Busy draft day for the Dragons
May 30, 2008 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
San Francisco Dragons News Release
Burlingame - The San Francisco Dragons of Major League Lacrosse went into the 2008 MLL Collegiate Draft on Wednesday at Stevens Institute of Technology (NJ) with a focus on midfielders and did not alter that plan. The Dragons selected five midfielders in their 7 picks, and acquired MLL All Star midfielder Sean Lindsay from Los Angeles to complete what was a very successful 2008 draft for the Dragons.
With their first selection (1st round, 7th overall) the Dragons selected midfielder Mike Podgajny from Notre Dame. Podgajny was a spark for the Irish all season, scoring 25 goals and 9 assists for 34. He was selected to the Honorable Mention All American Team for the second consecutive season and was also named to the All Great Western Lacrosse League's 1st Team as well as participating in the annual North - South All Star Game.
Selected in the 2nd round (16th overall) was Matt Lalli, a 6'5" 220 midfielder from Colgate University. Lalli was a 3rd Team All American after scoring 26 goals and adding 20 assists. He was selected to the Patriot League's 1st Team for the third consecutive year. In addition, he was selected to participate in the annual North - South All Star Game. After selecting Kevin Huntley with the 17th overall selection the Dragons traded him to the Los Angeles Riptide along with a 2009 1st Round selection in the 2009 Collegiate Draft for Sean Lindsay and the 25th overall selection in the 2008 Collegiate Draft.
The Dragons quickly used that selection to acquire Syracuse midfielder Brenden Loftus. Loftus had a break out season for the Orange in their National Championship run producing 21 goals and 4 assist for 25 points on the season, including 2 goals in the National Championship game. In acquiring Lindsay, San Francisco added a proven MLL midfielder who scored 20 goals (5 at 2 points) and 11 assists for 36 points with the Riptide in 2007. Lindsay was selected to the MLL Western Conference All Star Team, and his 5 two point goals led the MLL. A four year veteran of the MLL, Lindsay has played for Los Angeles and Rochester.
In the last two rounds the Dragons selected Lynchburg midfielder Ryan Cranston (4th round 32nd overall), UMASS defenseman Sean Krygier (4th round 36th overall), Hobart attackman Daryl Veltman (4th round 39th overall) and St. John's midfielder Tom Michaelsen (5th round 42nd overall).
"We felt great about our draft results, and feel we did a very solid job of addressing our team's needs for the remainder of the 2008 season," commented Executive Vice President and General Manager Doug Locker. "Sean Lindsay has proven to be among the MLL's best midfielders. He is a strong competitor and we are really happy to have him join our organization."
On Podgiany, Locker stated, "Mike Podgjany is a perfect fit for the MLL and we are absolutely thrilled to have him in San Francisco. He is a player whom we feel will emerge as a star in the league over the next several years."
"Matt Lalli and Brendan Loftus are two other exceptional talents. Both can dodge, have good speed, and can get to the goal - which will give our offensive unit additional strength and firepower," Locker continued.
The Dragons open up their home season on Saturday, May 31 at 7PM in their new home venue, San Jose State University's Spartan Stadium. Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.com) or at the gate.
2008 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft
Round 1: 1) Boston - Paul Rabil M (Johns Hopkins) 2) New Jersey - Matt Danowski A (Duke) 3) New Jersey - Mike Leveille A (Syracuse) ** 4) Chicago - Stephen Peyser M (Johns Hopkins) ** 5) Los Angeles * - Kevin Buchanan A (Ohio State) 6) Chicago - Steven Brooks M (Syracuse) 7) San Francisco - Mike Podgajny M (Notre Dame) 8) Chicago - Terry Kimener M (UMBC) 9) New Jersey - Joe Cinosky D (Maryland) 10) New Jersey - Jordan Levine M (Albany) Round 2: 11) Chicago -Will Barrow M (Virginia) 12) New Jersey - Tony McDevitt D (Duke) 13) Denver - Dan Cocoziello D (Princeton) 14) Long Island * - Ben Rubeor A (Virginia) 15) Washington - Matt Bocklet D (Johns Hopkins) 16) San Francisco - Matt Lalli M (Colgate) 17) San Francisco - Kevin Huntley A (Johns Hopkins) *** 18) Rochester - Kyle Guadagnolo D (Syracuse) 19) Long Island * - Jerry Lambe D (Georgetown) 20) New Jersey - Kevin Unterstein M (Hofstra)
Round 3: 21) New Jersey ** - Dan Brennan M (Syracuse) 22) Rochester - Nick O'Hara D (Duke) 23) Chicago ** - Brendan Cannon A (Georgetown) 24) Los Angeles - Mike McDonald M (Le Moyne) 25) San Francisco *** - Brendan Loftus M (Syracuse) 26) Boston - Paul Manesis M (UMass) 27) Denver - Mike Ward M (Duke) 28) Rochester - Adam Fullerton G (Army) 29) Los Angeles - Joey Kemp G (Notre Dame) 30) New Jersey ** - Alex Hewit G (Princeton) Round 4: 31) Washington - Brett Manney M (Delaware) 32) San Francisco - Ryan Cranston M (Lynchburg) 33) New Jersey - Matthew Hickman A (Salisbury) 34) Washington - Sean Dougherty D (Notre Dame) 35) Long Island - Mike Unterstein M (Hofstra) 36) San Francisco - Sean Krygier D (UMass) 37) Washington - Paul Richards M (Loyola) 38) Boston - Chris Eck FO (Colgate) 39) San Francisco - Daryl Veltman A (Hobart) 40) Long Island - Jon Engelke A (Towson)
Round 5: 41) Chicago - Bud Petite G (Virginia) 42) San Francisco - Tom Michaelsen M (St. Johns) 43) New Jersey - Nick Mirabito A (Navy) 44) Washington - Brekan Kohlitz FO (Michigan) 45) Long Island - Ryan Heath A (Cortland) 46) Boston - Tony Tanzi M (Sacred Heart) 47) Denver - Peter Striebel M (Princeton) 48) Rochester - Brett Queener G (Albany) 49) Los Angeles - Taylor Clagett FO (Notre Dame) 50) Long Island - Brian Danvers D (UMass)
* Long Island trades 5th overall pick to Los Angeles for Spencer Ford, the 14th and 19th overall picks in the 2008 Draft ** New Jersey trades Mike Leveille and the 23rd pick to Chicago for Stephen Peyser, the 21st and 30th overall picks in the 2008 Draft *** Los Angeles trades the 25th overall pick and Sean Lindsay to San Francisco for Kevin Huntley and a 2009 First Round Draft Pick
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