IL Indoor

‘Tis the season to trim the rosters along with the tree and yesterday the Portland Lumberjax, Colorado Mammoth and Minnesota Swarm released their finalized rosters so here’s a look at 09’s new additions.

In addition to the new faces on the bench there will be three behind it as Daren Fridge, Kevin Alexander and Dallas Eliuk comprise the new assistant coaching staff. Adding their veteran presence to the Lumberjax on offense this year will be of course Dan Stroup who spent last season with the Edmonton Rush and Matt Brown who has been bounced around since the Arizona Sting dispersal. On defense recent trade pick-up Luke Forget lands back with the Jax after having been originally selected by the team in the 2005 expansion draft.

The Jax have a total of five rookies on the roster, including 2008 NLLinsider Goaltender of the Year candidate Matt Flindell. After backstopping his Victoria Shamrocks to the Minto Cup finals this summer, Flindell joins Joel Weber as part of the young back-up tandem behind incumbent starter Matt Disher. In the regular season this summer he held a B.C. Jr. A league-best GAA of 4.91 and dropped it down to 4.82 in the playoffs.

The lone rookie on defense is Dayne Michaud, a 4th round selection in the 2008 entry draft. A member of the scrappy Port Coquitlam Saints in B.C. Jr. A lacrosse this summer, Michaud anchored a defense on an underrated team that pulled off a few solid upsets. While size isn’t exactly a new thing for the Lumberjax defense, the 21-year old stands a sturdy 6′1″ 230 lbs and will add depth to the physical back line.

Flindell’s Shamrocks teammate Matt Yager will bring his natural athleticism to the Portland transition game. A third-round selection, Yager contributed 50 points with Victoria last season on 20 goals and 30 assists. Also new to the Portland transition position is Jamison Koesterer, a Johns Hopkins alum from Cazenovia, NY. Originally drafted in 2007, the field player now appears ready to make the transition to the indoor game and will become one of seven Lumberjax players standing 6′3″ or taller.

Up on forward is 2008 first-round selection Tim Campeau, a member of the WLA’s Coquitlam Adanacs and Notre Dame de Namur University’s career leader in goals scored (106), assists (128) and points (234).

“I would put Campeau in the grinder category,” said head coach Derek Keenan. “He’s really quick and is a tireless worker without the ball. He will get his share of goals, but he’s also the type of kid that will sacrifice his body to get his teammates open or to get to that all important loose ball in the offensive end.”

COLORADO MAMMOTH
In between wheeling and dealing the rights to various previously-retired players, the Colorado Mammoth found the time to snag Gary Rosyski from the San Jose Stealth as well as goaltender Andrew Leyshon who is back in the league after a year incognito. Defender John Gallant is back with the team after an expansion draft scare.

Making the jump to the regular roster from the practice squad is Steve Forsythe. The 6′4″ 220 lb. defender served as the captain of Butler University’s team in his senior year and is one of three American rookies on the Mammoth. Two rookies will bring their transition presence to Colorado, the first of which is former Duke Blue Devil Mike Ward. A third-round selection, the 6′ 195 lb. lefty was a part of the defensive unit that led the ACC in GAA in his senior year. Joining him on transition will be Vancouver native Bryan Safarik, who was originally selected in the third round in 2007 by the Arizona Sting. In the summer he spends his time with the Burnaby Lakers.

After making it into two games with the Rochester Knighthawks last season, Andrew Potter will be looking to make a more full-time jump to the NLL after being dealt to Colorado as part of the package exchanged for the playing rights of Gary Gait. Just 20 years old, Potter was sixth in Ontario Jr. A scoring last season with his St. Catharines Athletics and helped lead the team on a playoff run that ended in the semi-finals against the Six Nations Arrows.

One of the rookie names everyone’s eyes will be on this season is of course Matt Danowski, four-time All-American with Duke University and currently the Division I leader in all-time scoring. He was awarded the Lt. Raymond Enners Award by the USILA as national player of the year in both 2007 and 2008 and took home the Tewaaraton Trophy in 2007. A first-round pick, seventh overall, all reports out of Colorado indicate that the forward is fitting in nicely in the indoor game and will be expected to contribute right out of the gate. Rounding out the new additions on offense is Tyler Crompton, who had 20 points in 15 games for the New Westminster Salmonbellies last season and helped take the team to the Mann Cup finals where they lost to the Brampton Excelsiors.

MINNESOTA SWARM
Six new players dot the roster of the Minnesota Swarm, including defender Riley Kemp who last played for the Swarm in 2007 before losing the entire ‘08 season to injury.

Two of the new pick-ups come by way of Chicago, the first one being Kevin Ross, a promising sophomore signed by the Swarm after being released by the Shamrox in November. Though he is listed on the Swarm roster as a defender, Ross is a forward and led Canisius College in scoring all four years he was there. Last season he made it into the final nine games with Chicago and collected 11 points and 21 loose balls. Defender and transition threat Kevin Fines lands on the Swarm after being snagged in the dispersal draft. Last season in addition to playing D he put up 14 points in 16 games.

With the final three newcomers the Minnesota Swarm showcase their drafting chops, as all three rookies were taken in the first round of the 2008 entry draft. Grabbed eighth overall was forward Andrew Watt, a product of Robert Morris University and the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves, who will be looked to to fill the gap left by Andy Secore and use his size (6′1″ 207 lbs.) to free up space for fellow forwards.

Next on the Swarm wish-list was Ohio State University’s Kevin Buchanan, a speedy forward from Baltimore, MD who impressed in the combine and went on to score two goals in the preseason match-up last weekend with the Buffalo Bandits. Taken 13th was another American field player Joe Cinosky, who will bring his big 6′3″ 225 lb. presence to the Swarm defense.

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