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.