Jordan Burke Retires. Who Will Replace Him?

     Yesterday the Boston Cannons and Jordan Burke announced that Jordan Burke had retired from Major League Lacrosse.

      Burke leaves the Cannons as their all-time leader in Games played in goal, wins, saves, and also was the 2011 Championship weekend MVP the year the Cannons won the title. Burke leaves behind a great legacy as one of the better Goalies in the MLL. Burke currently sits in the top 10 in several areas for Goalies in the MLL. Wins 34 (7th in MLL History), Games Played in Goal 67 (8th in MLL History), Minutes Played in Goal 3,623 (7th in MLL History), Saves 910 (6th in MLL History), Goals Against Average 12.50 (6th in MLL History), Save Percentage 54.7% (10th in MLL History).

     The question now is who will replace Burke? The Cannons now have four Goalies on their roster, Jack Runkel, Jack Murphy, Eric Hagarty,and Cameron Bell, which would explain why the Cannons recently selected the Endicott Goalie in the last round in this years collegiate draft.

     In my mind I think it might be a battle between Jack Runkel and Jack Murphy for the starting Goalie position unless the Cannons make a big move to get a big name goalie. Here is what I like about these two goalies. First let me talk about Jack Runkel.

     I’ve been saying this for a long time Runkel could be the Goalie of the future for the Cannons once Burke retired, and that chance is coming a little earlier than I expected. The first thing that you have to love about Runkel is his size he is big guy at 6’4 225 lbs. who can really take up a good portion of the net, and sometimes for goalies being big can help them, and it seems like Runkel uses his size to help him big time in his play. Runkel has always been a winner since his time in college at Loyola including winning a National Championship in 2012 his first year as a starter when he took over the starting position after being the backup for the first three games for Loyola. Not only did he win a National Championship but he also set a record for the least goals allowed in a National Championship game allowing only three goals to Maryland. Runkel finished his career with Loyola with a 42-7 record, and allowed only 7.71 goals per game, and had a save percentage of 56.9. Runkel’s resume is pretty impressive in 2014 (his Senior Year) he was an USILA All-America. He was also 2014 Patriot League Goalie of the Year.  In Runkel’s rookie season he saw playing time in two games for Chesapeake Bayhawks playing a grand total of 35 minutes. But in those 35 minutes that season Runkel managed to get a win for the Bayhawks, and had a save percentage of 50% allowing 9 goals, and having 9 saves that season. Following that season Runkel was picked up in the third round of the Supplemental draft by the Charlotte Hounds. Runkel saw time in 97 minutes last year but struggled with the Hounds at times finishing with a record of 0-2. He also had a tough time making saves allowing 26 goals to making only 22 saves.

     Now time to look at Jack Murphy he is local Massachusetts guy from Cohasset, so if he starts he would be a hometown hero just saying. Murphy originally attended Mass Maritime for one year before he decided to transfer to Fairfield University where he had an outstanding career. Murphy took over the starting job as a Junior and started every game from that point on for Fairfield. When Murphy graduated he left Fairfield as their He fifth all-time leaders for saves 321. Murphy does not have the imposing size of Runkel but is still pretty big height wise at 6’1 but compared to Runkel he is really not that big. From what I’ve seen from Murphy he is very good at seeing the ball well and making some big time saves as well. Murphy saw no time between the pipes last year for the Cannons in his first season.

     When it comes down to it neither goalie Murphy or Runkel have really seen much actual playing time in their Major League Lacrosse careers but this is the chance these two have been waiting for. If I had to make a choice right now of who I think is starting between the pipes when the season starts I would have to choose Runkel based of his past at Loyola and his little bit of playing time so far in his MLL career.

