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ENTRY DRAFT PROSPECTS

A look at some of the players expected to be chosen in 2006 Entry Draft

09/07/2006

In last year's Entry Draft, Brodie Merrill was selected with the first overall selection out of Georgetown University, and the defenseman made a huge impact in his first NLL season. Merrill was named Rookie of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, and helped the expansion Portland LumberJax to an 11-5 record and a West Division regular season title. Fellow members of the class of 2005 including Dan Carey, Sean Greenhalgh, Shawn Evans, and Jeff Zywicki also proved to be assets for their respective clubs in their rookie seasons. So who will be this year's difference makers? As teams continue to prepare for the 2006 Entry Draft on September 13th, NLL.com takes a look at some of the consensus top prospects for this year's draft. Players are listed in alphabetical order.

Ryan Benesch - Kitchener-Waterloo (Ontario) Braves
Ryan Benesch played Canadian Junior A lacrosse for the Kitchener Waterloo Braves and finished sixth in Ontario Lacrosse Association with 81 points on 42 goals and 39 assists this season. His 42 goals ranked fourth best in the OLA Junior A in 2006. The five-foot-eight, 185 pound forward served as captain of the club and led the team to a 10-10-2 record.

Gary Bining - Ohio State University
Gary Bining enters the draft after playing for the Ohio State University Buckeyes, where he served as Senior Captain for the team. He helped Buckeyes to a 7-6 record and to a second place finish in the GWLL his senior season. The five-foot-eight, 160 pound Delta British Columbia native was a three-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and a two-time Academic All Big Ten choice. Bining helped the Buckeyes win consecutive conference championships in his first two years with the team. He also played in the Western Lacrosse Association for the Coquitlam Adanacs (British Columbia) and was awarded the Jim Bishop Memorial Award in 2003. The award is given at the Minto Cup to a player with the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship and outstanding play.

Brett Bucktooth - Syracuse University
Brett Bucktooth was a two-time All-American at Syracuse University. He was named Second Team All-American after his senior season in 2006 and Honorable Mention after his junior season in 2005. The six-foot-two, 191-pound forward out of Onondaga Nation, NY, led the Orangemen with 55 points on 37 goals and 18 assists. His 37 goals was also a team high in 2006. His senior season Bucktooth finished ranked sixth in the country in goals per game (2.47) and eleventh in points per game (3.67). He helped lead the Orangemen to a 10-5 record his senior season and helped the team to the NCAA national semifinals before falling to the eventual Champion Virginia, 17-10.

Paul Dawson - Brampton (Ontario) Junior A
Paul Dawson is one of the top goaltenders in this year's draft. The younger brother of Arizona Sting All-Pro forward Dan Dawson, Paul played for the Brampton Excelsiors in Canadian Junior A lacrosse this summer.

Kyle Dixon - University of Virginia
Kyle Dixon was a four year starter at the University of Virginia. He also helped the Cavaliers to three Final Four appearances (2003, `05-'06) and two NCAA national championships (2003, `06) during his career. Dixon (along with Matt Ward and Joe Walters) was a finalist for the Tewaaraton Trophy given annually to the outstanding player in college lacrosse. He was a two-time All-American. The six-foot-four, 214 pound, Millersville, Maryland native was the only midfielder among the five Tewaaraton finalists this season. In 2006 Virginia became the first team in NCAA history to go a perfect 17-0.

Mike Grimes - Peterborough Lakers
Mike Grimes enters the draft after helping lead the Peterborough Lakers Junior A squad to a Minto Cup this season. Through the regular season to the championship, the six-foot-three, 210 pound defender played 39 games and scored 10 goals, 25 assists for 35 points.

Matt Holman - University of Hartford
Matt Holman enters the draft out of the University of Hartford. At Hartford he ranked second on the team in scoring in 2006 with 20 goals and 11 assists for 31 points. A two-year team co-captain and a four-year letter winner, he finished his career with 64 goals and 21 assists for 85 points. The Toronto, Ontario native also earned numerous All-America East Conference academic honors while at Hartford. Holman played for the Barrie Lakeshores in Canada this summer and finished third on the team in scoring with 41 points on 21 goals and 20 assists.

Garett Kikot - Bellarmine University
Garett Kikot enters the draft out of Bellarmine University. The six-foot-two, 215 pound native of Toronto, Ontario led the Knights with 52 points on 32 goals and 20 assists in 2006 and scooped up 25 ground balls. Kikot played for the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks in the Major Series Lacrosse in Canada and scored 12 points on three goals and nine assists this season. He also played two playoff games for the Kodiaks and scored two goals.

