The Arena Lacrosse League held its annual combine and draft on Saturday at Children’s Arena and the Peterborough Timbermen came away feeling very pleased with their selections.
The Timbermen didn’t pick until late in the second round but got the steal of the draft in Oshawa’s Justin Bragg, a lefty transition player who just graduated from the Clarington Green Gaels Jr. B organization.
“Justin was the best player on the floor at the combine today and we’re thrilled we were able to get him when we did,” said head coach and general manager Joe Sullivan.
Bragg said he was honoured to be the Timbermen’s first pick.
“Just coming out of junior lacrosse I am very excited that I was selected early in the draft,” he stated. “My expectations coming into my first year of ALL lacrosse are being able to help out the defensive side of the floor with my aggressive play and my ability to transition the ball up the floor with my speed and skill.”
That transition ability will be highly counted on as the Timbermen will have to replace Doug Utting who is likely to crack the Rochester Knighthawks’ roster.
The Timbermen continued to pick players with local connections to shore up their connection to the city and surrounding area. Leading that pack was current Jr. A Lakers’ goaltender Landon Kells, who was also selected by the NLL’s Calgary Roughnecks after a great summer season that culminated in a trip out west with the Sr. Lakers where he served as Mike Poulin’s backup for the whole Mann Cup.
Other local players included were former Jr. A Lakers Carter Badour and Jordan Hendrycks as well as Peterborough natives Tyler Grandel and Aaron Bradshaw. Grandel has spent time with both the Jr. A and C Lakers and played as a call-up for the Timbermen last season while he was with the ALL’s U-22 team.
Sullivan is excited with the team’s results.
“We picked a lot of talented players who want to play for us,” he said. “It will be a great training camp to decide on our final roster.”
Training camp will likely open this coming Saturday, November 30 at Millbrook Arena. The season begins on Saturday, December 21st at home against the Steelhawks. Tickets will be sold at the door for $10 for adults and $5 for children under 14. Season ticket information is forthcoming.
Tanner Thomson was selected first overall by the Whitby Steelhawks. Visit www.arenalacrosseleague.ca for the full draft results.
FULL TIMBERMEN DRAFT LIST
| PICK # | ROUND | NAME | POSITION | HOMETOWN | PREVIOUS TEAM |
| 13 | 2 | Justin Bragg | Transition | Oshawa | Clarington Jr. B |
| 20 | 3 | Lucas Ferreira | Offense | Brampton | Brampton Jr. B |
| 27 | 4 | Carter Badour | Transition | Ottawa | Peterborough Jr. A |
| 34 | 5 | Landon Kells | Goaltender | Fergus | Peterborough Jr. A |
| 41 | 6 | Troi Benedict | Goaltender | Akwesasne | Akwesasne Jr. B |
| 48 | 7 | Mitchell Geoffroy | Offense | St. Catharines | Welland Jr. B |
| 55 | 8 | Henry Chapman | Offense | White Plains, NY | Canisius (NCAA) |
| 60 | 9 | Jeff Geddis | Defense | Fairport, NY | Shenandoah (NCAA) |
| 62 | 9 | Tyler Grandel | Transition | Peterborough | Peterborough Jr. A |
| 69 | 10 | Todd Chapman | Defense | Ottawa | Ottawa Sr. B |
| 76 | 11 | Scott Taylor | Defense | Kanata | Ottawa Sr. B |
| 83 | 12 | Jordan Hendrycks | Transition | Ottawa | Peterborough Jr. A |
| 90 | 13 | Andrew Desilva | Defense | Hollister, CA | Trent Excalibur |
| 97 | 14 | Aaron Bradshaw | Offense | Cavan | Peterborough Jr. C |
| 104 | 15 | Scott Edwards | Transition | Brampton | Brampton Jr. B |