Thoughts on Cannons Draft Choices

Greg Coholan Virginia Midfielder

JR 39 Goals 14 Assists

SO 13 Goals 14 Assists

FR 5 Goals 2 Assists

     With the number six pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Midfielder Greg Coholan. I love the pick of Greg Coholan adds to the Boston Cannons depth at the Midfield position, with Max Seibald, and the draft day trade that got the Cannons Justin Turri. Just like those two players mentioned above Coholan is a great scorer from the Midfield position. Coholan has some excellent dodge moves that he can use to get passed defenders. Along with these great dodging moves he also has demonstrated he has a great stutter step that he can use to catch defenders by surprise and help him great space and get off his shot. Coholan has an excellent outside shot, and can really blow it passed a lot of keepers. Coholan really is not afraid of taking the outside shot which gives him some confidence and with that confidence and ability to shot from outside might make him a deadly 2pt threat. Coholan is not just a spot up and shot guy, but he can also beat his defenders and head to the cage. Something you do not really see often from Midfielders. With Cohlan’s great ability to drive to the net and not be afraid to pull up and shoot I think will make him an immediate impact for the Cannons and is exactly why they took him with their first selection in this draft.

Brandon Mullins Syracuse Defensemen

     With the number nine pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Defensemen Brandon Mullins from Syracuse. Brandon Mullins is a great defender and has really made a name for himself in his time at Syracuse, making many people start to think he might be one of the best defenders Syracuse has had in a good amount of time. Just looking at what Mullins has done for Syracuse is outstanding and he is been a huge factor in the Syracuse defense. Just last year he caused 14 turnovers, helping him climb to fifth in the program record book for career caused turnovers. Mullins has also racked in some outstanding accolades in his time at Syracuse as well, being selected as an All-American twice, and was chosen as a first-team All American in 2015, and was also selected to his second consecutive All-ACC team. Mullins is an imposing 6’3 he is one big boy at around 225 pounds he is one of those guys that nobody wants to see running at them full speed. I think Mullins will help the Cannons a great deal at the close defense position with an ageing Cannons close defense. I think Mullins brings a great young imposing threat for the Cannons defense now and for the future of the organization.

Challen Rogers Stony Brook Midfielder

JR 30 Goals 23 Assists

SO 22 Goals 30 Assists

FR 18 Goals 26 Assists

     With the number thirty-two pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Midfielder Challen Rogers from Stony Brook. The Cannons took a risk on the Canadian Challen Rogers. The risk is will he play much for the Cannons this year or will he be focused on box instead. I think the risk of not having Rogers every game is absolutely worth the reward of having him for a couple games. Rogers adds more depth to the Cannons Midfield unit, but provides something a little different than Coholan who was drafted with the #6 pick by the Cannons. Rogers is a big 6’4 Midfielder who really uses his indoor ability to help on the field. Rogers has a great ability to perform nifty moves where the ball always seems to stay in his stick. The first thing that I noticed when watching footage of Rogers is he doesn’t care how the goal is scored he just will do whatever it takes to put one in the back of the net whether it be assisting on the goal scoring it or getting a hockey assist. Rogers from what I saw seems like a pass first guy but is not afraid to let it fly though. Rogers is comfortable taking the outside shot if it is given to him, and he has a great ability to finish in towards the net. The area Rogers seems to kill teams is when defenses will collapse to him, he has a great sense of IQ and when he sees that slide coming he knows exactly who is going to be open to make the play.

Jake Matthai North Carolina Short Stick Defensive Midfielder

     With the number forty-one pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Short Stick Defensemen Jake Matthai from North Carolina. If you want to talk about someone scary just take a look at Jake Matthai he is 6’6 230. If that doesn’t make you shake in your boots I don’t know what will. Matthai is a great short stick defensemen, who has the ability to help offensively but defense is his main priority. He is similar to Josh Hawkins who will be his teammate a gritty defense first Midfielder. Just thinking about having a dangerous one-two punch at the SSDM position might make several teams scared when they have to play the Cannons.

John Upgren Tufts Attack

JR 76 Goals 54 Assists

SO 66 Goals 58 Assists

FR 23 Goal 11 Assists

     With the number forty-nine pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Attackmen John Uppgren from Tufts University. John Uppgren from Tufts is a great pick, a guy from around the Boston area since he goes to Tufts, really is an excellent player and there is so much to rave about him. I know you are probably think, D3?? Why would anyone take someone who couldn’t play D1, and to that I say some lacrosse players are late bloomers or would have rather gone to a better school educational then play at a lesser school that is Division one. But I will let Uppgren’s numbers speak for himself as a Freshmen he put up 23 goals and had 11 assists, not a bad first year. If you think that year was impressive Uppgren followed it up with a impressive year in which he scored 66 goals and dished out 58 assists. And just last year he produced 76 goals and had 54 assists. Uppgren is an exciting player to watch with his great ability to get to the net and finish and he has not afraid to have a fancy finish. Just watch this video from last years Division three National Championship game against Lynchburg College and his nifty finish. If he can bring his scoring ability to the Cannons he could be an extremely exciting player to watch.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2szQ_xawFDE

