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NLL Entry Draft Sunday

September 4, 2008 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Portland Lumberjax News Release


PORTLAND, September 4, 2008 - Portland LumberJax Head Coach/General Manager Derek Keenan and Executive Vice President Brian Silcott will be in Boston, Massachusetts this weekend for the National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. The six-round draft features the best young talent from NCAA lacrosse programs at US colleges and universities as well as Canada's junior lacrosse system.

Draft weekend begins on Saturday, September 6th, when the league will hold a day-long combine for the top 40 prospects at TD Banknorth Garden. The players will participate in drills and physical testing, followed by the annual Combine Game at 4 p.m. PST. The game is free of charge for the public to attend, and no advance tickets are necessary.

The Entry Draft begins at 8 a.m. PST on Sunday, September 7th and marks the first major event that the expansion Boston Blazers will host. Fans can watch a free webcast of the draft by going to NLL.com or can follow the draft live on NLL.com.

Portland has five picks in the six round draft; beginning with the 12th overall selection. The Jax then have the 34th Overall Pick (Third Round).

"We need some additional offensive players", said Keenan. "We're not going to replace former forward Dan Dawson, but we're looking to compliment some of our young and veteran offensive talent."

Portland then selects 48th (Fourth Round), 61st (Fifth Round) and finishes with the 74th pick (Sixth Round). All picks are subject to change leading up to the draft because of trades and deals between teams and coaches.

"We've had a lot of success in recent years with our late draft picks", added Keenan. "This draft is not as deep as others, but there are still a lot of good players available."

The Jax were very active last year during the draft. With the Sixth Overall Selection, Portland selected transition player Tyler Codron. Codron would score three goals, add eight assists and collect 68 loose balls while being named to the NLL All-Rookie Team. Codron was also an instrumental part during Portland's run to the NLL Championship as he regularly drew the most difficult assignment on defense.

Early in the draft, the Jax also swung a deal to acquire the 16th and 24th Overall Selections from the Minnesota Swarm for forward Kelly Hall. The picks would later be used on forwards Cory Conway and Peter Jacobs, respectively. Both enjoyed fine rookie season and added an offensive infusion to Portland's roster.

Conway scored 11 goals and added 10 assists in 11 games of action. Jacobs scored 11 goals and added 12 assists in 11 games of action.

As the draft continued, Portland reached another deal with the Swarm. In exchange for the No. 23 Selection (Second Round) and a Conditional First Round Pick in this year's draft, Portland received forward Spencer Martin and defenseman Michael Kilby.

Martin scored five goals and added 29 assists while Kilby added two assists and collected 27 loose balls.

The Jax finished the draft by selecting the first goalie in the draft, Joel Weber, with the 44th Selection (Fourth Round), forward Jason Mainer with the 58th Selection (Fifth Round) and transition player Brodie Barfoot with the 72nd Pick (Sixth Round).

Weber played in the regular season finale against the Buffalo Bandits, playing the final 3:25.

Below is the complete 2008 NLL Entry Draft Order.

FIRST ROUND

1. Boston

2. San Jose (from Edmonton)

3. San Jose (from Chicago)

4. Edmonton (from Toronto via Minnesota)

5. Rochester

6. Calgary

7. Calgary (from Colorado via Edmonton)

8. Edmonton (from San Jose via Toronto via Calgary)

9. Philadelphia

10. Minnesota (from New York via Portland)

11. Minnesota

12. Portland

13. Minnesota (from Buffalo)

SECOND ROUND

14. Boston

15. Colorado (from Edmonton)

16. Chicago

17. Toronto

18. Rochester

19. Chicago (from Calgary via Buffalo)

20. Colorado

21. Chicago (from San Jose)

22. Chicago (from Philadelphia via Edmonton)

23. New York

24. Minnesota

25. Philadelphia (from Buffalo via Chicago)

THIRD ROUND

26. Boston

27. Edmonton

28. Toronto

29. Rochester

30. Rochester (from Calgary via Edmonton)

31. Colorado

32. San Jose

33. New York

34. Portland

35. Buffalo

36. Philadelphia (from Arizona via Edmonton)

FOURTH ROUND

37. Boston

38. Minnesota (from Edmonton)

39. Chicago

40. Minnesota (from Toronto)

41. Rochester

42. Calgary

43. Colorado

44. Buffalo (from San Jose)

45. Philadelphia

46. New York

47. Philadelphia (from Minnesota)

48. Portland

49. Buffalo

FIFTH ROUND

50. Boston

51. Edmonton

52. Chicago

53. Toronto

54. Rochester

55. Calgary

56. Colorado

57. San Jose

58. Philadelphia

59. New York

60. Philadelphia (from Minnesota)

61. Portland

62. Buffalo

SIXTH ROUND

63. Boston

64. Edmonton

64. Chicago

66. Toronto

67. Rochester

68. Calgary

69. Colorado

70. San Jose

71. Philadelphia

72. New York

73. Minnesota

74. Portland

75. Buffalo

76. Buffalo (from Arizona)

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The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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