Due to being on vacation, I was unable to follow the NLL entry draft live on NLL.com, but the Stealth got two players that were high on the franchise’s list entering Wednesday’s draft.
The team picked up Coquitlam Adanacs defender David Joyce with its first pick in the third round and Coquitlam goalkeeper Chris Seidel in the fifth round. Both players were on general manager Doug Locker’s shortlist entering the draft.
Here’s a release by the team:
Joyce is a left-handed defenseman that just wrapped up the summer season as a member of the Minto Cup Champion Coquitlam Adanacs. The 6’6”, 225-pounder emerged as one of the top defenders in the British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League last season, playing in 21 regular season games and recording 16 points (3g, 13a). He also appeared in all seven playoff games for the Adanacs.
“I’m very excited for the chance to play at the next level,” said Joyce following the draft. His teammate in Coquitlam, Matt Beers, was a rookie with the Stealth last season and a major contributor in the Stealth’s NLL Championship. “Seeing Matt (Beers) have a lot of success with the Stealth last season really motivated me to improve this year,” Joyce added.
In the fourth round, the Stealth picked up University of Virginia All-American Brian Carroll with the 41st overall selection. The 6’1”, 210-pound midfielder was a three-time All-ACC performer and finished with 40 points his senior season as Virginia made a run to the NCAA Final Four. It was at the NCAA Tournament in Baltimore, Md., that Stealth General Manager Doug Locker saw the Virginia captain.
“We were very impressed with Brian (Carroll) throughout his senior season at Virginia,” said Locker. “His size and athleticism make him a good fit to compete at this level.”
The Stealth entered the draft looking for a third goaltender to play with Tyler Richards and Matt Roik, and they did just that with their final two picks of the evening. In the fifth round, the Stealth added some goaltending depth with Chris Seidel, a teammate of Joyce in Coquitlam. The Coquitlam native logged 539 minutes in goal during the regular season and finished with a 5.90 goals against average and .823 save percentage.
With the final selection of the draft, the Stealth added Dan Lewis, another Coquitlam goaltender fresh off a Minto Cup championship. Lewis was stellar in the Adanacs’ Minto Cup run, earning NLL Insider’s Minto Cup MVP honors after posting a 8.24 goals against average and .806 save percentage in the Junior ‘A’ national championship tournament. During the regular season, Lewis posted a 6.36 goals against average and .832 save percentage in 679 minutes.
“We had our eyes on Seidel as soon as he declared for the draft and Lewis is a proven winner after leading the A’s to a Minto Cup,” said Stealth Head Coach Chris Hall. “We were looking for a third goalie and adding Seidel and Lewis will create a great competition between the pipes in camp.”
The Stealth are set to begin training camp for the 2011 season later this fall. Hall is looking forward to a very competitive camp with 39 players competing for 23 active roster spots.
“There is a ton of lacrosse talent out there and not a lot of jobs,” said Hall. “Camp will definitely be spirited and the depth on our roster will raise the competition. We are far from complacent coming off the NLL Championship and every guy at camp will be fighting hard to earn a spot this year.”
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