PLL Entry Draft Recap

Two drafts down, one to go. The Entry Draft is what proved to be the most impactful of the drafts last offseason. It brought in a league MVP in Zedd Williams, critical team contributors like Christian Mazzone and Eli Gobrecht, a top midfielder in the league in Zach Currier, and defensive cornerstones like Jesse Bernhardt. This is the one of two drafts where a team can add players with significant, meaningful pro lacrosse experience, which absolutely matters in the PLL. This year’s Entry Draft player pool was particularly loaded because it was comprised of, well, everyone from the MLL. With the PLL and MLL merging, everyone who played on an MLL team and signed with the PLL was eligible to be drafted. With only three rounds of picks, 24 picks total, that means there are going to be dozens of players who were starters or played meaningful minutes last summer who will find themselves in the player pool or trying to make a roster in camp. It’s a wonderful time for everyone on #TeamWhatAbout.

A quick note on the draft itself as it happened. The PLL is all about pushing the envelope, trying new things, and breaking new ground in the sport league. They are out here to be the first one through the wall and take risks. Being innovators is a major part of their brand, and they try to do it whenever possible. In that spirit, the draft was held on Twitter Spaces, which is basically the Twitter version of the popular new app Clubhouse. I’m fairly certain if Clubhouse wasn’t an iOS exclusive right now, the draft would have happened there instead. But Spaces is available to anyone with iOS or Android device. The draft was hosted by Lisa Redmond and Joe Keegan, and the structure was straightforward. Lisa would announce who was on the clock and ask coaches for their picks, the coaches would announce their picks, and Joe would offer analysis and a question or two for the coaches.

With the caveat that I have been branded the Lax Twitter Old Guy so new technology is strange to me, this didn’t go all that well. There were some serious technical issues, including Joe’s feed being dropped at times, and the entire draft crashing and needing to be restarted at one point. Some of this I’m sure is due the fact that Spaces is still very new. Most Spaces calls don’t include a couple thousand people listening, which is about what I saw tuned in at a few points. At times where Joe wasn’t available because his feed or connection went down, Lisa was left alone to fill, and for the most part it was fine, but there was a good amount of dead air, and that’s never good. The energy from the coaches (outside of Towers) and the hosts just wasn’t there for me. People didn’t sound excited, and frequently sounded like they were reading a script. There was no chat where fans would react, as you might have on YouTube, and there’s no way to replay what happened in the Spaces call unfortunately, so we can’t go back and relisten for coaches quotes and things like that.

When you innovate and try to bring new ideas to the sports landscape the way the PLL does, you’re going to have some big hits, but you’re also going to have some misses. They’ve had more than there share of hits, but this felt like a miss.

Now that I’ve had my tall cool drink of Haterade which I’m sure will rile people up, onto the actual reason we all tuned in, the draft. I’ve gone through each team, laid out the picks in the order they were taken, and offered my opinion on which is the best pick made by each team.

CANNONS

Picks: Lyle Thompson, Zach Goodrich, Nick Marrocco

Best pick: Zach Goodrich at 6th overall.

The Cannons got exactly what the Cannons wanted. Lyle at first overall was a given. Zach Goodrich getting to the Cannons at six must have made Coach Quirk happy. Goodrich is an eraser, an adjective usually described for lockdown close defenders. He’ll matchup with anyone, at any spot, of any size and strength, and his coaches will feel comfortable being slow to slide. Goodrich is the only SSDM ever to win Defensive Player of the Year in the pros. Marrocco is the goalie that Quirk knows and trusts, and that’s as important a position as there is for a known quantity.

ARCHERS:

Picks: Graeme Hossack, Ryan McNamara, Warren Jeffrey

Best Pick: Warren Jeffrey at #18 overall

Hossack at two is a great pick, but Warren Jeffrey being one of the last defenders off the board means the Archers get a steal. Coach Bates wanted a guy to be physical at GLE with players like Matt Rambo. Hossack is great for that. You know who else is? Warren Jeffrey. He is at his absolute best in those situations. He handled matchups with physical attackman like Dylan Molloy well in the MLL, which translates to that ask from Coach Bates. McNamara felt a little early for me. Not because he isn’t a great player, he’s definitely a solid fit with this team. But I thought a guy like Ryan Lee might make sense (taken one pick later) in this spot.

