Atlanta Blaze Make Initial Roster Additions in 2016 MLL Expansion Draft
November 18, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL) News Release
BOSTON (November 18, 2015) - Boston Cannons goalie Adam Ghitelman was selected as the first pick of the MLL Expansion Draft today, making this the Atlanta Blaze's first ever player selected.
Ghitelman is a familiar face to former Cannons head coach, John Tucker, who is now leading the Atlanta Blaze. The selection doesn't come as a surprise to many though. Tucker was often very comfortable with calling upon Ghitelman to provide much needed sparks off the bench during the Cannons' 2015 season. Ghitelman ended the season with 8 games played, 51 saves, 43 goals against, a goals against average of 12.56% and a save percentage of .543%.
The Expansion Draft, was implemented to level the playing field and allow a new team to the League, the opportunity to build a roster of current MLL players. MLL teams were allowed to protect up to 12 players, leaving the remaining players on their 23 man roster unprotected.
The remaining fourteen selections of the Expansion Draft showed a reoccurring theme from the Atlanta Blaze as they took three or more players from three teams in total; Boston Cannons, Chesapeake Bayhawks and the Rochester Rattlers.
"We wanted to force the hand of some of these teams, to see which personnel they'd pull back after we took three guys. That's why the Boston guys went first and then Rochester" said coach Tucker.
Other highlights of the Expansion Draft included:
- A total of four players selected from the Rochester Rattlers roster
- The Blaze selected Ryan Tucker, son of John Tucker
- Ohio Machine traded Kevin Cooper and Scott Rodgers to acquire back Dominique Alexander as well as sixth round collegiate draft pick
Round by round recap of MLL Expansion Draft:
1. Adam Ghitelman Goalie Boston Cannons
2. Brodie Merrill Defender Boston Cannons
3. Ryan Tucker Attack Boston Cannons
Cannons pull back Mitch Belisle
4. Justin Turri Midfielder Rochester Rattlers
5. Randy Staats Attack Rochester Rattlers
6. John Ranagan Midfielder Rochester Rattlers
Rattlers pull back Kyle Denhoff
7. Henry Schoonmaker Midfielder Chesapeake Bayhawks
8. Chris Hipps Defender Chesapeake Bayhawks
9. CJ Costabile Defender Chesapeake Bayhawks
Bayhawks pull back Jeff Reynolds
10. Justin Pennington Midfielder Denver Outlaws
11. Mark Matthews Attack Rochester Rattlers
Rattlers pull back Mike Poppleton
12. Jeremy Noble Midfielder Denver Outlaws
13. Casey Ikeda Defender Florida Launch
14. Dominque Alexander Midfielder Ohio Machine
15. Ryan Walsh Attack New York Lizards
At the conclusion of the draft, each MLL team was asked if they would like to return all remaining rostered players to their active roster, or release them to the MLL Player Pool. Each of the 8 other teams chose to pull back all of the remaining players to their rosters.
There were some trade happenings on the day as well. The Ohio Machine traded midfielder Kevin Cooper and goalie Scott Rodgers to the Atlanta Blaze to acquire back Dominique Alexander, as well as sixth round draft pick in the upcoming MLL Collegiate Draft presented by Cascade.
Next up on the MLL off-season calendar is the Supplemental Draft that will be held on Wednesday, December 16th at 2pm ET. The Supplemental Draft allows all teams to replenish their 23 man rosters, with Atlanta holding the first pick in the process.
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Major League Lacrosse Stories from November 18, 2015
- Atlanta Blaze Make Initial Roster Additions in 2016 MLL Expansion Draft - MLL
- Ryan Walsh Chosen by Atlanta Blaze in Expansion Draft - New York Lizards
- Launch Almost Unscathed After Expansion Draft - Florida Launch
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