Matt Thistle High Point Attack

JR 31 Goals 21 Assists

SO 17 Goals 36 Assists

FR 19 Goals 23 Assists

     With the number fifty-eight pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Attackmen Matt Thistle from High Point. The 3-Time Captain at High Point, is a great pick another local guy being drafted by the Cannons. Thistle grew up in Chelmsford, Massachusetts so this pick really did not surprise me because he is a local Boston guy and you know he will have no excuse to miss a practice or a game because he is from around here. Just watching Thistle makes me feel confident that he could be a great addition if he is ever called upon to step up for the Cannons. Possibly one of the big reasons why Thistle fell towards the end of the draft was his size Thistle is 5’7, but he actually uses his height to his advantage using his height to sneak pass defenders and avoid taking brutal hits. Thistle also posses great speed that he uses to blow passed his defenders. Thistle also has an array of moves he can use to create separation and get his shot off. Thistle is also not afraid to fight through defenders and actually embraces contact, and when Thistle gets in close he has the ability to have some nifty finishes to beat the keeper. In all Thistle is a never say die player and I think if he gets the chance he might be like Tom Brady and make the most of his chances.

Cameron Bell Endicott Goalie

JR 209 Saves

SO 202 Saves

FR 186 Saves

     With the number sixty-seven pick in the draft the Boston Cannons selected Goalie Cameron Bell from Endicott College. Did you really expect Coach Quirk not to pick someone from Endicott? Personally don’t think it is a bad pick what so ever. It adds to the Cannons depth at the Goalie position with Jordan Burke, Jack Runkel, Jack Murphy, and Eric Hagarty (who will be coaching Bell in his Senior Year at Endicott. How ironic is that?). Bell is a solid addition who has really been a big time player at Endicott really since his Freshmen year, seeing time early on in his career pretty much earning him the starting role since he stepped on campus. Bell is one the smaller side of all the Goalies the Cannons have standing at only 5’11. Bell really does let his numbers speak for himself as a talented Goalie being a three time All-American going into his Senior year at Endicott. I don’t expect Bell to really see anytime this year but people can be wrong, and if he gets a chance it could be exciting to see how things work out for him.

Cannons Make Blockbuster Trade on Draft Day

   

     The Trade that everyone thought was coming with the new expansion Atlanta Blaze finally did happen on Draft Day.
   
     The Boston Cannons shipped Long Stick Midfielder Scott Ratliff (who currently lives in Atlanta), the number 15 pick in this years Collegiate Draft, as well as a 2017 third round supplemental draft pick to the new expansion team Atlanta Blaze. In return the Blaze sent Defensemen Brodie Merill, LSM Michael Pellegrino, Midfielder Justin Turri, and a 2017 first round pick in the Collegiate draft to the Cannons.
   
     The departure of Scott Ratliff had been a long time coming since he has been a big part of growing lacrosse in Atlanta, and having him recently been named President of LB3 Atlanta, I think the Cannons realized it was time to part ways with Ratliff.
   
     In this trade the Cannons gave up a chance to select another player in this years collegiate draft, and a great LSM in Ratliff who could create great transition offense and produce points for you, I think the Cannons got the best out of this trade.

     Brodie Merrill is returning to Boston after he was selected by the Blaze in the expansion draft. Merrill coming back is great he was a great part of this defense last year and I think his veteran presence on the defense end will be a huge part in seeing the Cannons succeed this year. Although they lose a great transition playmaker in Ratliff the Cannons do get to bring back a outstanding close defensemen in Brodie Merrill.

