Waivers are open. Here are targets for all eight PLL clubs.
Cannons have first crack at it, and then the order goes via reverse of the standings from the PLL Championship Series. With the wealth of talent available, there’s opportunities for teams to not just fill their rosters but get bonafide starters and impact players. Some of these are obvious, some are maybe a bit more down the list of players that have been mentioned. A few players I’d like to see each team target:
Cannons — Tommy Palasek, John Uppgren
A few more offensive weapons that can fill multiple roles to fill out the Cannons roster a bit. Palasek can play any spot on the offense and help you in multiple ways, all without needing a ton of the ball. John Uppgren is a bit of a sleeper here, but he had an outstanding game in the MLL Championship last summer and is a known quantity to Coach Quirk, which is valuable as we saw in the Entry Draft.
Archers — Mark Cockerton
Archers added some defensive weapons in a big way during the entry draft. Grabbing another lefty shooter of Cockerton’s caliber for some depth could be a good fit, if Cockerton is comfortable running out of the box. I don’t see the trio of attack that the Archers have changing any time soon.
Atlas — Andrew Kew, Nate Solomon
Get yourself another shooter, Bulls. For my money Kew was the best pure shooter available in Entry Draft, followed by Mark Cockerton and Brendan Sunday. Atlas picked Sunday, but with Kew undrafted, I think it’s worth adding him here. Solomon makes the attack a little crowded, but I think he can run out of the box for this team, and is a savvy, smart player who is perfect to play alongside strong ball dominant guys like Bucaro and, eventually, Sowers.
Chrome — Jon Mazza, CJ Costabile
The Chrome are building lines of juggernauts at the midfield, and Mazza is on brand. 6’4, 210, and an excellent dodger. He needs to shoot for a better percentage but I like the fit form a physicality and style standpoint. Costabile has been playing at too high a level for too long a time to sit in waivers. The Chrome lost Reece Eddy and Jake Pulver but didn’t address that side of the ball in the Entry Draft. Costabile can pair with Joel White for a very capable LSM unit.
Chaos — Mark Matthews, Eddie Bouhall
Just stay on brand and add Matthews, Chaos. He’s exactly what fits their offensive scheme. Excellent indoor and outdoor player, physical and overpowering dodger, Canadian passport. Bouhall provides some quality defensive depth for the Chaos. The things he does best (navigate two man games, solid off ball defense) are exactly what you want in a PLL defender right now.
Redwoods — Kevin Reisman, Brian Phipps
No harm in adding a little goalie depth if you’re the Woods. Troutner still keeps the job, but I like Phipps ahead of other options out there for backups, and could see this even evolving into an Archers, goalies split halves situation. Reisman went undrafted and most every other team is probably feeling ok about where they are on faceoffs. Adding him means getting a skilled enough specialist to stay on with the offense at times and won over 60% of his draws last summer. Even if the plan is to draft Ierlan, might as well get some protection now in case things don’t work out that way. Most other spots on the Woods seem locked up anyway.
Waterdogs — Bryce Wasserman, Kyle Pless
Wasserman went undrafted after an MVP season which turned some heads, but his best strengths are something most teams already have. Waterdogs have seriously bolstered their midfield and defense, adding an attack option who can go get you a goal makes sense. Kyle Pless was a surprise to go undrafted for me. He can play at the LSM spot, start transition, play wings, and be a serviceable option down low. A nice addition to a team that already added Liam Byrnes and Ben Randall.
Whipsnakes — Nick Manis
Another strong, athletic, versatile midfielder who will help on the SSDM side of things. The Whips truthfully don’t need to add anyone in waivers, but if they did, this is the kind of player that makes sense.
Other guys that haven’t been mentioned much but should get a look are Luke Wittenberg, Bubba Voigt, Greg Weyl, James Fahey, Garrett Thul, Dylan Molloy, and Nick Mellen.
