2008 DRAFT SLEEPERS - By: Joe Beninati
The 2008 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft was a highly anticipated one, and for good reason. Take a casual glance at the available talent, and it was easy to see why coaches and GMs were giddy at the prospect of fattening up their rosters for the rigors ahead.
Now that the selections have been made, many “experts” will feel obligated to weigh-in on the results. By now I am sure that you have read three or four opinions on this very website about who won and who lost Wednesday night at Stevens Institute of Technology.
I am not going to go down that road. Instead of debating whether Boston gave up too much to get Paul Rabil, or just how spectacular New Jersey’s draft class could be, I thought it might be fun to look into the crystal ball and attempt to forecast this draft’s hidden gems or “sleepers”.
If you were watching the coverage on ESPNU near the start of the fourth round, you would have seen a graphic listing five players who were selected in previous years in the fourth round or later, who have made a significant impact on the league. Quint Kessenich and I believe that Chazz Woodson, Eric Martin, Greg Bice, Matt Striebel and Steven Berger all “slipped through the cracks” to a degree, only to eventually emerge into legitimate stars in Major League Lacrosse.
For argument’s sake, let’s say it took those five guys three seasons to either fully develop their skills or find the right fit with another team in the league. That would mean the young men thought to be this year’s best sleepers would be on the list the night of the 2011 draft show.
I expect Notre Dame goalie Joey Kemp will most definitely be on that list. I have trouble calling him a sleeper, because he’s so been highly decorated. But his draft position qualifies him. It’s no secret most people expected him to be chosen in the top 15 picks. Falling to Los Angeles at #29 is still hard for me to fathom. Hall of Famer Sal LoCascio said Kemp is a “do-it-all goalie, with the presence to step in and make an impact right away” as in 2008, no need to wait for 2011!! Coaches were drooling over Kemp during the Warrior Challenge Game, and still no one pulled the trigger until late in round three.
MLL sleepers tend to come to the pro ranks from the Division II and III college ranks (see Martin and Berger above). Using that thinking, let’s put Lynchburg’s Ryan Cranston on the future sleeper list. Former New Jersey Pride goalie Steve Koudelka coached Cranston at the D3 level. When this powerful young midfielder took the field for the Challenge game, you couldn’t help but notice the widened eyes of the coaches and GMs there to scout him. Ultimately, he went to San Francisco, early in the 4th round…perfect placement for a “sleeper-to-be.”
The Boston Cannons have had Dave Jenkins fighting their battles at the “X” for many seasons, and still figure to even after selecting Chris Eck, 38th overall, in round four. I am putting Eck, the Colgate face-off phenom, on this future list because his success seems to be part technique, part athleticism and part determination. Eck may, or may not, find fame in Boston, but we think he will somewhere down the road.
And last, but not least, let’s take a flyer on a Minuteman. Brian Danvers of UMass, indeed, was the last man selected last night, Number 50. But the MVP of the North-South game has great instincts from his longstick position and Long Island’s defensive back-end isn’t getting any younger.
So watch-out for Kemp, Cranston, Eck, and Danvers!! The best thing about this prediction is that nobody can say I am wrong until 2011….more than enough time for an absent-minded guy like me to deny I ever made it!!
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