Darren Zary
Saskatoon StarPhoenix
The Saskatchewan Rush went heavy on the defensive side of the ball during the 2024 National Lacrosse League Draft on Sunday night.
Seven of the nine players picked by the Rush in this year’s draft are defencemen; the other two are forwards. Six of the nine players shoot left-handed as the Rush were already deep on the right side.
With two first-round picks heading into Sunday’s draft, Rush general manager Derek Keenan dealt the No. 6 overall pick to the Vancouver Warriors for sharp-shooting forward Brock Haley, a former high-scoring junior star for the Whitby Warriors and former captain at the University of Vermont.
Saskatchewan went on to select defender/transition player Matt Acchione, from Barrie, Ont., with the No. 16 overall pick. The 5-foot-10 left-handed defender/transition player, a University of Delaware product, spent the summer with the Snake Island Senior B Muskies and Owen Sound Senior A North Stars. In eight games at the Presidents Cup, Acchione scored five goals and added six assists for the Muskies.
In the second round, the Rush selected 5-foot-10, 185-pound Denton Macdonald, a two-way specialist who spent his summer with the Mann Cup finalist Victoria Senior A Shamrocks. In 18 games this season, Macdonald had three goals and eight assists.
Also in the second round, the Rush took Sherwood Park’s Reese Barnes at 25th overall. The 6-foot-1, 195-pound defender spent the summer with the Edmonton Junior A Miners while handling the majority of faceoff duties. Barnes also spent time out west in the Arena Lacrosse League, winning a championship with Black Fish Lacrosse Club.
The Rush added yet another faceoff specialist in American Jake Naso, a Duke University product, with the 34th pick. Naso has represented the United States on the national stage (winning the under-21 world title) and is Duke’s all-time leader in faceoff wins. Naso ranks seventh in NCAA history in faceoff wins.
At No. 36 overall, Saskatchewan scooped up Charlie McFadden from Edmonton, Alberta. The 6-0, 190-pound left-handed defender went to the Minto Cup final in 2022 with the Edmonton Miners before heading out to Coquitlam to get some Senior A experience with the Adanacs. The 2001-born D-man still has one more year of NCAA eligibility left, so he is not expected to be at training camp in November.
With the 49th overall pick, the Rush nabbed Marcus Needham from the Edmonton Senior B Miners. The right-handed forward had 44 points in 12 games this summer on a Miners squad that went to the Presidents Cup final.
In the fifth round, the Rush selected Caleb Creasor, a 6-foot, 195-pound defender. The Marquette University played his summer ball on Vancouver Island in Nanaimo with the likes of current Rush players Zach Manns and Jerrett Smith.
Local Saskatoon D-man Garrett Brockmeyer was added to the Rush with the 78th pick in the draft. Brockmeyer, who adds some size at 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, is a left-handed shooting grad of Lake Erie. He played his summer ball with the Saskatchewan Junior A Swat and Edmonton Senior B Miners.
dzary@postmedia.com
