I am getting ridiculously excited for the start of the new Toronto Rock season!
They broadcast the entry draft live last night on NLL.com. The sound was terrible, so I had my speakers turned up to 11. I was also following the results as they posted them live on NLL.com, and I noticed in a few cases that the update came before the commissioner was finished reading the name.
NLL insider was also live blogging it, with Tutka clearly taking frequent bathroom breaks ... or perhaps he is a search and destroy two-finger typist. I've never followed a live blog before, and I usually find that reading them the next morning is agonizing, because they are so long and pointless ... like the deadair while Doug Fritz and Jeff Dowling sat around twiddling their thumbs during the broadcast.
TSN got in the act at some point, by posting the entire results. We need more TSN coverage in order for the league to regain its popularity and eventually grow.
And now back to the podium for another announcement from the commissioner.
Unsurprisingly, Cody Jamieson went first overall. Rochester hid their poker face so well that they had a banner on their website entitled "Countdown to Cody." They also already had a custom jersey with his name and number on it, and they had worked it out so that hall of famer Gary Gait (the former number 22) was definitely retiring (again). Something tells me they should consider waiting 5 years before allowing people to be inducted into the hall of fame.
The Rock had a good night, or maybe not. I actually don't know anything about these prospects. All I have to go on are the live blog and the previous Mock Drafts and Top 50 prospects from NLL Insider. Considering how far off the Mock Drafts and Top 50 were after the top 5 (except Chavez who went out on a limb at two and broke that limb so badly the entire tree died), it's actually hard to know what the Rock have come away with. Their article is upbeat, of course, and last year Terry Sanderson and Troy Cordingley did a fantastic job at the draft and in later free agent signings of undrafted rookies. I'm excited to see what diamonds in the rough they got this year. I'm intrigued by all the trade and free agent rumours circulating on the NLL message board.
The Rock should be better this year, after all this offseason movement. At the very least they are going to have more options and competition at training camp. The only thing I know for sure is that I am excited about lacrosse. I cannot wait for the season to start!
Also, the Rock drafted a goalie with their second last pick of the night, before trading away their final pick. Wuhooooo!!! The Rock picked a goalie. They seem to have Whipper and Chugger as the mainstays next year, and Wetherup is still on the practice roster, so this Boychuk kid will have a chance to develop (only other NLL Insider profile - Glen Bryan).
Go Rock Go!
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