     Michael Pellegrino is another great pickup for this Cannons team personally I love a lot about him, he is an outstanding LSM with some great speed who can really help you on the wing play on face-offs. Pellegrino is fast and does not provide that same kind of transition offensive ability as Ratliff but Pellegrino can help get things going at times. Their is one big thing that I can see where a lot of people have criticized Pellegrino he is not the biggest guy standing at only 5'8 185 pounds. Pellegrino is not that big imposing threat and he might often be criticized for not really being able to body people because most of the time when he is chancing around Midfielders they got a good 4 inches on him most times, but he does make up for his lack of height by being able to be quick and staying in front of those bigger explosive Midfielders. So I'm excited to see what Pellegrino can bring to the table.

     Next up Justin Turri, I love this addition! LOVE! LOVE! LOVE! This addition Turri is a great Midfielder who can do so much for the Cannons especially being able to dodge and score goals from the Midfield position. Turri last year just made no sense to me he played in 11 games but really didn't do much, which is sup rising because in 2014 he was named the MLL Most Improved Player. I think if Turri can get back to the way he was in 2014, the Cannons could be unbelievable this year. Adding another Midfield threat alongside Max Seibald who can score and do pretty much anything.
   
     Finally the 2017 first round pick in the Collegiate draft. You may be thinking why are we talking about a draft pick that won't have any affect on the organization for another year! But hear me out that might end up being the best part of the deal. Next year is going to be a very great draft class, and several GM's have already been hooting and hollering about how deep that class is. Let me just toss out a couple of names in next years draft. Sergio Perkovic Midfielder Notre Dame, Connor Carnizzaro Attack Denver, Dylan Molloy Attack Brown, Zach Miller Attack/Midfield Denver. I could keep going on, this draft is so deep the chances of getting just one of them is exciting. Just imagine if the Blaze have a tough year and somehow the Cannons end up with the first pick that would just be crazy.
   
     In my mind this trade was something that needed to happen and I think the Cannons benefited from this deal a great deal!

Cannons Draft Needs

     As the Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft approaches quickly (January 22^nd), one big rumor has been flying around about the Cannons and possibly making a trade this blog is about what the Cannons, need really in this draft class but I want to bring up this possible trade because that could change the way they pick. The possible trade could be sending Scott Ratliff and I am sure a couple of other pieces to the Atlanta Blaze for the #1 Pick in the Collegiate Draft. Ratliff who lives in Atlanta and is a big part of LB3 Atlanta recently being named the President of LB3. The move would make total sense for Ratliff who is a stud pole for the Cannons and would be a huge helper in growing the game even more down in Atlanta if this trade were to happen.

     If this trade were to happen I think the Cannons could go down as one of the greatest moves of all-time. Just think last year people were ripping the Cannons for trading the best Lacrosse player in the word last year Paul Rabil to the Lizards. And really didn’t miss a step without him and were seconds away from stunning the Lizards and Rabil in the playoffs which would have sent Boston to the Championship game.

     If the Cannons some how get the #1 pick it’s a no brainer Myles Jones he is a total beast he is 6’5 and is a do it all Midfielder who, I think provides some of the same skills Rabil did. If the Cannons find a way to pull of this trade the whole league will feel this way: 

(Skip to the 5 minute mark and that is how the whole league would react) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3s8yBKoWa4

     But let’s pretend this trade doesn’t happen. The Cannons have two first round picks numbers six, and nine, and one pick in the second round at fifteen. Here is what I am thinking for the Cannons potential draft picks. First let’s look at the possible targets the Cannons could take at the Attack position.

     The Cannons already have a pretty solid group of Attack, with Will Manny, David Emala, Wells Stanwick and John Glesener (who played Midfield at Army before switching positions in his Sophomore year). Right there is a solid group of Attack with most likely them rotating Glesener or Stanwick in the starting rotation but would not surprised me if the Cannons used one of their picks to select a 4^th or 5^th Attackmen than can help the Cannons produce. I don’t think the Cannons would use their sixth pick in the draft to select an Attackmen unless Matt Kavanagh from Notre Dame fell in the draft and I don’t think that is happening. I believe the Cannons could use the nineeth or fifteenth pick to take an Attackmen. Here are some of the players I think the Cannons are eyeing they could get Ryan Brown (who would have to fall to six which would be a little suprsing), but might have to use the sixith pick to get him but strange things happening in the Collegiate MLL Draft. In my mind with the Cannons first three pick there is really only three other Attackmen I could see the Cannons taking who will have a big impact right away, and they are Dylan Donahue (Syracuse), Devin Dwyer (Harvard) and Brody Eastwood (Stony Brook).

