Blue Dogs Lacrosse Blog
Welcome to the Blue Dogs Lacrosse Blog! This is your place to read up on everything you need to know in the world of lacrosse, coming at you every two weeks so you’ll never miss a thing with ample time to catch up between posts. Written by a combination of all the guys here at Blue Dogs, you’re sure to find something you’ll like.
This edition features some feature draft picks from the recent NLL draft, more 5 star commits, and a brief recap of the PLL Championship. Enjoy!
NLL Draft Picks You Need to Know (jack)
Remo Schenato (Coquitlam Adanacs Jr. A)
The rangy Canadian defenseman was the first non collegiate player off the board in this year's NLL Draft. Remo goes 6th off the board to the Vancouver Warriors. The Warriors acquired this pick by giving up Brock Haley to The Saskatchewan Rush. Remo’s biggest attribute that makes him so polarizing is his unmatched size paired with his speed. His ability to take off out of the defensive zone and produce transition is not normal for a player with his size. I can see Remo finding his way onto the floor almost immediately and then growing into a central part of the Warriors.
Lukas Nielsen (New Westmionister Salmonbellies Jr. A)
The righty Canadian attackman comes off the board at the 8 slot by way of the Buffalo Bandits. Lukas was named the BCJALL MVP in August after delivering a 50+ point season. It is no surprise why he won MVP and was drafted so high, 50+ point seasons are almost unheard of in Junior A lacrosse. It is not often that young draft prospects on the offensive side of the ball find their way onto the floor quickly, but I believe that Buffalo is going to try and get some use out of him very early in his career. Buffalo wouldn't have taken such a tantalizing prospect so early in the draft, just to have him collect dust on the bench.
Jacob Power (Belmont Abbey/Nanaimo Timbermen)
A transition player hailing from Canada and playing his collegiate lacrosse at Belmont Abbey. Jacob was taken off the board at the 12 slot by the San Diego Seals. Power has seen a few injuries in recent times which I believe may have cost him a few picks in the draft. I do not see these injuries becoming a problem and think that the Seals got a steal in Jacob Powers at that late in the draft. Powers should be getting on the floor instantly with his tenacious play style.
Owen Rahn (Orangeville Northmen Jr. A)
The first move of the 2nd round was the transition star Owen Rahn being claimed at the 17 slot by the Colorado Mammoth. When Rahn was given a bigger role he was able to shine on the offensive side of the ball and in the transition game. While playing with the Northman he excelled in the transition game. Colorado reached on Rahn for a reason. I think they saw a future star and knew they had to grab him. Get used to hearing Owen Rahn’s name.
Arthur Miller (NJIT/Victoria Shamrocks)
The last pick of the third round was Arthur Miller being selected by the San Diego Seals. Mr. Miller, hailing from British Columbia, is looking to star on the offensive side of the ball for the Seals. You may have heard Arthur Miller’s name because he was the 2nd leading scorer on America’s team this past NCAA season. Miller can get on the field very early as a transition player. Once he establishes his role on the Seals I can see him being an anchor out of the back for the Seals.
PLL Championship (sam)
With this game, the 2024 PLL Season comes to a close, with the Utah Archers defending their crown without their best player on the field for the entire playoffs and joining the Maryland Whipsnakes as the only back-to-back champions in the PLL era. A season marked by unprecedented success by the rookie class, in addition to countless remarkable performances by countless players across the league. Congratulations to the Utah Archers!
The game itself was an amazing contest between two incredibly deserving clubs, but this game did not go the way most of us at Blue Dogs thought it would. Leading up to the game, the conversation and previous blog post was mainly around the idea that the game would be determined by the offenses’ cohesiveness and ability to sustain pressure deep into the shot clock. However, the Whipsnakes were arguably better in that regard as they had more assists, passes, possession time, shots, and (not that it matters as much anymore) faceoff wins. We suspected the goalies were going to stand on their heads and the onus would be on the offenses to go out and win this game for their teams. With all that being said, it seemed unlikely that Brett Dobson could do anything else for the Archers, and yet he was clearly the difference maker in this game. When the stats are tilted in the favor of the opposition, the goalie must be up to the task to hold the line and, through nothing but pure grit, keep their teams alive. Brett Dobson was up to the task and then some, as he helped guide the Archers to a 4 goal margin of victory over one of the hottest teams in the league going into the playoffs. Dobson won the Championship MVP, and no one can ever question if he deserves it.
Looking to the future for these 2 teams, the Whipsnakes will most likely load up on some offensive firepower since their defense is already loaded, although they may benefit from adding 1 or 2 more young guys to that end. Krebs is clearly the guy until proven otherwise, and Nardella cemented himself as one of the best FOGOs in the league again, after recovering from a brutal knee injury. That being said, the Whipsnakes are primed for another season as title contenders. The Archers on the other hand are loaded on offense, defense, and specialists. If they were to forfeit their entire draft class, I am not sure they would care, but they don’t have to do that so they’ll probably just go Best Player Available and call it a night. The Blog team will get into the 2025 season here soon enough, but it is a good exercise to start thinking about where these two teams will go from here.
The last point to make about this game is not about the game at all but the scheduling. This game had more viewers than the previous 2 years championship games, but not as many as the 2020 and 2021 seasons per Dan Arestia on Twitter. Additionally, the season opener of the Waterdogs vs the Archers saw almost double the championship game. I wouldn’t say people got bored over the season, I’d say most people are busy watching the NFL start its regular season. The fact is, the PLL is not as big as the NFL, and there is nothing wrong with that. The PLL probably needs to find a way to schedule the championship for either a time, or day where people are not going to have something from a bigger event going on, at least while it pulls under 1 million viewers per game. Perhaps eliminating one of the bye weeks and moving the All-Star weekend to the same week as the Championship series? If that were the case you move the championship back 2 weeks and don’t have to worry about the NFL regular season, or College Football for that matter, and the All-Star selections can come at the end of the season rather than only a month and a bit into the regular season. Again, simply making a suggestion and you all are free to call us a drill bit and disregard.
Thank you for reading the Blue Dogs Lacrosse Blog, we will be back in 2 weeks (10/7) where we will update you with more D1 commits, more NLL news, and so much more. If you need a reminder, go outside and play some lacrosse today.
Which school recruited the MOST 5 Stars? (carson)
- Dylan Faison (Notre Dame)
- James Gillis (Duke)
- Cooper Brozek (Harvard)
- AJ Theodorakakos (Army)
- Bennett Matthews (Duke)
- Joe Ligas (Notre Dame)
- Hunter Metz (Notre Dame)
- Hunter Mezzatesta (Virginia)
- Lucas Garcia (Virginia)
- Noah Han (Princeton)
- Tedy Frisoli (Duke)
- Rick Giordano (North Carolina)
- Jayden James (Syracuse)
- Ethan Bramoff (Virginia)
- Hansen Peck (Syracuse)
- Dylan Malone (Duke)
- Brian Burke (Harvard)
- Timmy Plunkett (North Carolina)
- Milki Conway-Reppert (Dartmouth)
- Tuck Gilbane (Virginia)
School 5 Star Recruiting points:
- 50 - Duke
- 49 - Notre Dame
- 33 - Virginia
- 22 - Harvard
- 17 - Army
- 14 - Syracuse
- 12 - North Carolina
- 11 - Princeton
- 2 - Dartmouth
Notable Zero 5 star schools: Maryland, Hopkins, Georgetown, Cornell