Mammoth Select Four Defenseman in 2022 NLL Entry Draft
September 11, 2022 – National Lacrosse League (NLL) – Colorado Mammoth News Release
As representatives from each of the National Lacrosse League’s 15 organizations gathered at The Carlu in downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon, 106 players would be welcomed to North America’s top box lacrosse league. With newly-minted commissioner Brett Frood present to host the league’s first in-person draft since 2019, when it was held in Philadelphia, some of the world’s top lacrosse prospects gathered to hear their names called from the NLL’s new front man.
With an opening round which included 23 first-round selections (15 normal picks, plus compensatory selections for teams who lost prized free agents), TSN broadcast talent in Teddy Jenner, Devan Kaney Pat Gregoire and Ashley Docking kept fans at home and attendees in the building entertained and informed, providing in-depth background stories, real-time interviews and key eligibility information as athletes and the NLL continue to utilize the NCAA’s option for fifth-year seasons (for those who attended university during the pandemic.)
While a majority of the first few selections played out as expected plan, NLL staffs started to mix things up midway through the first round. With several teams opting to stay within the family namesakes, clubs decided to double-down on the lacrosse background, selecting sons of current or former executives within their respective organizations.
Making a first-round selection for the first time since 2019, when the Mammoth selected defenseman Warren Jeffrey, Colorado drafted defenseman Owen Down from Robert Morris University and the Coburg Kodiaks of Major Series Lacrosse. The 6-4, 195-lb. defenseman has logged four seasons with RMU, having accumulated two points (1g, 1a), 73 ground balls and 43 caused turnovers in 49 career games, including just three games logged in his sophomore (2020) season.
The Scarborough, Ontario native most recently started 16 games for Robert Morris during his senior season, in which he logged his first collegiate goal and recorded 33 ground balls and forced 18 caused turnovers. The big-bodied back-ender also spent the summer with the Kodiaks, where some Senior A ball helped him tune back into the box game after another successful field season at Robert Morris.
Since trading its 2022 second-round selection, along with then-rookie forward Sam LeClair, to the Philadelphia Wings in exchange for defenseman Anthony Joaquim and a 2022 third-round selection last season, Colorado did not make a second-round pick Saturday, but got back on the board in the third round when the organization selected Nick Musso with the 51st overall pick. Another defenseman, Musso has played his last two seasons with the BCJALL’s Coquitlam Adanacs, where he’s logged six points (4g, 2a) and 26 penalty minutes in 18 appearances.
Next up for Colorado, the Mammoth selected defenseman Zach Geddes in the fifth round, 89th overall. The defensive midfielder helped Georgetown capture the 2019 and 2021 Big East Championships and built on the successful beginning to his collegiate career this past Spring. Racking up 18 (10g, 8a) of his 29 (15g, 14a) career points, the 6-1 talent added 50 ground balls and 16 caused turnovers, complementing his career totals of 115 ground balls and 37 caused turnovers. The Winchester, Massachusetts product has also logged some playing time this summer with the Premier Lacrosse League’s Chaos Lacrosse Club as a short-stick defensive midfielder after the club selected him eighth overall in the PLL College Draft.
With the last selection in the 2022 NLL Entry Draft, Colorado selected defenseman Evan Zinn with the 104th overall selection. The 6-3, 200-lb. talent most recently logged 16 games at the University of Virginia as a two-way midfielder. Scoring 13 points (6g, 6a) in 16 appearances as a graduate student, adding seven ground balls and two caused turnovers. Prior to his productive season at Virginia, the Westport, Connecticut native spent three seasons with Johns Hopkins’ program for the 2019, 2020 (shortened) and 2021 spring campaigns, where he appeared in 35 games, logging 20 points (12g, 8a) and adding 32 ground balls and six caused turnovers.
Mammoth fans can stay tuned to Colorado Mammoth social media channels and coloradomammoth.com for the latest, as the team continues to execute free agent signings ahead of November’s training camp.
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