     Any of those three guys could really help the Cannons a lot but if you are going to use one of your top three picks on one of them I think the Cannons would go with Devin Dwyer for a couple of reasons. Well one is he plays at Harvard so he is use to Boston and could be a great player to keep local and Dwyer is a great feeding Attackmen. Dwyer has not really had the explosive high point totals in his career but has been the star of the team for the Crimison since his Freshmen year when he started and had 16 Goals and 22 Assists. He followed that season up with 12 Goals 34 Assists. And last year while missing some time with an injury Dwyer still put up 20 goals 29 assists. I expect a big year from Dwyer and think he would be a great fit for the Cannons.

     I also feel like two other guys out there that the Cannons could get at the Attack position who could be solid additions and role players to the team and some with star potential. The first one is James Pannell (Virginia), I know it’s crazy to hear the name Pannell and think he won’t be a top pick in the draft this year but he might slip and he’s a tremendous player. Pannell only really saw significant amount of playing time his sophomore year a year in which he had 39 goals and 7 assists, those are some solid numbers. Pannell should have followed that season up with an even better Junior season but suffered a season ending knee injury just 6 games into the season. Pannell is a fun and exciting player to watch so wouldn’t be surprised if the Cannons gave him a look.

     Another player that I think could easily fall into the Cannons lap if they choose to take him is John Uppgren from Tufts. I know you are probably think, D3?? Why would anyone take someone who couldn’t play D1, and to that I say some lacrosse players are late bloomers or would have rather gone to a better school educational then play at a lesser school that is Division one. But I will let Uppgren’s numbers speak for himself as a Freshmen he put up 23 goals and had 11 assists, not a bad first year. If you think that year was impressive Uppgren followed it up with a impressive year in which he scored 66 goals and dished out 58 assists. And just last year he produced 76 goals and had 54 assists. If you look at the numbers Uppgren is extremely talented, and you also got to keep in mind Sean Quirk coached D3 at Endicott College for the longest times and he’s coached against Uppgren. Uppgren last year torched Coach Quirk and Endicott winning 22-6 and Uppgren had 4 goals and 4 assists in the rout, so don’t be surprised if Coach Quirk maybe tries to have him on his team with what he knows Uppgren can do.

     Now let’s look at the Midfield situation for the Cannons is pretty good lead by, Max Seibald, Kevin Buchanan, Brent Adams and Rob Emery on the offense side of the ball, and also have an outstanding short stick defender in Josh Hawkins who can also produce some points. The Cannons are pretty deep at the Midfield position but adding a little more depth could help bolster their roster a little bit.

     First let me say if there is anyway Deemer Class falls to the sixith pick in this draft it is a no brainer you take him but I don’t think he is going to fall. One player I really like and I think the Cannons could get with the final pick in the 1^st round of the draft is Bryan Cole. He is big 6-foot-3 Canadian midfielder from Maryland. He led the Terps in assists (22) last year. Cole always has this thing I like to call the clutch gene, where when the stage shines the brightest he is able to step up and play excellent in those big time games and situation, and he proves that by scoring 20 of his 39 points in final six games of the season and helped lead his team to the title game. I think Cole provides a great ability to produce points from the Midfield and his size being 6’3 can sometimes be an imposing factor and help when he has to play defense.

     I also like two other players who probably won’t be picked in the first two rounds but would love to see the Cannons possibly try to pick them up later in the draft if they can. The two player are TJ Neubauer (Fairfield) and Holden Cattoni (Johns Hopkins) both are outstanding goal scorers from the Midfield position, and that ability to be able to possibly dodge and score is a huge help. I think these two scoring Midfielders could really help the Cannons see a spark in goals from their Midfielders if they can find a way to get one or the other.

     The Cannons defense will most likely be an area the Cannons focus on the most, with the loss of Brodie Merrill in the expansion draft. I think the Cannons will need to find a way to bolster their defense after losing such a key defense player and no better way than in the College Draft, which has some good defenders they can go after but they have to select them early probably with their first or second pick in the first round.

