable shooting season last year. Kew doesn’t need to have the ball a ton, which is good on a team that will have Sowers and now Bucaro as of this draft. He can hit from range, from all angles, with multiple release points. If the task is to find the guy who can replace Ryan Brown in this draft, Kew is your best bet to do it.

Archers — Kyle Pless, LSM

At this point, the Archers can do a lot of things. It makes sense to add some more defensive depth, as you have to feel pretty solid about where the offense is already. It’s possible they swoop in ahead of the Redwoods to go faceoff here as well, but I think Coach Bates can address that need in the college draft, if he sees it as a need at all. Defensive depth is the way to go, and Kyle Pless is a nice fit here. Pless can spell Ratliff as needed. An excellent ground ball and wing player, fast, smart, and dangerous in transition. A Ratliff/Pless tandem at LSM is a great compliment to the offensive personnel that’s in place on the Archers already. Both are great off wings and with the ball in their stick, and both get their fair share of caused turnovers. Pless provides the opportunity to create some instant transition offense from the LSM, which the Archers attack executes quite well.

Redwoods — Kevin Reisman, Faceoff Specialist

The Woods traded for Rob Pannell and have a glut of offensive talent now, and their defense remains one of the league’s best. But that their trades leave them in a spot where their first pick in this draft comes in the second round, meaning they likely miss out on the best player at each position. Where they suffered over the summer was taking faceoffs. Peyton Smith and Greg Puskuldjian both won less than 40% of their draws on PLL Island, and it’s very hard to win games when that’s the case unless you hit a ton of two pointers to maximize limited possessions, like they did. Kevin Reisman is a capable pro, who went over 60% last summer for the Cannons. His pro experience is important, as that 60% came while going against guys like Adler and Woodall. It was no cakewalk. More than that, Joe Nardella has shown everyone just how deadly you can be when your faceoff specialist can stay on. Reisman has solid offensive skills.

Waterdogs — Mikie Schlosser, M

Looking back at Waterdogs offensive end, they had moments without Currier in the lineup where they struggled to win a matchup and get the defense sliding. If you can’t make defenses rotate in the PLL, goals can be hard to come by. Schlosser is a powerful dodger and two-way midfielder who can run by defenders and be a major threat down the alley (even Joe Keegan likes his alley game, which tells you a lot). More than being a capable dodger, Schlosser is an excellent passer off the dodge. Waterdogs at times looked like they had no answer to the question “we need someone to draw a slide right now, who’s doing it”? Schlosser is the answer. He can draw slides, he’ll make the right pass, he’ll do what you struggled to do last summer. With Currier back in the lineup, this pair could do some special things as they did for Denver.

Chrome — Tommy Palasek, A/M

An attackman by trade, Palasek would likely run out of the box for the Chrome. He’s an offensive dynamo who can score and feed and was a critical piece of a 2019 team for Atlanta that was an offensive powerhouse. In that season, Palasek piled up just as many points as Rob Pannell (63). Last summer he had 13 points in five games, including 8 assists. Only Brendan Sunday had more points than Palasek on the Barrage. Palasek has been a teammate of Ned Crotty in the past and putting him on a midfield line with Crotty and Ranagan means someone is winning a matchup. Coach Soudan has said he’s looking for a versatile attackman to add to his roster, Palasek should definitely be a target.

Atlas — Ben Randall, D

This is a little square peg in a round hole fit, because the Atlas real need is at LSM, but Randall in this spot is too good to pass up. Randall was one of, if not the top on ball defender in the MLL last summer. The defensive end is where you want to grab guys who are known quantities and lower risk, Randall is one of the safer picks in the draft in that regard. Unfortunately, this pick likely means Craig Chick stays at LSM this summer, even though he is more naturally suited to close defense. That said I think Chick is capable of doing what he does best at LSM, causing turnovers and winning ground balls. The Atas may need to look for another suitable LSM player, since none of Randall/Durkin/Pifani/CVR are really a natural fit there either, but again, Randall in this spot feels like a late steal. This is also a possible landing spot for CJ Costabile, as a veteran LSM presence.

Whipsnakes — Nick Manis, M

Nick Manis won’t get a lot of the fancy publicity coming in, won’t have a ton of highlights or anything like that, but among players he’s regarded as one of the better and more versatile two way middies in this entry draft. I have no doubt that his Maryland teammates are hoping Manis decides to play this summer and joins them on the Whips. He’s just the kind of player this team needs to fill the gaps left by the departures mentioned early. With Manis, the Maryland connection grows stronger, and the losses in the midfield get replaced. This is almost too perfect.

Chaos — Bryan Cole, M

Chaos lost Deemer Class to expansion, and while he wasn’t part of the bubble team that went on that ridiculous run, he’s a proven shooter out of the midfield that the Chaos should look to replace. Cole has a box background, playing with the Georgia Swarm in the NLL, which seems to be borderline mandatory lately for the Chaos offense. Cole is a 6’3, 190lb bruising midfielder who amassed 53 points for Atlanta, including 39 goals, in 2019. That same year he had 24 points in this NLL. His 2020 with the Cannons was not as strong, but he was off to a solid start with Georgia before COVID. I think the Chaos offense is a great fit for him.

