(left to right) Shamrox Head Coach Jamie Batley, newly acquired defenseman, Eric Martin and NLL Commissioner, Jim Jennings.

The 2006 NLL Entry Draft on September 13 was a monumental day in Shamrox history. Not only was it the first entry draft in the Shamrox brief history, but it was the culmination of months of hard work for Head Coach Jamie Batley, President Connie Kowal, VP of Lax Ops Phil Ryan, scout Andrew McKay, team co-owner Kevin Loughery, Jr. and numerous others affiliated with the Chicago Shamrox.

After scouting over 100 games, viewing a bunch of game tapes, reviewing a countless number of player profiles; the Shamrox came to New York with one goal in mind, to draft as many players that can start and make an impact immediately. That goal went totally fulfilled.

Hours before the draft started, Shamrox representatives met for one final time at Gallagher’s Steak House in New York City to finalize their draft plans, tie up any loose ends, and go over any scenarios that could occur other than their mock draft. The crew walked into The Theater at Madison Square Garden on September 13 prepared to build a playoff contender in 2007.

After trading the number 2 pick a month prior to the draft to acquire star defender Cam Woods, the Shamrox had to wait until the 12th pick to make their first impact. After watching the way things shook out, the decision to draft Josh Wasson-McQuigge out of the University of Hartford was an easy one.

“We knew that, if Josh was available at 12, we were going to take him.” said Andrew McKay, scout for the Shamrox. “Josh has a rare combination of ball-handling skills and scoring ability. And, I am sure that his high energy on every play will endear him to our fans.”

After trading the second pick of the second round (14th overall) to the Calgary Roughnecks for the 17th overall pick and an additional 4th rounder, the Shamrox selected Jackson Gair, a scoring machine from the Orilla Rama Kings and Bishop University of Canada. Gair amassed 36 goals and 60 assists last season for Orilla, of the OLA Jr. A League.

“We had our eyes on Gair,” McKay explains, “but we were fairly confident that nobody was going to grab him. Calgary, on the other hand, had its eye on Luke Hinton. So, we traded them the 14th for the 17th pick and the 41st pick. Sure enough, Gair was still available at 17, and we got our first true high-scoring threat.”

This draft pick was significant for another reason, Gair’s mom, Mary Gair, posed on the podium with Shamrox gear instead of Jackson, who was at college and unable to attend. The event garnered national attention when it appeared on ESPN Sportscenter’s “Top 10” segment on September 19.

“When my name was called,” said Jackson, “I turned to my buddy and jokingly said, ‘So who’s going on stage? My mom?!?!?! And sure enough, there she was.”

The consensus steal of the draft came in round 3 when the Shamrox selected Mike Kirk out of Dickinson College and the Brampton Excelsiors of the OLA. Kirk’s accolades include; captain of the Dickinson Red Devils in 2006, a 4-year starter and letter winner, and an all-Centennial Conference selection in 2004. The selection of Kirk marked the first time that a player out of Dickinson has ever been selected in the NLL Entry Draft.

“How surprised was I that he was still around at number 27?” McKay states. “I asked Coach Batley to take our 5-minute extension, because my paranoia kicked in and I had to make sure that Kirk had actually finished school and was eligible to play. He is a big, strong defender who’s already played two full years with the Brampton Excelsiors against some big time competition.”

The fourth round provided back-to-back picks for the Shamrox and scoring was, again, the pressing issue. First, the Shamrox selected Shane Sargent, of the Whitby Warriors of the OLA. Sargent is a playmaker.

“I’ve been around Shane for two years and, when you need a clutch goal, he is the one to get it for you.” explains McKay. “He is a leader at heart and his addition to the Shamrox will make us that much better.”

Newly acquired forward, Bill McGlone

With the very next pick of the draft, the Shamrox selected Bill McGlone out of the University of Maryland. McGlone’s honors include Terrapins team captain in 2006 and All-American and All-ACC honors in 2005 and 2006.

“We were very surprised that Bill was still around at this point.” says McKay. “We had him rated as the number 3 U.S. player. We’re hoping his scoring touch that he displayed at the University of Maryland translates well to the indoor game.”

In the game of lacrosse, what hand a player shoots with is very vital to the success of a team. You want to have guys that can shoot from different angles to maximize scoring. That is why, when the Shamrox saw that Cody Jacobs was available in the fifth round, they were ecstatic. Jacobs is a left-handed forward with a rifle shot. Over the last two seasons with the Six Nations Arrows of Canada, he amassed 186 points in 72 games.

“That was another one of those, ‘I can’t believe he is still here’ moments.” says McKay. “We got a steal with Jacobs.”

In the sixth round, there was a bit of a power struggle because there were plenty of talented players still available. The Shamrox chose to go the defensive route and selected Eric Martin out of Kitchener-Waterloo of the OLA. In 109 career Jr. A games, Martin tallied 56 points and is known for hard-nosed style of play.

“Martin is a tough-as-nails defender who can run the floor and participate on offense.” says McKay. “I was really happy to hear his name called as our first draft came to a close.”

The Shamrox believe that all 7 of their 2006 draft picks have a chance to make the roster and make an immediate impact in the NLL in 2007. That was the goal of the draft and the Shamrox feel that their goal will come to fruition.

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