The provinces, places and programs that powered this year's NLL Entry Draft
Austin Hasen, Brampton Excelsiors, #18 overall selection (Photo: Ontario Lacrosse Association)
We’ve examined where last year’s National Lacrosse League opening-day rosters came from, where this year’s NLL Cup champions came from, and even where every NLL head coach that has ever led a lineup came from.
Today, we’re doing the same for the 2022 NLL Entry Draft that took place last weekend at The Carlu in downtown Toronto.
Rochester Knighthawks GM Dan Carey & #1 pick Thomas McConvey (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
It was the fourth straight year that an Ontario-based player was taken first overall after the Rochester Knighthawks selected Thomas McConvey with the top pick. McConvey, a Mimico Mountaineers product that played collegiately at the University of Vermont, joins Johnathan Donville (Panther City Lacrosse Club), Jeff Teat (New York Riptide) and Tyson Gibson (selected by New York, now with the Colorado Mammoth) on that recent list of four former firsts. It’s the most consecutive first overalls from the same region or background since Ontario fired off four straight from 1999 to 2002 when John Grant, Tracey Kelusky, Gavin Prout and Patrick Merrill went one. That streak should stretch to five ( a new record) next September, most anticipating Oshawa’s Dyson Williams of Duke to be taken at the top of what should be a relatively deep draft year.
From McConvey going first this past Saturday to David Desko selected #1 by the New England Blazers in 1988, here is a breakdown of every former first-overall selections’ background.
1988-2022: NLL #1 Overall Picks
As was the case for much of the first several seasons in the pro league (Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League and Major Indoor Lacrosse League before being renamed & rebranded as the NLL), Americans made up most of the draft’s picks and ate up a majority of game-day roster spots too. Although Ontarians now own 40% of those #1 overall picks since 1988, the first first from that province was only selected in 1997 when the Baltimore Thunder took Whitby’s Matt Shearer (Loyola College).
During 2022’s draft, 41 of the 104 players selected came from the province of Ontario (Indigenous players not included in that count). That finish was largely expected, but the selections that came in second place were a bit of a shocker.
During the 2015 NLL regular season, just 15 Americans suited up that year, a significant drop-off in state-side talent in a league once dominated by US-based players. This past Saturday, a surprising 33 Americans were selected by 13 of the league’s 15 teams. Over the past decade, that type of US-heavy draft data was unheard of. You’d have to rewind back to the very early 2000s to find figures similar to what took place on Saturday.
Royals, 2022 Colorado Collegiate Box Lacrosse League Champions (Photo: San Diego Seals)
Out of those 33 Americans taken, six played in the US Box Lacrosse Association’s National Collegiate Box Series. The six-league loop is considered the highest level of junior-aged box in the country. Selections Jake Govett (22nd overall, first American drafted) & Payton Rezenka (34th overall) both played for the NCBS champion San Diego Royals, while four players from the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League were also taken: Spencer Bell (60th overall), Ryan Sharkey (73rd overall), Christian Watts (82nd overall) and Austin Blumbergs (88th overall). Both Buffalo selection Zack Belter (19th overall) and Georgia grab Brett Beetow (58th overall) played a bit of junior box lacrosse in Ontario, but otherwise, the remaining Americans drafted likely have little to no high-level box bullets on their resumes.
British Columbia saw 21 players selected from their province, Alberta five and Nova Scotia one, which is one more than most probably anticipated. Just three Indigenous players were taken, likely the lowest total since maybe as far back as the 90s. With that said, the selection of Wake:Riat “Bo” BowHunter (Six Nations Arrows/Jacksonville University) by the Halifax Thunderbirds at the 12 spot makes it nine straight drafts that an Indigenous player was taken in the opening round.