ROUND 3

Cannons — Nick Marrocco, G

Coach Quirk loves Marrocco in net and trusts him to lead a defense. A number of coaches through the years have told me when you’re building a team, you start through the middle. Strong goalie, strong faceoff man, strong X attackman. Those are must haves. After the expansion and entry drafts, Coach Quirk will have done just that with his starting goalie in Marrocco, his leader at attack in Thompson, and a crew of faceoff men to compete for as the starter. Goalie in the PLL might be the most competitive spot in the league (narrowly edging out lefty attack). It can be tough to build a team from unprotected castoffs, entry draft players, and college players that are still unknowns at the pro level. It’s important for Quirk to grab guys he’s had in his locker room before, and he knows can he trust on the field.

Archers — Ryan Lee, A

You want offensive depth? Here you go. After going defense with the first two picks, Lee offers serious goal scoring ability without the need to be carrying the ball all the time. Lee scored 18 goals in just give games for the Outlaws and was in MVP conversations last summer for his efforts. In just the last two years of pro indoor and outdoor lacrosse, Lee has scored a total of 108 goals, and that’s with a drastically shortened 2020. This is some solid offensive depth, and the last guy that came over in the entry draft as a pure goal scorer did pretty well for himself (I’m talking about Zed Williams).

Redwoods — Charlie Hayes, SSDM

I’ve convinced myself that his is a solid fit. Hayes is, as anyone will tell you, the baddest man in the sport. He’s so angry all the time. It’s a joy to watch but I imagine a nightmare the play against. The Woods have plenty of solid midfielders, and even some great SSDMs like Jack Near, but personality wise, I think Hayes is a great fit with this group. Brent Adams is gone to the Cannons, and while Hayes doesn’t replace what you may lose on the offensive end with him, although he is solid there, he is a more than ready replacement on the defensive end.

Waterdogs — Bryce Wasserman, A

This makes three offensive side of the field picks for Waterdogs, which seems like too much, but I think the if the MLL MVP from last season is sitting there in round three it’s worth taking him. Wasserman’s game is really from X, dodging to get his own shot. It’s what he does best, and it’s what he does most. This is a pure dodge to score player. How well Wasserman fits here depends entirely on the style of offense that the Waterdogs are looking to run. Acquiring a shooter like Ryan Brown doesn’t do as much for you if he’s paired with a shoot-first X attackman, so there’d be an adjustment made here.

Chrome — Sean Sconone, G

This is a good spot for the Chrome to add a goalie. Coach Soudan has said they will be looking for a goalie of the future. It’s unclear how much longer they’ll have either of their currently rostered goalies around, as both Galloway and Queener are getting up there. Goalies in lacrosse tend to have long careers, but it’s probably time to start planning for who’s going to jump between the pipes next. Sconone has played two seasons in the MLL and won Goalie of the Year twice. He faced an absolutely absurd number of shots this past summer for the Hammerheads and saved 57% of them. Sconone has the ability to push Galloway for playing time right away. Another way that this could go is a surprise Ryan McNamara pick. Coach Soudan loves to pick his guys and has certain players that he wants to have on his team. McNamara fits the bill, and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him end up with Chrome.

Atlas — Mark Cockerton, A

Atlas need guys who can shoot and score consistently, let’s get them another one. This may seem a bit counterintuitive since Cockerton essentially plays the same spot that Kew does, but I think Cockerton or Kew can run out of the box for the Atlas. Cockerton usually shoots around 50%, and actually shot 60% with the Cannons in 2019, a season in which he had 29 goals. He also has the UVA connection with Atlas head coach Ben Rubeor.

Whipsnakes — Warren Jeffery, D

When you’re the defending champ (twice), the only team in the league to have a player win MVP, and have a roster with the best player in the league at multiple spots, you really are in a position to draft however you want. Coach Stagnitta could get to this pick and just say “pass”. Really, when in a position like that, the best option is often to just make your strength stronger. The Whipsnakes strength is their league best defense, and adding player like Jeffery late to that mix bolsters your depth. Jeffery is a strong on ball defender, who plays with a mean streak against dodgers. He held his own in some tough matchups against physical players like John Grant Jr and Dylan Molloy. He needs to improve off ball a bit for the PLL, but current Whipsnake Jake Bernhardt is on the staff at Jeffery’s alma mater, UVM, and I bet would vouch for Jeffery’s skill level.

Chaos — Challen Rogers, M

The box background is, as we’ve noted, a requirement to play on the Chaos these days. Rogers is a great fit for what Coach Towers is assembling on the scorpions. Rogers had a very strong season for the MLL last summer as a do it all midfielder for the Cannons and has had solid seasons for the Toronto Rock as well. In 2019 Rogers put up 30 points for the Cannons and 31 for the Rock.

Let’s also add that there is a LOT of PLL caliber talent that will go undrafted just by virtue of the fact that this draft only has three rounds. With that, these are a few guys who I have going undrafted, but definitely getting a camp invite from someone:

Mark Matthews, A
Kevin Crowley, A/M
Shayne Jackson, A
Kyle Jackson, M
Brendan Sunday, A/M
Dylan Molloy, A
CJ Costabile, LSM
Michael Rexrode, D
Ryan McNamara, A