Top 10 Offensive Prospects: 2024 Draft Presented by Castore

The light always shines brightest on the offensive players in any draft class, and there is plenty of talent available for teams to select from. Having already looked at goalies and defenders, let’s take a look at 10 of the top forward prospects for the 2024 NLL Draft presented by Castore.

The pros: O’Neill is big, strong, super talented and familiar with the box game.

The cons: He hasn’t played a ton of box, and given that he could be the poster child for the PLL, it is difficult to say with certainty whether he is all in for playing in the NLL.

The lowdown: If he wants to be a star in the National Lacrosse League, he can be. It will be up to the teams, starting with Philadelphia at the top of the draft, to determine whether that is going to happen and if the likelihood of it being so makes it worth selecting him rather than a player more transparently committed to the NLL.

Following O’Neill is a trio of righties who would probably play musical chairs on many draft boards. Peshko hasn’t played more than 10 games in a summer box season since 2019, which makes it a bit difficult to get a good read on him. That is hardly unusual in this post-pandemic lacrosse world. Peshko did score 22 points (11g/11a) in seven games with Owen Sound this year. He played and produced well for Canada at back-to-back IIJL World Juniors, and since then has added some size and a measure of physicality to his game.

Athletic and skilled, English is in the same boat as Peshko in not having had the chance to play a ton of box over the last handful of years. English put up 27 points (12g/15a) in 10 games with Oakville this summer. Given that he is going back to school for a year at Syracuse, how English appeals to teams compared to Peshko and Lukas Nielsen could depend on whether a team is content to wait a year to have a high pick in this year’s draft join them. Bet on someone saying yes to that early on draft night.

Fifty-goal scorers are rare in Jr. A lacrosse, so seeing that total on his stat sheet immediately draws the eye to Nielsen’s candidacy as a draft prospect. He has a year of junior remaining, but has renounced his NCAA eligibility. That puts him in the same situation that other talented young players such as Ryan Martel, Jacob Dunbar and Marcus Klarich recently were in when they entered the draft. The road to earning roster time in the NLL is not always a smooth one for underaged juniors, but some patience can reward a team with a gem in the long term. Thus, the level of need for immediate help from draft picks will be a huge factor in how high a team is comfortable selecting Nielsen.

A dark horse, McIntosh showed when he helped USA White win the LAXNAI tournament last year that he fits in well with several Americans who will represent the nation at the World Lacrosse Box Championship this fall and who are also established NLL players. McIntosh is athletic and skilled. He also improved game-to-game, even period-to-period, in his LAXNAI appearance. That bodes well for him to continue to increase his lacrosse IQ and production rapidly when he regularly gets on the floor with pro players.

Is Mayea the next Brett Hickey? Like Hickey, Mayea ripped it up with the Jr. B Windsor Clippers. He actually bettered Hickey’s best Jr. B season by 10 goals, putting up 60 with the Clippers in 2018. Unlike Hickey, Mayea moved up to Jr. A rather than remaining in B throughout his junior career. That will undoubtedly lead to Mayea being drafted significantly higher than the 43rd spot where the Washington Stealth got Hickey in 2011. Mayea hasn’t played a lot of box since the 2021 OJLL bubble season, though, so it is a challenge to determine how committed he is to playing indoors and whether he will ever challenge Hickey’s feat of also having a 50-goal season in the NLL.

Thompson was a key piece of the Peterborough Jr. A Lakers before being traded to Burlington during the Blaze’s push for the Minto Cup in 2023. There, he played a depth role with aplomb as he helped the Blaze capture the title. That kind of experience can be valuable for a player in showing that he can be effective when he isn’t one of the featured offensive weapons. Thompson has the skill and lacrosse IQ to make his mark in the NLL.

Miller was primarily a forward in his junior career, but was often shifted to transition with the senior Shamrocks. He has shown increased ability to impact games going out the back door, and that versatility can only help his draft stock. He would be a project on defense, though, so teams will probably be viewing him as a forward if they plan to select him. Either way, Miller’s combination of size, skill and athleticism gives him a chance to earn a roster spot.

Webster tied for Owen Sound’s lead in both goals and points this year with his 11g/13a/24pts line in 11 games. The tie for the goal-scoring lead was with Peshko, who got his 11 in just seven games and has the high-level ceiling to be a potential top-five pick in this draft. Webster won’t go that high, but his versatility (he has shown the ability to be effective out the back door as well as the front door) makes him appealing.

M’Lot doesn’t generate the buzz that some of his fellow 2024 prospects do, but he did lead the BCJALL in scoring this summer with 90 points as a pivotal element in Burnaby’s offence that scored the third-most goals in the league. He is 6’6” tall and used that height to be successful in the Arena League as well, scoring 52 points in 15 games with the Black Fish. Producing against men in the ALL is a bonus in evaluaging a prospect since it bodes well for being able to translate success in junior to the pros.

The 2024 NLL Draft presented by Castore will be streamed LIVE Sunday, September 15 at 7pm ET on the NLL’s Facebook and YouTube pages.