ATLAS:

Picks: Dan Bucaro, Michael Rexrode, Andrew Newbold, Brendan Sunday

Best Pick: Dan Bucaro at #3 overall

Atlas draft strategy seemed to be “pick the Outlaws guys”. Bucaro at three is an excellent piece for the Atlas to rebuild their offense around. He spent last summer running by defenders from all spots on the field, and is underrated as a feeder. Rexrode is a strong pick too, I like him as a defender in the same tier as a guy like Warren Jeffrey, and this is the area in the draft I thought guys like that would go. Newbold is a little bit of a headscratcher for me. If you want a high upside LSM, Kyle Pless is there. If you want a veteran leader for a rebuilt team, CJ Costabile is there. If you want a top tier close defenseman, Ben Randall is there. It feels a little strange to draft a pole because he hit a bunch of two’s in 2020. All PLL poles combined hit six two’s in 2020, and teams were focused on denying that after what the Chaos did in year one. This was one of the bigger reaches in the draft in my opinion. Brendan Sunday is the shooter the Atlas needed to get this. This easily could have been Andrew Kew or Mark Cockerton, but I think Sunday is a fine pick. With those guys in the player pool now, it’s possible the Atlas grab Kew or Cockerton anyway.

WATERDOGS:

Picks: Liam Byrnes, Mikie Schlosser, Ben Randall

Best Pick: Ben Randall at #20 overall

The Waterdogs had my favorite draft of the night. Their biggest needs were on defense, where they were not good last summer. They were regularly late or missing on rotations and second slides, and their help defense was weak at best. Liam Byrnes changes all that. Versatile enough to cover a top matchup, or be the organizer off-ball, or play LSM in spots, Byrnes will cover many of the mistakes that showed on this defense last year. The steal though is Randall. Ben Randall has been covering some of the best attackman in lacrosse since his days at Ohio State. There were drafts that had him being taken in the first round and rated by some as the top cover defender available. Grabbing him this late is a surprise for sure. On top of that, the Waterdogs add another do it all middie who can win a matchup and make the right play every time he has the ball in Schlosser. Home run draft for Coach Copelan.

CHROME:

Picks: Randy Staats, Sean Sconone, Colin Heacock

Best Pick: Randy Staats at #5 overall

Chrome had a lot of pieces taken from their defensive end in expansion, but still went and got exactly what Coach Soudan said he wanted. The goalie of the future in two time MLL Goalie of the Year Sean Sconone. A versatile dodging attackman, and they don’t come any more versatile than Randy Staats. He plays two man games, in all roles, as well as anyone in lacrosse. He’s an excellent shooter and feeder. How this all shakes out is interesting, as the Chrome now have four attackman that are good enough to start, although Staats can run out of the box. The midfield is pretty packed as well, now sporting some seriously big middies in Ranagan and Heacock, along with Crotty, King, and Macintosh.

REDWOODS:

Picks: Ryan Lee, Isaiah Davis-Allen

Best Pick: Ryan Lee at #11 overall

Ryan Lee is as good a finisher as there is in this draft. I said it in my mock, and I’ll say it again. In the past two years Ryan Lee has 108 professional lacrosse goals. And last year was a fraction of a season. He’s moving all the time, and always to be in the spot that makes him the most dangerous player away from the ball in the offense. A perfect complement to a player like newly acquired Rob Pannell.

WHIPSNAKES:

Picks: Chris Aslanian, Charlie Hayes, Bryan Cole

Best Pick: Charlie Hayes at #15 overall

The other seven coaches have to start colluding or something. Get together, figure out what the Whips want, and don’t let them have it. Because the Whips keep winning offseasons to go along with their actual Championships. Ty Warner is off the med school, enter Charlie Hayes. Hayes is a physical, mean SSDM that is a great fit alongside Bernhardt and the under the radar TJ Comizio. Chris Aslanian is another player in the Brad Smith mold. Bryan Cole is a physical, downhill midfielder and, of course, a Terp. These are the type of players the Whipsnakes both want and need, and we still have another draft for them to bolster the roster.

