MLR Draft: Bold Moves And Head-Scratchers
MLR Draft: Bold Moves And Head-Scratchers
Anytime you have a professional sports collegiate draft you’re going to have teams that look like they did everything right, and teams that looked like they lost the plot.
And while we’re happy to make that judgment now, the true test will be in a few years, when we see who came out of nowhere to be effective in Major League Rugby, and who was drafted high up only to fizzle out.
GRR's Own MLR Collegiate Draft Show Speculates About It All
Many many congratulations to all the players drafted. You are the first college players to be drafted in American professional rugby. Now the hard work begins, but savor the moment.
Having said that, this inaugural MLR Draft had its problems which also contributed to some, shall we say, interesting decision-making, such as …
Foreign Players
MLR has a limited number of foreign players per roster, but it’s a pretty high limit. Regardless, teams can trade those spots, and do. Normally a foreigner spot is reserved for a veteran player from overseas who can add experience, some locker-room leadership, and maybe a little notoriety.
So while foreign-born collegiate draft candidates are eligible to be drafted, they take away a foreigner spot that most teams reserve for more experienced players.
MLR Draft Part 3: The Top Prospects
Rumors
Not everyone was completely sure of the eligibility rules. That’s why we had 20-year-old-sophomores applying, and players who had been out of school for over a year applying. It was, frankly, a little confusing for us at GRR and on our MLR Draft panel as those players were not culled from the draft player list until very late.
And even so, rumors abounded. The most notable of those was one flying around that Cameron Dodson, the Grand Canyon University No. 8/lock who we pinged as a potential #1 pick, was ineligible. This wasn’t true, but could have scared off teams who didn’t have the luxury or time to figure out whether he was eligible.
This came on the heels of former Notre Dame College lock David Beach being found to be ineligible because he had graduated too long ago. DC Old Glory figured that out and signed him as a free agent on Friday.
Dodson most likely was also a victim of the foreigner situation. The Englishman is a potential blue-chipper, for sure, but enough teams have struggled with visa issues for college players (who need a new visa to stay in the country) that they are reluctant to sign a foreign citizen right out of college.
OK, on to the judgments:
Winners
Backs. Most expected teams to pick tight five forwards early on because a) every team suffers in depth at those positions, and b) the USA can produce good ones.
turned out that isn’t what happened. Four of the first five picks were backs. Teams went for the most exciting player, in many respects, and certainly there were some really talented centers available.
The Small But Powerful. The Austin Gilgronis improved their locker room vibe and their grit with Lui Sitama and Mason Koch. As we said earlier in the process, one of the smaller hookers would impress, whether it was Stephen Ambrosino, Mason Koch, or Manny Bravo. In the end it was Koch out of Dartmouth, a hard-nosed Iowa product who is 5-9, but 223 and a battler.
Sitama is just a ferocious attacker and defender with a variety of skills.
Major Coup
DC Old Glory. Many thought that ball-winning locks would be snapped up early, but that wasn’t the case. When DC’s #11 slot came around they had to be shocked that Casey Renaud was still available. When their #23 pick came around, Matt Gordon was still there.
Now, Gordon is a foreigner, and as such that might drop him down a bit, but DC’s Director of Player Pathway, Tim Brown, knew Gordon at Mary Washington and remains a big fan. It’s a tremendous steal to lock down Gordon for DC.
Smart Strategy
Dallas. With the #1 pick in each round, Dallas either had to commit to building domestically, or needed to make some killer trades and trade away those picks. The Jackals, wisely in our opinion, chose the former, and doubled down by trading for RUNY’s two picks. The result? An MLR-ready center who played his high school rugby in Texas, Connor Mooneyham; a gritty, good-attitude flanker/lock who can run the ball and win lineouts in Tommy Clark; a talented but rough-around-the-edges D2 center in Levi Van Lanen who could be a breakout player; a physically powerful loose forward with high-end experience in Bronson Teles.
No front-rowers, but the makings of a back row and a midfield.
Head-Scratchers
Utah traded for four picks and then made risky choices in all of them. Three times they picked players who could have gone later, or possibly not been drafted at all.
Danny Giannascoli is a central player for a very, very good Loyola team in NSCRO. But given how reluctant teams are to pick a flyhalf from a D1A program, where they face high-intensity games almost every week, it’s unlikely that other teams were seeing in Giannascoli was Utah had seen.
The Loyola playmaker has the attitude and the coaching, but Utah could have likely waited to sign him as an undrafted free agent.
Utah’s #7 pick was John Powers, which is another player who likely could have been taken further down the list, and he’s another flyhalf, by the way. At #3 Utah took Derek Ellingson, and he’s a very, very good player, but had they waited until #7 to pick him they wouldn’t have regretted it.
Their pick of Elijah Hayes at #7 of the second round was an excellent pick.
What Were They Thinking?
Patrick Madden probably was the top flyhalf in the draft, or close to it, but as a junior, the though was if he was drafted it had better be by San Diego, and then he could wait a year and sign just before next year’s draft.
But then MLR came out with a new rule that players must be signed within two weeks or go through a waiver process (each team then getting two weeks to sign or defer on that player). (correction- we got that news from a reliable source but it's not correct. Sorry about that. Players still have a year to sign). Madden and the Legion had a plan anyway. Madden worked it out with his school to graduate early, reasoning that there remains a question as to how much rugby can be played in 2020. So Madden will have his degree, and San Diego gets a superbly elusive and intelligent flyhalf-center-fullback.
Atlanta signed Mike Matarazzo but word is he’s looking to spend a year overseas. That’s actually not a bad thing for Rugby ATL. Many of these teams are expecting to invest a year or two in a drafted player … what if one of those years the player is somewhere else? Perhaps cheaper for the MLR club, and good development for the player.
Atlanta’s signing of John Scotti is a risky one in that Scotti, while a physical, bulldozer of a player, isn’t big - he’s 5-8, 190 - and bulldozing in the pros will be a different kettle of fish. But he’s a relatively local product (Florida, but from ATL’s fanbase region). Scotti is another player who could easily have been allowed to go to free agency, and someone like Campbell Robinson or Stephen McLeish or Matt Gordon snapped up instead.
Job Done
New England got a ball-winning flanker who can win lineouts and has been playing in a daily training environment at Life—Justin Johnson. And they got a powerful prop with perhaps something to prove in Spencer Kreuger out of Ohio State (coming back from injury). They had a clear strategy and executed it.
Players Missed
Connor Buckley is a superb scrumhalf and we expected him to go early, probably to RUNY. But RUNY traded away their picks, and that undercut perhaps the whole scrumhalf situation. RUNY's trade was shortsighted, for sure, and the move seemed to spook everyone else on Buckley. In the end it will likely work out as Buckley can now sign as a free agent with RUNY (if they haven’t gone completely foreigner-happy) and finish up his degree at Iona.
Matt Rogers was a bit of a risky pick at scrumhalf partly because of his size. We on the MLR Draft Show panel liked him, but he was going to be a late second-rounder anyway.
Lincoln Sii still should have been drafted, and hopefully he finds a place as a free agent. Cam Dodson, the other GCU guy, got hosed and someone better snap him up. He’s a much more useful pick as a foreigner than some 35-year-old guy most fans don’t follow.
Centers Calvin Gentry, Kyle Williams, flankers Joe Rusert-Cuddy and Joe Freeman, and halfback Harry Masters all could have been picked and basically the teams were looking for someone else.
Two players, both front-rowers, we know killed their draft chances with some behaviors detailed on social media. One has a chance still to rebuild that reputation, but he may need to prove it at the D1 club level.
And Again
Congratulations to all the draftees.
