Colorado Mammoth Message Board

to SG or anyone else who knows,

This came across the transaction wire yesterday...


What the heck does that mean? Did Rochester end up drafting players that were not eligible to play in the NLL? How does THAT happen?

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--V

The NLLInsider had an article about it:
http://www.nllinsider.com/2009/09/16/ro ... by-league/

Steve, I would be interested in your take on this as well. There were comments on the 'big board' when the picks were made, and people suspected right away that they wouldn't hold up. It sounds like Rochester should've known better, but they made the picks anyway.

When we prepare for the draft there are certain rules that we all understand. As in every League, the team assumes the risk that any of the draft picks could be voided because of ineligibility. So if there is any question whatsoever regarding a certain players eligibility for the draft you talk with Brian Lemon, VP of Lacrosse Operations for the NLL to clarify. His answers and research before the draft will always prevail after the draft.

The Rochester picks were two opposite cases on the same issue. One player had played some NCAA collegiate lacrosse and did not renounce his eligibility and fill out the appropriate paperwork within the correct time frame. When selected that pick was voided and the player can renounce for the following year with the correct paperwork or he can reenter school. Either way he is ineglible to play in the NLL this winter. The renunciation list is very clear and updated right up to the time of the draft, every team watches out for this list very closely. Alex Gajic was a good example of a player that correctly filled out the paperwork.

Without that list a player could say publicly that he is going back to school, not be drafted or go much farther down the draft list than his value would project. If he is not drafted then he would become a free agent, free to go where ever he chooses, thus skewing the integrity of the draft.

The other player is a player that is 23 years old and, as I understand, never played any NCAA lacrosse. This player has passed his draft eligble age of 21 with no NCAA background, and was not drafted then, therefore he becomes what we know as a "street free agent", or non-rostered free agent. The League, as per the CBA, must void this pick as it violates the player's rights to be obligated to one team when he is free to sign anywhere.

One player is not eligble to play in the NLL, the other is eligble to play for any team he wants, so both picks are voided for different reasons.

Difficult for me to understand how the mistake was made, although I don't know their research process. Doran was playing in the Mann Cup at the time of the draft so he was obviously overage if he wasn't in an NCAA program, both can be researched if you really want that player. Vyse wasn't on the renunciation list put out by the League, very simple in my mind.

Sometimes the speed of the draft in the later rounds catches you off guard, picks in the first two rounds are 5 minutes but only 2 minutes after that. It can be easy to make uninformed picks if your homework isn't done before hand and your projected pick was taken three picks before!!

SG

Thanks Steve, appreciate the insight and damn fine job on the draft. Met some of your choices last night at Happy Hour and they are stand up guys.

Keep up the good work.

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--V