CHAOS:

Picks: Max Adler, Challen Rogers, Kyle Jackson

Best Pick: Max Adler at #8 overall

For Coach Towers, he had to know he’d have his choice of faceoff specialist since he was picking ahead of the Redwoods, barring something very surprising. Max Adler is the clear top choice at the position. He has a track record of success against guys like Trevor Baptiste and Joe Nardella, and that’s not easy to come by. While other teams have tandems of guys to try and counter the elite few, the Chaos just got one of the elite few. His being a one-man band means the Chaos can use a roster spot on some of their new box lacrosse stars, Challen Rogers and Kyle Jackson. The Scorpions are going to look like a loaded NLL team that accidentally showed up to a field game.

TEAM WHATABOUT

A few guys who everyone tweeted the Nick Young confused meme about, and why I think they may have gone undrafted.

Bryce Wasserman — The MLL MVP went undrafted, which may have come as a surprise. But consider what Wasserman does so well, and what teams already have. Wasserman is at his best taking his man to X and using his explosive first step and quickness in a sprint dodge to get his own shot. He’s done this for years, and scored many goals doing so. Consider what teams really need that, in a draft where teams were clearly targeting needs and not best available players. Does he do it better than Jordan Wolf? Matt Rambo? Rob Pannell or Ryder Garnsey? Grant Ament? Dan Bucaro or Michael Sowers? If he does, it’s not by enough of a margin that you use one of your limited picks in this draft on him. He’ll get added and have opportunities in preseason camp for sure.

Dylan Molloy and Tommy Palasek — I firmly believe if this draft goes another round, by these guys get drafted. Molloy is a wrecking ball of an attackman. Any team who plays against Matt Rambo and thinks man I wish I had a guy built like that, Molloy is your chance. Palasek is a versatile offensive player who can run out of the box for teams and is good enough to start at attack for most teams in the league right now. He’s just two years removed from a 63 point season.

Andrew Kew and Mark Cockerton — There was a group in this draft that was basically there for the teams that needed to add a guy who could shoot for a high percentage (Atlas). Really it was Kew/Cockerton/Sunday in some order for that spot, and the Atlas went with Sunday. I personally rate Kew at the top of that group, but all three are good choices for that spot. Kew and Cockerton may shoot better than almost everyone in this draft, but there are better dodgers, more versatile players, and other guys who can do more things well than these two. Looking through the picks, coaches were looking for versatility and need, which is why these two likely didn’t get picked.

Kevin Reisman — The Chaos got their faceoff man in Max Adler. The only other team with a clear, defined need at the faceoff spot is the Redwoods. I take this to mean that the Woods are planning on drafting TD Ierlan or Kyle Gallagher, whichever is available, as their guy for the season. Reisman should get a camp invite from the Woods though. And if we’re being honest, from the Archers and maybe the Waterdogs as well. He’s a guy who just went 62% on season where he saw plenty of Max Adler and Alex Woodall, and he has stick skills to do damage after the draw.

Kyle Pless — Pless is a fast, skilled defender who was second in the league in caused turnovers last summer. He handles the ball well and can push transition, and that’s a skillset that is prized by most PLL teams. Whether you need a solid 3rd defender down low or someone to split your LSM spot, Pless can help a lot of teams.

Brian Phipps — Phipps is an outstanding goalie. The thing is, pro lacrosse right now has roughly 900 outstanding goalies. The combination of available talent and scarcity of roster spots makes goalie arguably the hardest position in the league when it comes to getting a roster spot. Consider how many teams really having openings after this draft: Waterdogs (2), Atlas (1), Whips (maybe 1), Redwoods (1), Cannons (1). That’s really it. At most six spots, and there was already serious talent in the player pool before the MLL goalies came over. Phipps is good enough to make a team though, and if any of those spots get filled by MLL guys, he’s probably the guy to do it.

There is a myriad of others who could easily make a roster. I would be quick to scoop up veteran leaders like CJ Costabile, Garrett Thul, Nick Manis, and Matt Abbott. The Cannons have a three day waiver period to themselves to try and add more pieces, expect some of these names to be among them.