Wake:Riat “Bo” BowHunter & NLL Commissioner Brett Frood (Photo: Halifax Thunderbirds)
The slowly growing surge of Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League players picked continued, not a shocker for anyone that watched the Miner Lacrosse Club statistically smash Alberta’s records at this year’s Minto Cup. Largely an unknown prior to the Junior A tournament, Mathieu Gautier’s history-making performance at the Minto pushed him from being on maybe no ones radar to number nine overall. Taken by the Panther City Lacrosse Club, who have Edmonton-native Jordan Cornfield on their staff, Gautier will also be joined by Miners teammate Ronin Pusch in Fort Worth, the defender drafted 30th by PCLC.
From those previously mentioned backgrounds, here are how many were selected across all six rounds last weekend.
Round-by-round player backgrounds
The 2022 talent trend very much feels like a draft from the early 2000s versus one of more recent seasons, mostly due to the amount of Americans taken as the draft progressed. Unlike drafts from a couple of decades ago, however, NLL GMs, coaches and their scouts study and communicate with US talent far more than they did dozens of years back.
For those wondering, that lone Nova Soctian is Thunderbirds’ selection Keaton Brown, taken with the 101st pick in the draft. Brown, who hails from Dartmouth, previously played in the province’s East Coast Junior Lacrosse League, but also spent the past two playable summers with the Orangeville Northmen’s Junior B squad, and has even fit into a handful of games with the Northmen’s A lineup.
Dylan Robinson, Toronto Beaches, #14 overall selection (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Just like we’ve seen with rosters, champions and head coaches, Ontario dominates the draft too. The Ontario Junior Lacrosse League supported by far the most talent of any other box league this year, a trend that has been a constant since likely as far back as the late 90s or early 00s.
The Toronto Beaches, who made it all the way to this year’s Minto Cup semifinals, landed the most talent on teams’ draft tables in 2022 with a total of nine players having played part of or their entire Junior A careers with the club. Most of those players were taken inside the opening 30 selections.
Below, check out the Junior A and NCBS teams that had players taken in this year’s NLL Entry Draft. Multiple Junior A teams were counted/player if a player competed for more than one team over their Junior A careers. Junior B programs were not included.
1. Toronto Beaches (OJLL) 9
T2. Whitby Warriors (OJLL) 6
T2. Victoria Shamrocks (BCJALL) 6
T4. Coquitlam Adanacs (BCJALL) 5
T4. Langley Thunder (BCJALL) 5
T4. Orangeville Northmen (OJLL) 5
T7. Brampton Excelsiors (OJLL) 4
T7. Burlington Chiefs (OJLL) 4
T7. Mimico Mountaineers (OJLL) 4
T7. Oakville Buzz (OJLL) 4
T7. Six Nations Arrows (OJLL) 4
T12. KW Lacrosse Club (OJLL) 3
T12. Nanaimo Timbermen (BCJALL) 3
T12. Peterborough Lakers (OJLL) 3
T12. Port Coquitlam Saints (BCJALL) 3
T12. Rapids (UCBLL) 3
T12. St. Catharines Athletics (OJLL) 3
T18. Burnaby Lakers (BCJALL) 2
T18. Miners Lacrosse Club (RMLL) 2
T18. Okotoks Raiders (RMLL) 2
T18. Royals (CCBLL) 2
T22. Barrie Lakeshores (formerly OJLL) 1
T22. Calgary Mountaineers (RMLL) 1
T22. Delta Islanders (BCJALL) 1
T22. Gold Miners (CCBLL) 1
T22. Hawkeyes (UCBLL) 1
Nearly 75% of this year’s picks also played lacrosse collegiately, most at the NCAA DI level. Two decades ago, many of the Canadians selected would never have had the opportunity to play at a state-side school, but today, Canadians take up more college roster spots than ever before. Not exactly breaking news these days, but still worth mentioning with so many of this year’s selections excelling in both Junior A box and NCAA field lacrosse.
Being drafted is nice, but now the real work begins. The reality is, probably close to half of the players taken in Toronto last week will likely never play a game in the league.
NLL training camps should start in just about a month, rookies and free agents usually the first to hit the floor.