7 ATLANTA
TEAM NAME
Blaze COACH
John Tucker (1ST SEASON)
The new kids on the block have the league buzzing with excitement. Expansion teams usually struggle to create chemistry in their first season, however. Will the talent the Blaze has collected be different?
NEW ARRIVALS:
Myles Jones, M; Scott Ratliff, D; Kevin Rice, A
MVP WATCH
Scott Ratliff
POSITION D
He’d be the first defenseman to win the award. Ratliff ranked first among poles in goals, assists, two-point goals and points, and second in ground balls.
3 Things You Need to Know
1. THEY’VE GOT COMMITMENT Atlanta may not be a hotbed, which is why it was such a big deal for them to acquire Marietta-native Ratliff, but the Blaze had a large pool of players to choose from because they were excited to play in Atlanta.
2. THEY ARE IMPOSING The Blaze went big with Mark Matthews (6-foot-5) and Ryan Walsh (6-foot-4), midfielders Kevin Cooper (6-foot-4) and Myles Jones (6-foot-5), and defenders Jake Bailey (6-foot-6) and Chris Hipps (6-foot-4).
3. THERE WILL BE SOME EARLY-SEASON ABSENCES Several core Blaze players will miss the start of the season. Matthews, Randy Staats and Jeremy Noble will still be in NLL mode, while draft picks Myles Jones and Deemer Class could go deep into the NCAA tournament with Duke.
laxmagazine.com 2015 RECORD
8 FLORIDA
TEAM NAME Stan Ross (3RD SEASON)
Launch COACH
The offense was exciting to watch in 2015. Can the defense take some pressure off the offense and keep the score low?
KEY LOSSES
Adam Fullerton, G; Casey Ikeda, D; Sam Snow, M
TOP RETURNERS
Kieran McArdle, A; Casey Powell, A; Lyle Thompson, A
NEW ARRIVALS
Ken Clausen, D; Matt Landis, D; Henry West, M
MVP WATCH
Kieran McArdle
POSITION A
After all the preseason questions — “How will the Florida offense share the ball?” — McArdle was still first in the MLL in goals and second in the league in points.
3 Things You Need to Know
1. SEEKING ATTACK DEPTH With Casey Powell, Kieran McArdle and Lyle and Miles Thompson, the attack position seems stacked. But you need depth to survive the 14-game season. The Launch picked up Owen Blye and Dan Eipp in the supplemental draft.
2. STABLE ON FACEOFFS He wasn’t one of four MLL All-Stars last season, but Chris Mattes (49.5 percent the last two seasons) has solidified the faceoff position for Florida.
3. EAGLE FLIES SOUTH The Launch made long-stick midfielder Liam Byrnes the first player drafted out of Marquette.
MVP WATCH Joey Sankey POSITION A
The former Tar Heel beat out the Lyle Thompson for Rookie of the Year award by leading Charlotte in points despite playing in only nine games. Front office is building team around him.
3 Things You Need to Know 1
KEVIN CROWLEY IS AN IMPORTANT ADDITION. Not only is he a fantastic midfielder, Crowley also represents a willingness to change how the Hounds do business. No, Charlotte will not be like Denver – home to countless West Coast-based players. And no, they won’t be Rochester – home to a large contingent of NLL players. But at least they didn’t shy away from the opportunity of adding an impact player just because of his living or NLL arrangements.
2
OFFENSIVE FLEXIBILITY,
COMPETITION. With Mike Sawyer, first-round picks Dylan Donahue and Ryan Brown, and second- round pick Nick Doktor, offensive versatility will be key for Charlotte. GM Mike Cerino said Sawyer, Brown and Doktor can all play as the third attackman or out of the box and that Donahue and Sankey should create matchup issues. “Donahue is so diverse, they can play off each other with who has the matchup and change their roles.” he said. “There’s more depth.”
3
HOPE FOR THE BEST.
The MLL’s worst defense actually has some talent in long poles Ehrhardt, Ryan Flanagan and Brett Schmidt, plus defensive midfielder Will Haus. Cerino felt comfortable enough with this group that he did not draft a defender until the fifth round of the collegiate draft.
2015 RECORD 5-9
9 CHARLOTTE
TEAM NAME Hounds 2015 RECORD 3-11
Needed (1ST SEASON) COACH
The front office made it a point this offseason to acquire much-needed firepower and make Charlotte’s offense less predictable. The problem is those reinforcements won’t be available at the beginning of the season. Also, as of press time, a coach had yet to be introduced to lead this young team.
KEY LOSSES Joe Cinosky, D; Kip Orban, M; Jake Tripucka, M
TOP RETURNERS
Michael Ehrhardt, D; John Haus, M; Joey Sankey, A NEW ARRIVALS
Ryan Brown, A/M; Kevin Crowley, M; Dylan Donahue, A
April 2016» LACROSSE MAGAZINE
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