MLL Week 11 Notebook: Rating the Class of '08
July 24, 2008
by Corey McLaughlin, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
It might be fun to grade the MLL collegiate draft immediately after the picks are made, but it's not necessarily practical. Sure, every organization is excited in May about its new young potential stars or the possibility of quickly filling roster needs. But creating an amazing roster on paper isn't the same as creating a successful team on the field.
It takes some time to fairly evaluate an entire draft class and, for LMO, that time is now.
With three weeks of play left in the regular season, and several weeks of rookie performances in the books, here's to the Class of 2008 - arguably the MLL's deepest influx of fresh talent in league history.
Chicago Machine
The Picks
No. 3 Mike Leveille, A, Syracuse
No. 6 Steve Brooks, M, Syracuse
No. 8 Terry Kimener, M, UMBC
No. 11 Will Barrow, M, Virginia
No. 23 Brendan Cannon, A, Georgetown
No. 41 Bud Petit, G, Virginia
The Skinny
The Machine traded out of the No. 1 spot to gather more first-round picks and selected former Syracuse teammates, Leveille and Brooks, who could not be happier playing together. Leveille is back alongside his brother and Chicago's leading offensive threat, Kevin. Brooks, another all-star, is having a fantastic rookie season with 30 points, fifth among all MLL middies and tops among rookies. Kimener has provided another block in Chicago's midfield rebuilding program with Barrow, who provides solid effort on the defensive end. Petit creates depth at goal and has already seen time this summer.
For the amount of picks Chicago had, it did the best overall job.
Grade: A+
New Jersey Pride
The Picks
No. 2 Matt Danowski, A, Duke
No. 4 Stephen Peyser, M, Johns Hopkins
No. 9 Joe Cinosky, D, Maryland
No. 10 Jordan Levine, M, Albany
No. 12 Tony McDevitt, D, Duke
No. 20 Kevin Unterstein, M, Hofstra
No. 21 Danny Brennan, FO, Syracuse
No. 30 Alex Hewit, G, Princeton
No. 33 Matt Hickman, A, Salisbury
No. 43 Nick Mirabito, A, Navy
The Skinny
The Pride reloaded with eight of the draft's top 30 selections, and added hungry youth to a team that needed it. New Jersey's first five picks have all had immediate impacts. Danowski, after a slow start, is second on the team in scoring and was named an all-star injury replacement last week in Denver. Peyser, playing with his two older brothers Greg and Michael, and Levine have revamped the midfield. Cinosky has played in every game since the draft, becoming a major player in the Pride defense with McDevitt.
If this young core stays together, this team could be dangerous in the Eastern Conference in future seasons.
Grade: A
Los Angeles Riptide
The Picks
No. 5 Kevin Buchanan, M, Ohio State
No. 17 Kevin Huntley, A, Johns Hopkins
No. 24 Michael McDonald, A, Le Moyne
No. 29 Joey Kemp, G, Notre Dame
No. 49 Taylor Clagett, M, Notre Dame
The Skinny
The big move Los Angeles made on draft day was sending its then-offensive quarterback, Spencer Ford, and two second-round picks to Long Island for the fifth pick, which became Buchanan. With that trade, it became clear that the Riptide was joining the youth movement in the Western Conference. No doubt, Los Angeles still has its share of veterans like Jesse Hubbard and Kyle Harrison, but it now has fresher legs, too. Huntley, originally selected by San Francisco but traded during the draft to L.A. for Sean Lindsay, is a rookie of the year candidate, tallying 18 goals in his last four games while playing alongside childhood friend, Buchanan. McDonald, from D-II Le Moyne, is adjusting to the pro game but could be a steal once he gets comfortable.
General manager GW Mix and head coach John Tucker have a shrewd eye for talent and have a successful system in place in Los Angeles.
Grade: B+
Boston Cannons
The Picks
No. 1 Paul Rabil, M, Johns Hopkins
No. 26 Paul Manesis, M, UMass
No. 38 Chris Eck, FO, Colgate
No. 46 Tony Tanzi, M, Sacred Heart
The Skinny
The Cannons put all their eggs in the Paul Rabil basket when they swapped two first-round picks (Nos. 4 and 6) with Chicago to acquire the No. 1 selection. Boston also traded another first-round pick (No. 8) on draft day in exchange for veteran attackman Sean Morris. In short, they gave up a potential monster rookie class in exchange for the big catch (Rabil) and a veteran presence.
