The Kinda Sorta Boston Cannons Mock Draft
With protected rosters finally released, it means the Cannons Lacrosse Club now knows exactly what the pool of PLL players available in the expansion draft looks like. To review, the expansion draft takes place on March 11th, and the Cannons will make 18 selections in total. They are allowed to take three players at most from each of the existing PLL clubs. Anyone who goes unselected by the Cannons returns to their original club. This is the first of three drafts the Cannons will use to build their team. Expansion, then the Entry Draft two weeks later where all eight PLL teams can add players who were in the MLL previously. After that it’s the College Draft, where graduating seniors that declare for the draft can be taken, and all eight PLL clubs participate there. This first draft means we can get a look for how Head Coach Sean Quirk is trying to build his team from a culture and identity standpoint.
A few other considerations here. The Cannons already have two players. They traded for Paul Rabil, and barring something insane and miraculous, they’ll take Lyle Thompson with the first pick in the Entry Draft on March 25th. So after this draft is over, they’ll effectively have 20 players on the roster, which is more than enough for an active game roster. Some of these selections, when you consider the number of players they have and the number they’ll add in the remaining two drafts, may end up back in the player pool or not dressing on the weekends.
Defensive talent and two way middies were locked up almost across the board in the protected rosters, presumably because the offensive talent entering the league this year is off the chart. It’s critical for the Cannons to take proven PLL defensive talent if possible with their picks, and try and add offensive pieces in the Entry and College draft as well, where the pool of talent is quite deep.
So without further ado, the Cannons picks, by position and in no particular order:
Attack:
Miles Thompson
Ryan Drenner
James Pannell
We go a little light on attack because, as we pointed out, we assume this team already has Lyle on it. Further, when the Cannons acquired Rabil, it was specifically mentioned that Rabil could make the move to lining up at attack at times this year. This group may already have five players in it, including two ball dominant players in Lyle and Rabil. Drenner and Pannell can play with them perfectly. And would you look at that, James Pannell used to be on the Boston Cannons! I wonder how many other guys that’s true for? Miles, of course, is as natural a fit to play alongside Lyle as anyone, and already feels like a lock.
Midfield:
Brent Adams
Connor Buczek
Joe Walters
Max Tuttle
Deemer Class
Kevin Unterstein
Josh Currier
BA going unprotected was a bit of a surprise. Middies who can produce on both ends are still very valuable in this league, and although a failed Air Gait attempt from BA may have cost the Woods a trip to the finals, leaving him unprotected seems like a heavy punishment. Of course, Adams was previously a Boston Cannon, so he, like many others who are unprotected, have connections to the old Cannons or the Boston area. Interesting. Buczek likely went unprotected because now that he’s the head coach at Cornell, availability in summertime might be a little harder to come by. It’s tough to use the valuable protected slots on players who may not be able to suit up every week, leaving Buczek on the outside. If you’re building a new team though and able to pack your roster with talent to prepare for an occasional Buczek absence, you don’t mind quite as much. With two-point range and quality dodging and initiating from above GLE, Buczek is an easy add. Joe Walters is still a productive middie in the league and provides veteran leadership to a new group that may skew a bit young. Unterstein is the same, but for the defensive end. Tuttle is the lone Whipsnake taken in this draft, as I imagine he narrowly missed the cut for the defending champs as he contributes in multiple spots. Deemer Class missed the 2020 season but scored 10 goals in 2019 and is a strong shooter out of the midfield. Before the launch of the PLL, Class had a prolific two point shooting season in Atlanta, and if he can bring that to the Cannons he’ll be invaluable. Adding quality shooters to an attack that distributes the ball well makes Class fit well here.
Defense/LSM:
Brodie Merrill
Reece Eddy
Jake Pulver
Troy Reh
Mike Simon
Curtis Corley
Brodie Merrill, as you can imagine, is likely the first to be taken at the position. Another former Cannon (a pattern is emerging), Merrill can be counted on to organize and lead a defense for a team that will need a defensive leader in a hurry. The rest of this group is mix of young and old. Eddy played very well in the tournament and it was surprising to see him go unprotected for Chrome (oh wait, he went to BU, direct connect to Boston! Last time I point this out I promise). Pulver had the same amount of CTs and one less GB that Jesse Bernhardt in 2020. Troy Reh has been a quality LSM for two years with Chaos and is a proven contributor. Corley is a starting caliber close defenseman who played well alongside Eli Gobrecht and Matt McMahon last summer. I’d bet that Coach Bates very much hopes that Corley comes back. Mike Simon is another veteran who has shown the ability to hit from two in transition. It’s also important to remember that Kyle Hartzell is in the player pool and could be signed as well.
Faceoff:
Drew Simoneau
The Waterdogs had a nice 1–2 punch with Simoneau and Jake Withers in 2020. They protected Withers but opted to make Simoneau available, the second time this has happened to him. He went 55% in the PLL bubble, better than many starters in the league. He was all but certain to be a regular starter in year one for Chrome before some guy named Connor Farrell got going. A reliable faceoff man who can go north of 50% is not necessarily easy to find, even with some quality players coming into the league this year. The Cannons may look to add another faceoff man from the Entry Draft or College Draft, but Simoneau is a great place to start.
Goalie:
Jack Kelly
This one may be a little surprising. Adam Ghitelman is available, and he’s a proven starter. Kelly has been dealing with injuries that have kept him off the field, but when healthy this is a Team USA level goalie. He’s a goalie of the year in college, goalie of the year as a pro, former MLL champion, and all-pro. A goalie resume like that doesn’t get made available in the pro game very often. I would hope Coach Quirk investigates Kelly’s health and availability for the summer, but if he’s 100%, adding Kelly is a no brainer.
And that’s how I would do this if I’m Coach Quirk. I feel solid about my picks on at the midfield and defensive end, and am probaby looking offense first in the Entry Draft for guys with pro experience. A few notable players returning to teams are Ghitelman, Matt Gaudet, Clarke Petterson, Larken Kemp, Tommy Kelly, Ben Reeves, Michael Kraus, and of course Nick Ossello.
