Rock Draft 8 At MSL Draft

The five round MSL Draft was held on Sunday afternoon at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre with all six MSL franchises selecting the top graduating junior lacrosse players in the province, all sharing a 2000 birth year.

The Oakville Rock made the biggest splash at the 2022 MSL Draft by making two blockbuster deals prior to the draft, acquiring three first round picks to give them four total selections in the opening round. 

The first deal saw the Rock send their 2023 first round pick and 2024 second round pick to the Brooklin LC for the 3rd and 5th picks in the first round of today’s draft.  GM Steve Dietrich followed that up by sending defender Matt Marinier, the Rock’s 2022 second round pick and 2023 third round pick to Cobourg for the 4th overall pick in this year’s draft and Cobourg’s 2022 third round pick.

Third overall, the Rock selected righty forward Josh Dawick from the Whitby Warriors.  Dawick also plays collegiately at the University of Denver. The Oakville, ON native began his OJLL career with the Toronto Beaches before moving on to the Whitby Warriors.  Dawick has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor and has a very high lacrosse IQ making him a very dynamic offensive threat.  Josh is the son of Toronto Rock Owner Jamie Dawick.

With the fourth overall pick, the Rock selected lefty forward Dylan Watson from the Orangeville Northmen.  The Guelph, ON product got his feet wet with the Rock at last summer’s MSL Classic exhibition series, scoring six goals and six assists in just three games.  Watson was a member of the most recent Minto Cup Canadian Jr. A champion Orangeville Northmen squad that was victorious in 2019.  Watson is the son of Toronto Rock legend and NLL Hall of Famer Bob Watson and plays collegiately at Georgetown University. 

At fifth overall, Dietrich decided to go back to the other side of the floor selecting offensive righty Sam English from the Burlington Chiefs.  The crafty righty piled up two goals, 12 assists and 14 points in just two games last summer for the Oakville Rock in the MSL Classic.  Currently a Junior at Princeton, he’s been consistently filling the net for the Tigers playing midfield.

With their own pick, sixth overall, the Rock added another offensive threat from the Burlington Chiefs in lefty forward Jason Knox.  From Huntsville, ON, the 6’4” goal scorer has been doing a ton of what he does best at the NCAA level, with 15 goals in just 5 games with Ohio State this spring.  His size and knack for scoring made him one of the most desirable players available in the draft. 

Prior to the draft, the Rock protected graduating Oakville Buzz Jr. A players Phil Mazzuca, Zack Kearney and Jacob Martino.

Here’s how the rest of the MSL Draft played out for the Rock.

3^rd Round, 16^th overall, Joey Szabo – Mimico

3^rd Round, 18^th overall, Luke Robinson – Whitby

4^th Round, 24^th overall, Brett Handsor – Mimico

5^th Round, 30^th overall, Devon Dunkerley - Orangeville

The 2022 MSL 16-game schedule will be announced on March 31 along with some very exciting news about how you can watch the MSL all summer long.