The top prospects tend to garner the vast majority of the attention leading up to the National Lacrosse League entry draft. That is fair – they’ve earned the spotlight.
But finding a hidden gem a little later on can turn out to be a difference-maker in how successful a team’s draft turns out to be. And sometimes those gems are hidden because they don’t grow up in one of the traditional hotbeds of the sport.
While one of these five sleeper picks does come from Toronto, Ontario, the rest are scattered about the continent; one hails from the Canadian prairies, one from the East Coast of Canada, and two from the Carolinas. While they are a diverse group geographically, the five share a common trait: they will likely be largely overlooked heading into the draft, but they have the potential to make someone look very smart for taking a chance on them.
Hometown: Prince Albert, Saskatchewan
Position: Defence
College: Newberry
Box Teams: Oakville Rock MSL, Burlington Blaze Jr A, Saskatchewan SWAT Jr A, Canada WJLC
Swystun is a beast. He’s one of those guys that never seems to have a shirt on in his social media posts, and when you see them you think, “Yeah, I get it.”
The muscles are only useful if they help you play, though, and Swystun puts his strength to good use as a stay-at-home defender who makes it his mission to create an unpleasant environment for opposing forwards.
His sample size is small, but Swystun looked solid both as part of the team defensive approach and in his one-on-one battles at the MSL level before he had to move to Kelowna, BC for a job opportunity. His location out west makes him a logical option for a mid-round pick by one of the teams on the Pacific coast or Canada’s prairies, including of course his home province team, the Saskatchewan Rush.
Hometown: Tega Bay, South Carolina
Position: Lefty forward
College: Limestone
Box Teams: Brampton Excelsiors MSL, Tonawanda Braves Sr B, Hawkeyes NCBS
He’s a sniper. Terry didn’t exactly come out of nowhere when he joined Tonawanda this summer, but playing in the Can-Am Sr B league was a clear step up in competition (other than the single game he had gotten into the Brampton in Sr A). The increased challenge didn’t faze him in the least. Terry carried himself with confidence, always working with his teammates but not fearing to get creative to generate scoring chances for himself. He was one of Tonawanda’s most dangerous weapons in the playoffs, scoring both in structured offence and when freelancing on broken plays or late in the shot clock.
I mentioned that Terry didn’t quite come out of nowhere. He played in four NCBS championship tournaments. His results, year by year: 13 goals in three games, 15 goals in five games, 12 goals in five games, 15 goals in five games. There is no question: Terry is a finisher. And the confidence with which he stepped up from the NCBS to the Can-Am showed that he won’t be bowed by any challenge, even the biggest one possible…proving he can score in the NLL. He may or may not make it as a pro, but he certainly has earned the chance to have a shot.
Hometown: Elfland, North Carolina
Position: Righty forward
College: RIT
Box Teams: Tonawanda Braves Sr B; Seneca War Chiefs Jr B; USA WJLC; Rivermen, Hawkeyes NCBS
Senez can flat-out score. He has put up points at every level where he has played. He was impressive working with NLL player Nathan Grenon, Can-Am scoring champion Gates Abrams and fellow Sleeper Pick candidate Zach Terry for Tonawanda this summer, scoring almost six points per game (12g/11a/23pts) in the four games in which he suited up. In a pair of playoff series against the Grand River Warriors and eventual league champion Allegany Arrows, Senez added another 20 points in six games.
It’s not just about the points, though. Senez is a buzzsaw type of player, constantly moving in the offensive zone to find open lanes, set picks for his teammates or track loose balls like a hound dog.
And he wins. Senez (and Terry) were leading lights for the Hawkeyes as they captured the NCBS championship in 2024, . The year before that, he had played a critical role in the United States’ first-ever IIJL World Juniors gold medal win. Senez was the team’s second leading scorer, his 8 goals and 13 assists for 21 points trailing only Ryan Colsey. Senez is worth a look.
Hometown: Toronto, Ontario
Position: Faceoff, defence
College: Bellarmine
Box Teams: Six Nations Chiefs MSL, Six Nations Rivermen Sr B, Orangeville Northmen Jr A, Six Nations Arrows Jr A, Newmarket Saints Jr B
Fearn has bounced around a bit, always willing to put in the work and the miles to try to improve and advance in the sport. That work ethic earned him full seasons in Jr A with the Arrows and then the Northmen to wrap up his junior career. The Northmen went out and got him to provide the faceoff edge as they built for a Minto Cup run. He had a strong season, as did the whole team, going 20-0 to become one of very few teams to ever put together an undefeated OJLL regular season. The Minto dreams fell a little short when Orangeville ran into a red hot Burlington Blaze squad in the Ontario finals.
His summer of 2024 was limited to just a handful of games, most of them with the Ohio Bulls at the NCBS nationals. This year, though Fearn battled back to be ready to play, and it paid off. He was a regular with the Rivermen and got into a handful of games with the Chiefs. Then, it was off to the Presidents Cup with the Rivermen. That week on the big stage should give evaluators the chance to recognize that Fearn is a solid faceoff guy and that he can play defensive shifts without giving his coaches grey hairs. The latter will need to improve even further for Fearn to solidify an NLL job, but the former is what will likely get him the chance to do so. Given how hard he works, don’t bet against him making the most of that opportunity.
Hometown: Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia
Position: Defence
Box Teams: Sackville Wolves, East Coast Junior Lacrosse League
Puma is the best defender to come out of the ECJLL in several years. If you’re not familiar with the league, that designation might mean more than you think. Included among the players the E has produced over the last decade are Brett Draper, Alex Pace and Liam McGrath, all NLL draft picks who are either regulars in the pro league or working their way toward that status.
Puma’s coach in Sackville, Steve Brown, praises his captain’s tenacity, non-stop motor and competitive drive. Puma isn’t the biggest guy on the floor, but you wouldn’t know it by the way he battles against larger opponents. His work earned him the ECJLL defender of the year award each of the last two seasons. He just doesn’t stop. Brown compares him to Pace, now a staunch regular with the Philadelphia Wings and Peterborough Lakers.
The only thing that stopped him from playing a key role for Nova Scotia in their return to the Founders Cup this summer after an extended absence was an injury he suffered in the Wolves’ final game as they clinched the ECJLL championship. Despite being hurt midway through the game, Puma kept trying to convince the trainer and coaches to let him back on the floor. There was no way that was happening, but it is the desire to be out there battling for his teammates that is at the core of Puma’s success in the game.
The Halifax Thunderbirds, who play home games 30 minutes from his home, are the obvious most likely team to pick Puma in later round, but there’s no reason another team shouldn’t snag him first.