Jack Reid - University of Massachusetts Jack Reid enters the draft out of the University of Massachusetts. At UMASS Reid served as senior captain and he helped lead the Minutemen to the NCAA National Finals in 2006 before falling to Virginia. Reid was a 2006 USILA First Team All-American, was named to 2006 NCAA All-Tournament Team, he was a top candidate for the Schmeisser Award given to the nation's top defenseman and was one of 25 players named a 2006 Tewaaraton Nominee. The six-foot-three, 220 pound native of Glastonbury, Connecticut, was also the 2006 ECAC Defensive Player of the Year.

Geoff Snider - University of Denver
Snider enters the draft out of the University of Denver, where he was a dominant force for the Pioneers winning over 60% of faceoffs taken over his entire collegiate career. In his senior season of 2006, Snider finished second in the nation with a 68.4% faceoff win percentage. He set NCAA records in 2006 for ground balls per game (11.41) and total groundballs (194) on the season. The Calgary, Alberta native represented Team Canada in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championships and was again a dominant force in the faceoff circle. He won 19 of 28 draws in the final and was named tournament Most Valuable Player as Team Canada won their first title since 1978.

Kyle Sorensen - Peterborough (Ontario) Lakers
Kyle Sorensen enters the draft after helping lead the Peterborough Lakers to a Minto Cup just last week. Sorensen scored a goal in the Lakers 9-5 win over the Six Nations Arrows to take the Canadian Junior A lacrosse championship in Hagersville, Ontario. The six-foot-two, 220-pound defenseman from Peterborough also played one season for the Bellarmine University Knights in 2006 and collected a team high 66 ground balls playing in all 15 games.

Kyle Wailes - Brown University
Kyle Wailes played for the Brown University Bears. His senior year he finished third on the team in scoring with 19 points on 12 goals and seven assists. The six-foot-one, 195 pound Toronto, Ontario native was a 2005 All-Ivy League selection leading the league with 30 assists that season.

Joe Walters - University of Maryland
Joe Walters enters the draft after a standout career at the University of Marlyand. With the Terrapins, Walters was a four-time All-American, was the recipient of the 2006 Jack Turnbull Memorial Award given to the Attackman of the Year, and was named the ACC Player of the Year in two consecutive seasons. In addition he was a candidate for the Tewaaraton Trophy, given to the National Player of the Year. Walters ended his career as the all-time leader in points (227) and goals (153) for the Terrapins. He is the only player in Maryland's history to lead the team in points in each of his four seasons. In 2006 Walters led the school to a 12-5 record and to the NCAA Final Four for the third time in four seasons. He finished sixth in Division I in points with 60, and tenth in goals with 36. The six-foot, 190 pound forward is one of only 19 players since 1971 to score 150 or more goals in his career. The Rochester, New York native also played for the 2006 US National Team and was the only current collegiate player to be selected to play on the team.

Matt Ward - University of Virginia
Matt Ward was a four-year starter at the University of Virginia where he helped lead the Cavaliers to three Final Four appearances (2003, `05-'06) and two NCAA national championships (2003, `06) during his career. He served as team captain as a junior and senior and was the recipient of the 2006 Tewaaraton Trophy, awarded to the top player in the nation. He was also the 2006 USILA Player of the Year and a three-time All-American. The five-foot-ten, 210-pound, Oakton, Virginia native was named the Most Outstanding Player of the 2006 NCAA Championships after leading the Cavaliers to a National Championship. In 2006 Virginia became the first team in NCAA history to go a perfect 17-0. He finished fourth in Division I in points with 66, and fifth in goals with 42 last season.

Josh Wasson - University of Hartford
Josh Wasson enters the draft after starring at the University of Hartford. The five-foot-ten, 160 pound forward led the Hawks with 41 points last season on a team high 33 goals. Wasson tallied eight assists and also collected 34 ground balls. The Peterborough, Ontario native also plays summer box lacrosse for the Peterborough Lakers in Canada. Recently Wasson scored an impressive five goals in game six of Peterborough's series with the Brampton Excelsiors, leading Peterborough to a 15-12 win. The win secured the series and Peterborough's berth into the 2006 Mann Cup. In 28 games played this summer, Wasson has totaled 18 goals, 20 assists, 38 points.

Matt Zash - Duke University
Matt Zash enters the draft out of Duke University. The five-foot-eleven, 190 pound Massapequa, New York native was named to the 2004 and 2005 All-ACC teams and was a 2004 USILA Honorable Mention All-American. He was named a 2006 preseason All-American. Zash was a two-time captain and MVP at Duke.