The moves have paid off in the short-term. Rabil made the all-star game and Morris (10g, 14a in seven games) has been a welcome addition on attack, especially with Mikey Powell's on-again, off-again hamstring injury rendering him questionable for nearly every game. After the first round, however, the Cannons could have taken the rest of the draft off. Manesis, face-off specialist Eck and Tanzi haven't seen game action.
Grade: B+
Washington Bayhawks
The Picks
No. 15 Matt Bocklet, D, Johns Hopkins
No. 31 Brett Manney, M, Delaware
No. 34 Sean Dougherty, D, Notre Dame
No. 37 Paul Richards, M, Loyola
No. 44 Brekan Kohlitz, M, Michigan
The Skinny
A team without a first-round pick made due, scooping up groundball specialist Matt Bocklet and Manney at the beginning of round four. Hindsight is 20/20, but the way the Bayhawks' season has gone so far (five straight losses after a 3-1 start), they could have afforded to make some draft day moves and acquire at least one first-rounder.
Grade: B
Denver Outlaws
The Picks
No. 13 Dan Cocoziello, D, Princeton
No. 27 Mike Ward, M, Duke
No. 47 Peter Striebel, M, Princeton
The Skinny
With just three picks, the Outlaws were limited with what they could accomplish through the draft. Their offense didn't need much help, so it was no surprise Denver general manager Brian Reese focused his scouting on the midfield and defense. Considering the position the Outlaws were in, Reese did a pretty good job. Cocoziello, Ward and Striebel have all contributed to Denver's ascent to the top of the Western Conference, and found roles on a team full of established stars. Still, no major impact player was drafted here.
Grade: B-
Long Island Lizards
The Picks
No. 14 Ben Rubeor, A, Virginia
No. 19 Jerry Lambe, D, Georgetown
No. 35 Mike Unterstein, M, Hofstra
No. 40 Jon Engelke, A, Towson
No. 45 Ryan Heath, A, Cortland
No. 50 Brian Danvers, D, UMass
The Skinny
The Lizards targeted Rubeor with the fifth overall selection before they traded it as part of the deal for Spencer Ford. But then they got Rubeor anyway, an infinitely pleasing occurrence for Long Island coach Jim Mule. Lambe saw his first action two weeks ago in the Lizards' last game against Boston. Unterstein is no longer on the team, recently being picked up from LI's practice squad by Denver. If you include Ford in the criteria for this grade, it would be significantly higher, because there's no future MLL stud in this group.
Grade: B-
Rochester Rattlers
The Picks
No. 18 Kyle Guadagnolo, D, Syracuse
No. 22 Nick O'Hara, D, Duke
No. 28 Adam Fullerton, G, Army
No. 48 Brett Queener, G, Albany
The Skinny
Mike Levin is the goalie in Rochester for now, but this draft put him on notice that he's not exactly the future. Both Fullerton and Queener have already seen time this year after Levin struggled. But the veteran is back in the starting role now, with the rookies as backups. The defensive picks were a little suspect with Brodie Merrill and Jack Reid already in place and anchoring the `D.' Guadagnolo has played in three games and O'Hara, battling injury, has seen action in four.
Grade: C+
San Francisco Dragons
The Picks
No. 7 Mike Podgajny, M, Notre Dame
No. 16 Matt Lalli, M, Colgate
No. 25 Brendan Loftus, M, Syracuse
No. 32 Ryan Cranston, M, Lynchburg
No. 36 Sean Krygier, D, UMass
No. 39 Darryl Veltman, A, Hobart
No. 42 Tom Michaelsen, M, St. John's
The Skinny
Look at the above list and you'll see a lot of `M's. That's for midfield. The Dragons needed to replace offensive veterans Ryan Powell and Chris Rotelli, who departed in the offseason, and their focus shifted between the lines. San Francisco certainly looked to land potential replacements in Loftus, Lalli, Cranston and Podgajny. With pick No. 7 in the first round, San Francisco just missed out on being able to take Brooks. Though they had a lot of overall picks, the Dragons only had the normal two in the first two rounds, not the best situation for a team definitely in rebuilding mode. Loftus and Lalli are at the head of this class so far, and Podgajny does have an overtime game-winner to his credit, but it's still a work in progress.
Grade: C+
Contact Corey McLaughlin at corey.mclaughlin@gmail.com.
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