National Lacrosse League Completes 2020 Entry Draft

Players, coaches and general managers from the National Lacrosse League’s (NLL) 13 franchises assembled virtually tonight across North America. Unlike years past, they may not have been in the same room, but that didn’t stop the NLL Entry Draft from being the moment of a lifetime for over 90 players selected. With “war rooms” and Zoom Watch Parties connected to take part in a world-class Draft Selection Show simultaneously streamed on B/R Live, @NLL Facebook and YouTube, the New York Riptide made their second consecutive first overall selection, taking Cornell forward Jeff Teat (Brampton, ON) to kick off the 93 selections over six rounds.

Vancouver, which had originally been slotted at No. 3, moved up one spot to No. 2, trading with Rochester to make sure to get their man, Drexel defenseman Reid Bowering (Coquitlam, B.C.). Then Rochester, like New York having just completed its first NLL season as an expansion franchise, grabbed Robert Morris forward Ryan Smith (Burlington, ON) third. Rounding out the top five picks, San Diego snagged Ohio State forward Tre Leclaire (Surrey, B.C.), and Calgary chose forward Tanner Cook (Courtice, ON) of North Carolina.

“We may not have been together as we have been at Xfinity Live in Philadelphia the past couple of years and other cities and locations before that, but it was another memorable Entry Draft with some great young talent moving to the next level,” said NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz. “We are proud of the way NLL teams, players, and staff adjusted and produced such a top tier event that captured the excitement of the first major step towards the league’s 35th season.”

The first round continued with 16 total selections, as Georgia made the first of its four initial round picks at No. 6, grabbing University of Vermont transition Robert Hudson (Oakville, ON), then taking Ohio State defenseman Jeff Henrick (Orangeville, ON) at No. 8, Ethan Walker (Peterborough, ON) at No. 10 and Laine Hruska (Warman, SK.) at No. 13. Other first-rounders included forward Marshall Powless (Six Nations) at No. 7 and Connor McClelland (Brampton, ON) at No. 12 by Saskatchewan; Brad McCulley (Victoria, B.C.) at No. 9 by Buffalo; Ethan Riggs (Hamilton, ON) at No. 11 by Halifax;  Harrison Matsuoka (Calgary, AB) at No. 11 by Calgary; Mac O’Keefe (Syosset, N.Y.) at No. 15 by San Diego; and Jackson Suboch (Toronto) at No. 16 completing the round by Philadelphia.

The first two round selections are listed below; the full list is updated at https://www.nll.com/2020draftpicks/.

First Round:

1. New York, Jeff Teat, Cornell Univ., Forward
2. Vancouver (from Rochester), Reid Bowering, Drexel Univ., Defenseman
3. Rochester (from Vancouver), Ryan Smith, Robert Morris Univ., Forward
4. San Diego, Tre Leclaire, Ohio State Univ., Forward
5. Calgary, Tanner Cook, Univ. of North Carolina, Forward
6. Georgia (from Colorado), Robert Hudson, Univ. of Vermont, Transition
7. Saskatchewan (from Philadelphia), Marshall Powless, Six Nations, Forward
8. Georgia, Jeff Henrick, Ohio State Univ., Defenseman
9. Buffalo, Brad McCulley, Robert Morris Univ., Forward
10.  Georgia (from Toronto), Ethan Walker, Univ. of Denver, Forward
11. Halifax, Ethan Riggs, Niagara College, Defenseman
12. Saskatchewan, Connor McClelland, Marquette University, Defenseman
13. Georgia (from New England), Laine Hruska, Saskatchewan SWAT, Goalie
14. Calgary (from Halifax, compensatory), Harrison Matsuoka, Stony Brook Univ., Transition
15. San Diego (compensatory), Mac O’Keefe, Penn State Univ., Forward
16. Philadelphia (compensatory), Jackson Suboch, Univ. of Massachusetts, Defenseman

Second Round

1. New York, Mathieu Boissonneault, Canisius College, Defenseman
2. Colorado (from New England (Rochester via Toronto via Colorado via New York via New England), Ron John, Univ. of Albany, Transition
3. Buffalo (from Vancouver via Buffalo via Rochester), Sam La Roue, New Westminster, Forward
4. Calgary (from Halifax via San Diego), Ethan Ticehurst, Towson Univ., Transition
5. Calgary, Patrick Dodds, Manhattan College, Forward
6. Colorado, Brett McIntyre, UMBC, Forward
7. Buffalo (from Philadelphia), Jordan Stouros, Limestone University, Defenseman
8. New England (from Georgia via Colorado), Charlie Kitchen, Univ. of Delaware, Forward
9. Rochester (from Buffalo), Ty Thompson, Univ. of Hartford, Forward
10. Saskatchewan (from Toronto via Georgia via Colorado), Bobby Kidd, Langley, Transition
11. Halifax, Ryan Terefenko, Ohio State, Defense
12. Colorado (from Saskatchewan via Vancouver via Rochester), Jordan Trottier, RIT, Defenseman
13. New York (from New England), Andrew Borgatti, Kitchener-Waterloo, Defenseman
14. Toronto (compensatory), T.D. Ierlan, Yale Univ., Transition
15.  Colorado (compensatory), Jalen Chaster, Coquitlam, Transition 
16.  Calgary (compensatory), Justin Geddie, Nanaimo, Goalie
17.  Colorado (from New England, compensatory), Tyler Sceviour, RIT, Defenseman
18.  Philadelphia (from Saskatchewan) (compensatory), Bryan Costabile, Univ. of Notre Dame, Transition/Forward
19.  Philadelphia (from Saskatchewan) (compensatory), Dylan Foulds, Penn State Univ., Forward
20.  New York (from San Diego) (compensatory), Larson Sundown, RIT, Forward