The Peterborough Century 21 Lakers are on a mission to win their fifth consecutive Major Series Lacrosse (MSL) Mann Cup national championship. To help them on their quest, the team added some key new pieces to their roster during the annual MSL draft.
With their first-round pick, third overall, the Lakers selected Matt Wright from the Mimico Mountaineers. The 6’1, 210 lb. right-handed defenseman from Oakville is a fourth-year student at the University of North Carolina, and won a silver medal with Team Canada at the U21 World Championships in Limerick, Ireland last summer.
In the fourth round, 21st overall, the Lakers selected lefty transition player Caleb Commandant. At 5’9 and 170 lbs., Commandant is an Oakville Buzz Jr A/Guelph Regals Jr B graduate, and currently plays at the Rochester Institute of Technology as a Long-Stick Midfielder.
The Lakers stayed close to home with their final pick in the draft, selecting Lindsay native Tyler Grandel. A 6’0 righty defenseman, Grandel played as a call-up for the Senior Lakers in a game versus Cobourg last season. He was the Jr. A Lakers’ primary face-off man last summer and had previously won the Meredith Cup with the Jr. C Lakers. Grandel is currently playing for the Oshawa Outlaws in the Arena Lacrosse League.
Prior to the draft, the Lakers protected four graduating Jr. A Lakers in Carter Page, Tyler Hendrycks, Nick Webb and Owen Hiltz.
The first overall pick went to the Cobourg Kodiaks, who selected Oakville native Justin Sykes of the Mimico Mountaineers.
(Written by: Scott Arnold)