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.

Look at Cannons Schedule 2016

     As we get closer and closer to the new year of 2016, that also means we are getting closer and closer to the start of the 2016 Major League Lacrosse Season. Yesterday at 2 P.M. the 2016 MLL schedules were revealed here is what the Cannons schedule will like and I will also talk about the games I'm looking forward to watching this Cannons season.

4/23 Boston Cannons @ Charlotte Hounds 7:30 P.M.
4/30 Atlanta Blaze @ Boston Cannons 7:00 P.M.
5/12 Boston Cannons @ Chesapeake Bayhawks 7:30 P.M.
5/14 Rochester Rattlers @ Boston Cannons 7:00 P.M.
5/21 Ohio Machine @ Boston Cannons 7:00 P.M.
5/28 Boston Cannons @ Denver Outlaws 8:30 P.M.
6/4 Boston Cannons @ Atlanta Blaze 7:00 P.M.
6/11 Charlotte Hounds @ Boston Cannons 7:00 P.M.
6/18 Boston Cannons @ New York Lizards 7:00 P.M.
6/23 Chesapeake Bayhawks @ Boston Cannons 7:30 P.M.
7/2 Boston Cannons @ Rochester Rattlers 5:00 P.M.
7/15 Boston Cannons @ Ohio Machine 7:00 P.M.
7/30 New York Lizards @ Boston Cannons 6:30 P.M.
8/6 Florida Launch @ Boston Cannons 5:00 P.M.
   
4/23 Boston Cannons @ Charlotte Hounds 7:30 P.M.
First game you have to look forward to is the first game of the year against the Charlotte Hounds, the first game of the season always gives you an idea of how the whole season will play out.

4/30 Atlanta Blaze @ Boston Cannons 7:00 P.M.    
The next game you have to look at is the Cannons home opener of the 2016 season which will also be the first time the Cannons will host the new MLL team the Atlanta Blaze this is a big game because, its the Cannons first chance to really get to play this brand new team and not only that but it is also their Home Opener so it adds a little more meaning. Not only is it just the Home opener but also its the return of former Head Coach John Tucker when they play the Cannons.

6/4 Boston Cannons @ Atlanta Blaze 7:00 P.M.
Really the rest of the games are decently like big games but I don't think the next real big game for the Cannons is when the Cannons head down to Atlanta to play the Blaze for the first time ever in Atlanta. That is a game to look forward to because, it will be the first time the Cannons will have to travel to Atlanta which is one of the furthest teams they will play all year.

6/18 Boston Cannons @ New York Lizards 7:00 P.M.  
The next big game is when the Cannons return to the spot of the crime where the Cannons lost to the New York Lizards in a thrilling overtime game last year. The Lizards are once again going to be the team everyone will be chasing the Lizards have so much depth with Rob Pannell, Paul Rabil, Drew Adams, Greg Gurenlian, and Jake Tripuka (who was just traded to New York yesterday). It seems the rich just keep getting richer and that is why this is such a big game because it can be seen as a measuring stick to where the Cannons are at.

7/30 New York Lizards @ Boston Cannons 6:30 P.M.
The Cannons playing the Lizards is always a big game and it gets even better because this will be the first time former Cannons Star Paul Rabil will return to play against the team that drafted him. Rabil last year missed out in the game against the Cannons in Boston. These two teams have never really liked each other so whenever these two teams square off you are always going to be in for a great contest.

Expansion Draft Thoughts

     It's been a couple of days since the conclusion of the Expansion Draft, although the Cannons did lose Goalie Adam Ghitleman, Defensemen Brodie Merrill, and Midfielder Ryan Tucker, I was really not that surprised with these departures. Although it always is sad to see players leave this may have been the best case scenario.
   