     The dream for the Cannons would be that Notre Dame stud defender Matt Landis fall all the way to the sixith pick and there is no chance that is happening, so they have to start looking else where for a good defensemen, and I think there is no better choice than Syracuse Defender Brandon Mullins.

     Mullins is a great defender and has really made a name for himself in his time at Syracuse, making many people start to think he might be one of the best defenders Syracuse has had in a good amount of time. Just looking at what Mullins has done for Syracuse is outstanding and he is been a huge factor in the Syracuse defense. Just last year he caused 14 turnovers, helping him climb to fifth in the program record book for career caused turnovers. Mullins has also racked in some outstanding accolades in his time at Syracuse as well, being selected as an All-American twice, and was chosen as a first-team All American in 2015, and was also selected to his second consecutive All-ACC team. Mullins is an imposing 6’2 he is one big boy at around 220 pounds he is one of those guys that nobody wants to see running at them full speed.

     Next up the Goalie position. I really don’t think the Cannons are looking for another Goalie they seem solid right now with returning Starter Jordan Burke and some great back-up Goalies in Jack Murphy, Eric Hagerty and Jack Runkel. And I think Jack Runkel could be the Goalie of the future for the Cannons and I think could give Burke a run for his money to be the starting Goalie this year so I personally believe the Cannons won’t be selecting a Goalie in this draft.

Supplemental Draft Reaction

    

     I know it has been a while since my last blog post, but I’m back and I’m reacting to the Cannons selections in the Supplemental draft, really wasn’t blown away by some of the picks they made because they were really looking to find guys who might be the next diamond in the rough, just like David Emala was for them last year who was selected in last years supplemental draft.

     The Cannons selected Michael Rooney Midfielder (Stony Brook), Andrew Sellers Defense (Salisbury), Michael Begley Midfielder (Marist), Beau Wood Attack (Tufts), Jack Runkel Goalie (Loyola), Greg Rogowski Attack (Merrimack College), Ryan Hollenbaugh Defense (UMass), Sean Lawton Midfielder (Western New England), Michael Maggio Midfielder (Lasell College), Eric Hagarty Goalie (Endicott College), T.A. Demoulas Midfielder (Bentley University), Tom Compitello Attack (Stony Brook),Spencer Schnell Attack (Ohio Wesleyan), and Harrison Cotter Midfielder (Endicott College).

     When you look at how the Cannons really went after this supplemental draft, it seems like they were really just trying to add some pieces to help give them to depth to their roster so not many of the picks I personally feel like really surprised me or really blew me away. I know one of the connections I am going to have to make is the two Endicott College players selected in the Supplemental Draft because that is where new Cannons coach Sean Quirk use to be the Head Coach at, but I don’t think there is really any conflict of interest Eric Hagarty has been apart of the Cannons for years so no surprise to see him selected in my mind, and Harrison Cotter who was the last player the Cannons selected in the Supplemental draft played for Coach Quirk last year and he knows the way coach Quirk likes to have his teams play lacrosse so would not surprise me if he might be the David Emala of this supplemental draft for the Cannons.

     But if you are really looking at picks that I loved that the Cannons made there were really only two picks that I think will really help the Cannons this year is the selection of Michael Rooney from Stony Brook and Jack Runkel from Loyola. First of Rooney will add depth to a Midfield unit that was supposed to be awful last year after getting rid of the Legend Paul Rabil, but in all honesty last year the Midfielder unit was not that bad, and with the selection of Rooney he adds to that depth. Rooney is an outstanding scorer and passer which he displayed in his time at Stony Brook becoming the schools all time leader in assists (121) and points (253). Rooney is a capable playmaker with the ball and I think he will be awesome this year as a second line Midfielder who when he gets the ball will really be able to produce points for the Cannons.

     The other pick I am a huge fan of is the Jack Runkel pick I know many people might think why do the Cannons need another goalie! But hear me out Runkel is a great goalie if you ever watched him in his time at Loyola you would know he is a mammoth of a man between the pipes being 6’4. Runkel is a big guy really takes up a good portion of the cage and does a great job of cutting down angles for shooters, I think with some work with a great goalie Coach in Sean Quirk Runkel will only improve and we might see Runkel slowly slip in start seeing more time and maybe give Jordan Burke a run for his money as the starting Goalie for the Boston Cannons.