IL Indoor

Behind the Scenes, Futures Report, IL Indoor, MSL, NLL Entry Draft, WLA

Prospect Tracker: Keeping an eye on candidates for the 2013 NLL Entry Draft

Rob Pannell won the Tewaaraton Award after his brilliant senior season with Cornell. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

Each week during the summer, IL Indoor will track the progress of prospects for the 2013 National Lacrosse League draft. We’ll keep an eye on the Logan Schusses and Jason Nobles—the guys expected to be top picks—but we’ll also try to share how players whose ranking in the draft is a little less certain are faring during the summer and how it may impact their draft status. And if there’s someone you think we’re missing out on that lacrosse fans would like to hear about, let us know—my email is at the bottom of the story. To see what’s happening with some of the players that NLL teams will be looking to select this September, make the jump. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

NLL Mock Draft 1.0: An early read on the top prospects

Logan Schuss is the odds-on favourite to be taken first overall in the 2013 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft.

The 2013 National Lacrosse League season is in the books and it’s only about four months till the league’s teams will gather for the annual distribution of talent known as the NLL Entry Draft. Nothing is set in stone at this point, but it’s always a fun exercise to start figuring how the draft will play out. Today, IL Indoor presents our first mock of the first round of the 2013 draft. It will feature the top candidates to go early this September as well as some dark horses who could be in consideration for high picks. Will a big scoring lefty will go first overall again? Could this be the year that a goalie goes in the first round for the first time in a while? And just how many athletic transition players’ names will be called among the first nine picks? Get the answers to those questions and more after the jump. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Minnesota Swarm have four first-round picks again this year

The Minnesota Swarm showed this year that they’ve got plenty of youth and talent to compete in the National Lacrosse League, especially in their dominating first-round playoff win over the Toronto Rock on Sunday. But if you think their roster is impressive now, just wait till next year. Because the Swarm, who had four picks in the first round of last year’s NLL Entry Draft, have four more coming in the first round this year.

That’s right…after adding Brock Sorensen, Kiel Matisz, Shayne Jackson and Alex Crepinsek (all of whom made major contributions to the win over the Rock) in 2012, the Swarm will have the chance to grab four more young stars among the first nine chosen in 2013, and they’ll start right at the top. READ MORE »

Behind the Scenes, IL Indoor, Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks, MSL, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League, Ontario Junior A

Jason Noble “just does everything right.”

If you haven’t heard of Jason Noble yet, you will soon. The 21-year-old defender was the second selection in the Major Series Lacrosse draft this year (behind his twin brother Jeremy, the offensive half of the brilliant yin and yang of Noble lacrosse). He won’t go much lower than second when the National Lacrosse League gathers this September for its annual entry draft, if at all. Jason isn’t the biggest defender around, but he was voted the best in the Ontario Junior A league last summer.

In fact, he’s better without a stick than many players are with one. That’s not idle speculation or hyperbole, either. Noble lost his stick early in a shift during last summer’s OLA semi-finals against Whitby. He was manned up against one of the Warriors stud offensive talents and never let him get so much as a sniff of the net. That’s how good his positioning and footwork are. Think Sandy Chapman with the potential to be even better than the Rock star. READ MORE »

Futures Report, IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League, Ontario Junior A, Road to the Minto Cup

Randy Staats is going to Syracuse

Randy Staats will be heading to Syracuse University in 2014. (Photo: Tim Prothero)

Young star Randy Staats, who has been rumoured to be heading to the pros in each of the past couple of National Lacrosse League entry drafts despite saying he was staying in school, has made it official. The Six Nations Arrows righty forward has committed to attend Syracuse University, just a hop, skip and a jump away from Onondaga Community College where he is currently attending. He will actually take this fall off from lacrosse while he wraps up his studies at OCC, Staats told IL Indoor, then will enrol at Syracuse next January and start playing for the Orange and studying communications. “Injuring my knee twice, I’ve learned that lacrosse may not always be there,” Staats said, referring to the two major injuries that forced him to miss the entire 2010 and 2011 Junior A seasons after putting up 95 points as a 16-year-old in 2009. “I want to have my education to fall back on.” READ MORE »

IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Gaits, Soudan push Class of 1990 to No. 1

Gary Gait, left, and the NLL draft class of 1990 come in at No. 1 overall. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

With just 6 picks, the Class of 1990 for the National Lacrosse League doesn’t have a long list of names. But considering the names that are on this short list, the 6 will do just fine. Or, even less than that. The Class of 1990 — that included Paul and Gary Gait — comes in as the No. 1-ranked group of first-round draft classes in the NLL’s history. Of course, it’s all subjective, and you’re more than welcome to start a thread (or join the one already there) if you’ve got a thought burning a hold in your head that you’re just itchin’ to get out. But the No. 1 ranking for the 1990 fellas extends beyond the Gaits, because guys like Tim Hormes, Brian Kroneberger and Tim Soudan all came correct when the game of box lacrosse called. Check out the numbers to find out why the 1990 boys are at the top of the perch. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Class of 2001 comes in solid at No. 2 overall

Forward Blaine Manning has been a steady producer in the NLL for 11 seasons. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

This is about as star-studded as it gets for a first round draft class of the National Lacrosse League. Points and production, defense, longevity and durability. Outside of not having a goalie in this class, the boys of 2001 are stacked when it comes to ability at both ends of the floor. We’re talking names like Prout, Manning, Suddons, Cousins and Chapman. And that’s just getting started on the list of contributors to this 13-pick class that makes it such a strong group. And really, it could have been even stronger had one member not opted to play college lacrosse. Let’s check out the numbers for the Class of 2001 to see what makes these guys among the best ever in the National Lacrosse League. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Class of 2003 is bold and strong at No. 4

Whether in Philadelphia or Calgary, Taylor Wray is among the best in the NLL on defense. (Photo: Larry Palumbo)

So we’ve cracked hallowed ground in our ranking of the National Lacrosse League’s first-round draft classes, and there’s no doubt that the boys of 2003 belong inside the Top 5. It’s a class that’s heavy with offense in fellas like Ryan Ward, Craig Conn, Scott Evans and Scott Ranger. And who knows where this group would be today had the career of top overall pick Mark Miyashita not been derailed by knee problems. Add to that the not-realized potential of a few other picks, and this class could have inched a bit higher in the rankings. As it is, there isn’t much room to inch higher from the No. 4 slot but these boys can definitely hold their own with the best of ‘em. READ MORE »

IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Offensive touch puts Class of 2009 at No. 10

Sid Smith, right, was the top overall pick in 2009 and still brings it correct on D for the Knighthawks. (Photo: Ward Laforme Jr.)

There is an impressive list of names for the National Lacrosse League’s first-round draft class of 2009 and there’s a simple reason for it. They’re great lacrosse players. Defender Sid Smith, the No. 1 overall pick, might carry the defensive weight of this class on his own, but there’s no mistaking the offensive impact of these guys. Not when you have Garrett Billings and Stephan Leblanc, Corey Small and Zack Greer, Ilija Gajic and Max Seibald. Throw in a few other guys, the ones who do a lot of work in clearing space for shooters and getting the ball up the floor in transition, and you have that impressive list of names that we mentioned way back at the start. So how does this class come in at No. 10? READ MORE »

IL Indoor, NLL Entry Draft, National Lacrosse League

Ranking the NLL’s first-round draft classes: Varied talents land Class of 2007 at No. 11

Dane Dobbie, right, was drafted by the Roughnecks at No. 4 overall in the 2007 NLL draft. (Photo: Calgary Roughnecks)

The draft class for 2007, at 14 picks, was the largest first round ever for the National Lacrosse League. Nine teams shared 14 picks in the first round with the Titans, Blazers, Roughnecks, Stealth and Knighthawks each getting 2 picks in the first round. Jordan Hall topped the list and he’s certainly proven himself worthy of being a No. 1 draft choice. The rest of the class is not short of talent either, not with guys like Merrick Thomson, Craig Point, Dane Dobbie and Kevin Ross included in the lot. There’s plenty to evaluate for this class, that’s for sure. So let’s get that started, after the jump. READ MORE »