It is finally here. Waterdogs LC is just days away from getting the bulk of its roster after weeks of speculation and tinkering with mock drafts of the available unprotected players.
Waterdogs coach Andy Copelan, the former Fairfield head man set to make his debut with the franchise after being hired on Jan. 2, will draft the core of his roster on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EST on YouTube.
A quick overview of the core rules:
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The Waterdogs will select 18 players from the founding six franchises, with no required amount by position.
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No team will lose more than four players to the new team.
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Each of the original six clubs were allowed to protect 11 players, one goalie and ten runners. The rest are up for grabs.
Here’s a look at some of the notable unprotected players, broken down by position and the players I think the Waterdogs will select when the time comes on Wednesday.
Attack
Notables unprotected: Christian Cuccinello, Archers; Kevin Rice, Archers; Kieran McArdle, Atlas; Chris Cloutier, Atlas; Miles Thompson, Chaos; Curtis Dickson, Chaos; Ty Thompson, Chaos; Jojo Marasco, Redwoods; Clarke Petterson, Redwoods; Ryan Drenner, Whipsnakes; Ben Reeves, Whipsnakes.
My selections: Christian Cuccinello, Kieran McArdle, Miles Thompson, Ryan Drenner.
Overview: It will be interesting to see how Copelan approaches the attack position considering the wealth of talent at the position in the collegiate entry draft. With Grant Ament, Michael Sowers, Mac O’Keefe and Jeff Teat all graduating — among others —Waterdogs LC can likely put together a strong collection of attackmen.
Kieran McArdle seems like an obvious choice; a perfect player to build an expansion team around. He was a star in Major League Lacrosse and should provide similar production on a team with fewer stars than Atlas LC.
Drenner provides an excellent weapon from X, and he showed a knack for coming up in the clutch for Whipsnakes LC. You can do much worse than Miles Thompson and Christian Cuccinello as depth pieces, with both coming off seasons of double-digit points.
The closest call of the bunch for me is Ben Reeves, but I opted against selecting the former Tewaaraton winner since it seems likely he’ll leave professional lacrosse at some point to pursue a medical career.
Midfield
Notables unprotected: Dan Eipp, Archers; Ian McKay, Archers; Ben McIntosh, Archers; Joey Sankey, Archers; Ryan Conrad, Atlas; Joel Tinney, Atlas; Jeremy Thompson, Chaos; Greyson Torain, Chaos; Kyle McClancy, Chaos; Romar Dennis, Chrome; Peter Baum, Redwoods; Wes Berg, Redwoods; Tyler Dunn, Redwoods; Jack Near, Redwoods; Sergio Salcido, Redwoods; Pat Harbeson, Redwoods; Connor Kelly, Whipsnakes; Joe Locascio, Whipsnakes; Jeremy Sieverts, Whipsnakes; Drew Snider, Whipsnakes.
My selections: Joel Tinney, Romar Dennis, Jack Near, Sergio Salcido, Connor Kelly, Drew Snider.
Overview: Don’t be surprised if Waterdogs LC loads up on midfielders, especially considering this is really two positions — offensive midfielders and short-stick defensive midfielders. With the nature of the PLL, having as many two-way talents as possible is crucial.
There’s some serious offensive firepower in this group, including outside bomber Romar Dennis and dodge-master Sergio Salcido. The talent that helped Whipsnakes LC to the title last year gets pillaged a bit with Kelly and Snider coming over, two players with strong pedigree.
There were more two-way players made available on unprotected rosters than straight SSDMs, and Waterdogs LC likely can’t go wrong with any of them. I opted for Jack Near, a reliable presence that doesn’t get the headlines or attention he likely deserves, and Max Tuttle, a versatile second-year player who could be key when you’re only able to draft 18 players.