2013 NLL Entry Draft: Canadians’ experience in America rules the day

Oakville, ON - For the National Lacrosse League, it's a day without cynicism. For all the NLL's troubles, none mattered Monday. On the night of the league's annual entry draft, held here Monday night at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre, there was only hope - from the players being selected, from the team hoping to find a hidden gem. The smile on a kid's face when he pulls on a jersey doesn't change, hasn't changed in all the years of the league that wouldn't die.

It's been 16 years since the NLL became the NLL, and maybe more importantly, it's been three years since a team folded. One team moved this season, but it was most certainly a good move: from a non-lacrosse market (Everett, WA) to one of the hearts of box lacrosse (BC), from a market with no future to one that must certainly play a part of this league is to have a significant future.

Perhaps the greatest reason for hope is the pedigree of the players who were chosen on Monday night. The NLL Entry Draft used to be comprised of three kinds of players: pure box lacrosse studs, inexperienced American field players and dependable Canadian junior league graduates who could fill a system spot but were unlikely to develop much further. So Toronto would draft local junior graduates (stretching occasionally to pick up a BCer like Garrett Billings); Washington and Colorado would reach for a mix of collegiate stars and BC standouts' and Philadelphia would turn the draft on its head with picks like CJ Costabile - US college brand names who were unlikely to have much impact on an NLL floor.

In recent years though, a fourth type of player has emerged as the rule, rather than the exception: the double-pedigree darling. in 2006, four of the top seven players in the draft came straight out of junior lacrosse; in the last two years, only Dhane Smith (Buffalo) and Johnny Powless (Rochester) were top 5 picks without a collegiate entry on their resume.

On Monday, what heretofore might have been a trend became a matter-of-fact: the best way to the NLL for all but the most gifted athletes comes with an NCAA background. In the 2013 NLL Entry Draft, the top 16 picks came out of American universities. In fact, only three players in the first three rounds came into the NLL directly out of junior lacrosse.

The reasons are myriad: NLL draft eligibility rules exclude any player who's still in school, so the players are older and more physically mature; and Canadians past their junior eligibility have likely had a chance to play in one of the country's senior leagues against NLL stars. Most importantly though, it's becoming apparent that spending four years in an American collegiate program has a significant and transformative impact on the style of game played by prospects from both sides of the border. American hopefuls like JoJo Marasco from Syracuse see the benefit of spending a summer in Toronto to test their mettle in the Ontario Junior 'A' league. Meanwhile, BC's Logan Schuss entered the 2013 draft as the reigning WLA rookie of the year after a four-year stint at Ohio State University. There's little doubt the extra year at school strengthened his draft ranking, as it did for first-rounders Cameron Flint and Robert Church.

Terry Sanderson, the general manager of the Toronto Rock, says the biggest difference isn't even on the floor.

"I think the maturity part of it is huge. I think they come back into our league as young men, not as juniors. These kids are 23, 24 years old. It's shifting big time. (The top 16 statistic) is obviously showing how beneficial it is for those guys to go down to school."

Sanderson was clear to say he wouldn't pick a player simply because of their collegiate experience, but 'it sure doesn't hurt."

Jason Noble, the second-overall pick by Minnesota, might be the best example in 2013. A product of Orangeville's fabled minor and junior system, Noble also spent four years at Cornell University. The college life, Noble said, played a big role in elevating his game.

"The workout regimen, the two-hour practices, having the stick in your hands way more makes a lot of difference," Noble said.

"Even the little things you learn at school, the discipline, you learn how to conduct yourself in a professional manner. They go a long way in helping you make the next step to the next level."

No less than Philadelphia is coming around to the idea of the double-pedigree. Even the most eager American prospects, like Paul Rabil and Ned Crotty, have had difficulty asserting themselves in the tighter, more physical confines of the NLL. On Monday night, the Wings embraced a strategy aimed less at making splash with NCAA stars, and more at assuring their picks could contribute on the floor. With the #13 pick, the Wings selected A.J. Masson - an Orangeville product who spent time collegiately at the University of Vermont. In the second round, the Wings picked B.C. native James Delaney, a diminutive spark plug who stood out at Sunday's combine game and last season at Seton Hill University.

Delaney credits the collegiate experience with preparing him to move to the professional level.

"Just playing with the Americans is a different style of game, and I feel like that was actually in my favor; it taught me to adapt. I'm hoping that translates to the next level in the NLL. I think playing the field level at a pretty high level in the NCAA is going to help."

Even the #3 pick, Dillon Ward, saw the benefit of heading south. As a goalie, his field experience might not translate directly into the NLL, but the extra year at Bellarmine in Kentucky allowed Ward to spend a summer in Ontario's senior 'A' loop, dispelling any notion that his junior success was due to the Orangeville system that won back-to-back Minto Cups.

Mitch Wilde, the 15th overall pick by the Buffalo Bandits, was able to differentiate himself from his Whitby Warrior junior teammates thanks to a solid year in Senior 'A' with Kitchener-Waterloo. But he said his experience at Robert Morris was physically transformative, as well.

"I definitely put on a bit of weight and improved my game,' Wilde said Monday. "One thing we pride ourselves on is being a two-way midfielder; hopefully that will transition to the game here."

By the time all the jerseys and hats had been handed out and the 2013 draft had wrapped up, the conclusions were undeniable. 33 out of 55 selections were products of American universities, including 23 of the top 25. 24 of those 25 are Canadian, and the other - Tucker Durkin from Johns Hopkins - spent the summer playing field lacrosse in Hamilton. Marasco's summer flirtation with box lacrosse, meanwhile, went for naught; he wasn't selected.

It appears, then, that Canadian lacrosse hasn't just survived the American insurgence; it's co-opted it, and made it Canada's own.