MLL New York Lizards

Ryan Walsh Chosen by Atlanta Blaze in Expansion Draft

November 18, 2015 - Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
New York Lizards News Release


Garden City, NY (Nov. 18, 2015) - It was one of Major League Lacrosse's most anticipated events of the off-season. The expansion team and it's subsequent draft were announced just prior to the 2015 MLL Championship, and the New York Lizards knew that it was a do or die moment for a win. With expansion looming over them, they knew that the team would likely never be the same.

Now with the Championship in his back pocket, Head Coach Joe Spallina cut his roster down to just 12 players in preparation for the draft. All those not on the list were eligible to be chosen by the new team joining the MLL in 2016, the Atlanta Blaze.

The rules for the draft were as follows:

Once a team loses 3 players, it can pull back 1 player. For each subsequent player a team loses it can pull back another player.

Once a team has lost 6 players, it cannot lose any more players. All of their remaining players from their 23-man protected roster are returned to them or they can elect to send unselected players to the player pool.

In the 15th round, Atlanta chose Ryan Walsh from the Lizards. All others were pulled back by Spallina once the draft ended. In his rookie season with the Lizards, Ryan contributed 10 goals and five groundballs over seven games in the regular season, assisting New York to the 2015 MLL Championship title.

Players pulled back:

John Austin

Charlie Cipriano

Chris LaPierre

Dylan O'Shaughnessy

Conrad Oberbeck

Jerry Ragonese

Michael Skudin

Brian Spallina

Mike Stone

Kevin Unterstein

Around the league, six other teams also lost players. Boston lost three in the first three rounds, Rochester lost four, Chesapeake lost three, Denver lost two, and Florida and Ohio each lost one player.

With two more upcoming drafts for the Lizards and the rest of the league, Spallina looks to put together another Championship team for 2016. The 2015 Supplemental Draft will take place on Wednesday, December 16th, 2015 at 2 p.m. The 2016 MLL Collegiate Draft time and location are still "To Be Determined."

To stay up to date on the latest draft news, trades and roster moves, follow the Lizards on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To purchase 2016 New York Lizards Season Tickets, call 1-855-NYLizards or visit NYLizards.com/Season-Tickets.

Check out the New York Lizards Statistics



Major League Lacrosse Stories from November 18, 2015


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