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Former second overall draft pick Paul Rabil. (Inside Lacrosse)

Two years ago, the 2008 National Lacrosse League entry draft broke all sorts of records when it came to American NCAA field lacrosse talent selected.

It was absolutely saturated in Americans. Over 40% of the players taken were NCAA field only studs that had never played the indoor game. A record setting five Americans were taken inside the first round, led by San Jose Stealth second overall selection Paul Rabil, the highest US based player taken since 2000 when the Buffalo Bandits took Ryan Powell second overall as well.

And while those numbers dipped slightly a year later, US based players, who normally make up less than 20% of actual NLL rosters, still dominated the draft. 

In 2010 however, not so much.

And by “not so much”, we mean absolutely not at all. American draft picks plummeted earlier this month, only 13 American based field players taken, the Philadelphia Wings alone selecting six of those 13. In 2008, just two short off-seasons ago, 32 Americans were taken during that US heavy year, a staggering shrinkage compared to 2010 that likely made this past year’s entry draft the lightest US draft in the history of the league.

It’s actually probably tied for the thinnest US based draft class, 2005 also seeing just 13 Americans selected, although with fewer overall picks this year, the numbers definitely make the argument easier for 2010. 2005 saw current Wings GM Johnny Mouradian, who five years ago ran the Stealth franchise, take the first American on the day, Middlebury’s Ed Brown, a player that never made it out of the Stealth’s early stages of training camp, a selection that shocked many, if not everyone, when initially made.

2010 DRAFT ROOTS
This year’s draft pick breakdown was much more real to the actual make up of the National Lacrosse League. Last year’s was anything but, Insider’s 2009 post-draft post entitled, “Picks do not reflect National Lacrosse League landscape“. Only six Americans taken in last year’s draft saw even just minimal minutes during last year’s season, those players Max Seibald (12 games played), Dan Hardy (2), Matt Abbott (7), Ben Hunt (4), Ryan McFayden (8) and Chris O’Dougherty (2), O’Dougherty even going the extra mile and playing a full season with the WLA’s Nanaimo Timbermen this past summer. Ontario, who took a major backseat in last year’s draft, likely seeing record low selections, had ten players play minutes during last year’s NLL season, even fifth rounders like Geoff McNulty and Antohny Lackey impacting the East champion Toronto Rock’s 2010. Check out how this year’s draft breaks down based on what part of North America they came from.

Ontario – 27
British Columbia – 13
United States – 13
Iroquois – 6
Alberta – 2

NLL FRIENDLY SCHOOLS
Earlier this off-season Insider took a look at what Junior programs were producing the most pro talent, the West’s Victoria Shamrocks and Burnaby Lakers at the top of the charts. But what about the NCAA? What colleges produce the most American pro talent? Below, check out which schools currently have the most Americans involved in the NLL, Canadians that went to US schools not included, that pool of players already learning and excelling in box long before accepting a scholarship. The 2010 rosters currently listed on NLL.com were used.

(1) Johns Hopkins - 9 current NLL rostered players
(2) Syracuse – 8
(3) Maryland – 6
(4) Albany – 5
(T5) Duke – 3
(T5) Hofstra – 3
(T5) Salisbury – 3

A Cup winner with the Wings in 2001, can Tom Ryan do the same as a coach in Boston?

AMERICAN CHAMPION’S CUP WINNERS 2001-2010
In Inside Lacross‘e NLL preview magazine last year, we asked, “Can an American heavy roster win a Champion’s Cup?” While last year’s championship winning Stealth definitely had an American flavour to their squad, their roster was far from the US heavy one the Philadephia Wings last won a Champion’s Cup with when they had 11 Americans contribute to their underdog Cup win over the Toronto Rock in 2001. Below, check out how many Americans have actually seen post-season minutes with Champion’s Cup winning rosters since the Wings’ epic win a decade ago.

2010 Washington Stealth (4) Paul Rabil, Eric Martin, Kyle Hartzell and Jamison Koesterer
2009 Calgary Roughnecks (0)
2008 Buffalo Bandits (0)
2007 Rochester Knighthawks (4) Chris Schiller, Regy Thorpe, Pat Cougevan and Scott Ditzell
2006 Colorado Mammoth (6) Brian Langtry, Jay Jalbert, Josh Sims, Dave Stilley, Tom Ethington and Jamie Hanford
2005 Toronto Rock (0)
2004 Calgary Roughnecks (0)
2003 Toronto Rock (1) Kevin Finneran
2002 Toronto Rock (0)
2001 Philadelphia Wings (11) Mark Millon, Jake Bergey, Tom Ryan, Kevin Finneran, Mike Busza, Jay Jalbert, Dave Stilley, Peter Jacobs, Tom Slate, Jamie Hanford and Dan Radebaugh

One other American heavy stat that 2001 Wings team can lay claim to… NLL Hall of Famer, Tony Resch, who coached Philadelphia during that Cup winning year, is the last American head coach to win an NLL title. The league’s current American bench bosses? Former Cup winners John Tucker (Philaldelphia) and Tom Ryan (Boston).

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