     With the first pick in the Expansion Draft former Cannons Coach John Tucker ended the Cannons goalie controversy with the debate of Ghitleman and Jordan Burke, and with the first pick Tucker took Ghitleman. Although Ghitleman is a loss I love that Burke is staying in Boston he was the net minder who really lead the Cannons to a title just a couple of years ago, and I think we could see Burke get back to that kind of Goalie, this year.
     With the second pick the new Atlanta Blaze selected veteran Defensemen Brodie Merrill as I said in the past I love Merrill and think he is an outstanding Defensemen but he is getting up their in age but the Cannons still have a solid core of D-Poles still on their roster who are very talented and I think really help boast their successful defense last year. But I do feel the loss of Merrill will hurt the defense a little bit, I think the Cannons will definitely find players to fill in the shoes of Merrill, wouldn't surprise me if they look at a D-Pole in the Collegiate Draft.
     Finally with the third pick the Blaze selected Ryan Tucker (yes the son of the Blaze's Coach/GM) absolutely no surprise here Ryan's dad is running this new team so no surprise at all. It is sad to lose Ryan who had a great year with the Cannons in his rookie season. I think the loss hurts the Cannons a little bit Ryan was not a big time do it all guy but he definitely helped in big situations. But these things happen and the Cannons will most certainly have the next man-up mentality to replace Tucker.
     After losing three players with the first three picks in the draft the Cannons decided to protect defensemen Mitch Belisle which I think was a smart idea, you already loss one part to your defense in Merrill you couldn't afford to possibly lose another.
     Look for an another article later tonight or early tomorrow looking at the Cannons schedule for this season which will be announced today at 2 P.M.!

Reaction to Cannons Protection List

Yesterday was a big day for the Cannons announcing Sean Quirk as their new Head Coach, but that wasn’t the only news of the day. The other news was the Cannons announcing their 10-12 man protected player list in the Cannons situation they protected 12 players.

The 12 players protected are, Brent Adams, Midfield, Kevin Buchanan, Attack, Davey Emala, Attack, John Glesener, Attack, Josh Hawkins, Midfield, Will Manny, Attack, Scott McWilliams, Defense, Joe Nardella, Midfield, Scott Ratliff, Defense, Max Seibald, Midfield, Wells Stanwick, Attack, and Chad Wiedmaier, Defense.

While the Cannons left Craig Bunker, Midfield/FO, Jordan Burke, Goalie, Rob Emery, Midfield, Tyler German, Midfield, Adam Ghitelman, Goalie, Brodie Merrill, Defense, Jack Murphy, Goalie, Ryan Tucker, Midfield and Ryan Young, Attack, all unprotected.

There is a possibility we could be some of these unprotected players return to the Cannons in a couple scenarios. For example if one of the unprotected players for the Cannons is selected, the Cannons can then pick one player from their unprotected list and protect that person. For example Ryan Tucker gets chosen (which is possible since his father will be the Head Coach of the new team Atlanta Blaze), the Cannons then decide to protect Jordan Burke. That’s how it works every time someone from your team is selected you get to choose one player from your unprotected list and make him protected and he is back on your roster for next season. Another way a player can return to the Cannons is if they are not selected at all in the Expansion Draft, if that happens it is not guaranteed they will be back on the roster since the Cannons can make the choice if they want to hold onto this player or send him to the player pool.

I love the fact that Cannons are trying to hold on to their core offense group of guys and the young guys trying to keep them all together. I think this core solid group of 12 for now are great pieces that new head coach Sean Quirk can build around

Sean Quirk Named Boston Cannons Head Coach

   

     VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love the hiring of Sean Quirk and no it is not just because he is from my Hometown of Swampscott, Massachusetts. and I have a personal relationship with him. He is a constant winner at every level he has played or coached at.
     As a player he attended Springfield College and played Goalie for the team helping lead the Pride to a Division 2 National Championship in 1994, that was not the only accolade he would receive as a player being a 2 time Division 2 All American, and in 1995 was chosen as Division 2 Goalie of the Year.
     Quirk who had spent the last 18 years at Endicott College, and initially stepped down after this past season, helped build and establish a winning program at Endicott. In Quirk's time at Endicott he posted a record of 243-95.
     Quirk brings a constant ability to win at every level and I think that will Translate big time with the Boston Cannons. Quirk's resume really speaks for himself and is arguably one of the greatest Division 3 Lacrosse Coaches of all time.