PLL Expansion Draft Predictions: Who will Coach Quirk and Cannons LC select?

The PLL Expansion Draft is almost here, and Coach Sean Quirk has both easy and hard decisions to make when crafting his 18-player (plus Paul Rabil) Cannons LC roster. So we decided to take a look at the players left off their team's protected player rosters and make our predictions for who Coach Quirk will select.

Archers LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

There weren't too many surprises with the Archers roster. Neither of us thought Coach Chris Bates would protect Stephen Kelly, but we weren't shocked when he did either. Faceoff talent is hard to come by and only Max Adler and Alex Woodall would really be seen as an upgrade at the stripe if the Archers opted to select a faceoff specialist in the entry draft. As we expected, Coach Bates also left several of his poles unprotected, with the ability to bring a few of them back due to the three-player maximum or even upgrade on defense with the second pick in the PLL Entry Draft.

The biggest shock (at least for Hutton) was Adam Ghitelman being left off the protected roster. Ghitelman has been very vocal on social media that he won't play for any team other than the Archers, yet that doesn't necessarily stop Coach Sean Quirk from selecting him and trading him back to the Archers in return for a draft pick or two.

Coach Quirk will also likely target Mike Simon and/or Curtis Corley, both solid poles that can step in a perform seamlessly. The versatile Joey Sankey could also be on his radar. Sankey can play attack or midfield and found success in 2019 with the Redwoods before injuries and the addition of Jules Heningburg led to his trade to the Archers and ultimately a more limited role. Josh Currier also played well enough last season to deserve a look, but his chances of being drafted are slimmer.

Atlas LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

The Atlas opted to not protect Paul Rabil, which many expected. Yet, the biggest shocker was that they instead traded him to Cannons LC right before the protected players rosters were due! The other surprise came when Coach Ben Rubeor shipped Ryan Brown to the Waterdogs after protecting him from the PLL Expansion Draft. Other than leaving off Connor Buczek, the Atlas had very few surprises.

There aren't too many players even available for Coach Quirk to select, but the two that stand out would be midfielder Connor Buczek and short-stick defensive middie Kevin Unterstein. Another dark horse pick could be the selection of former Yale defender Aidan Hynes, who has yet to suit up in a PLL game, but would be a great young addition to this new Cannons defense.

Chaos LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

With Miles Thompson officially unprotected, you can all but pencil him in to join Cannons LC and eventually his brother Lyle Thompson, the expected #1 pick in the PLL Entry Draft. With the Chaos' depth at attack, leaving Thompson off wasn't all too surprising. The biggest surprise was the decision to leave Troy Reh unprotected. The former UAlbany long-stick middie has been a big part of the Chaos in the team's first two seasons, and we would be shocked if Coach Quirk doesn't target him in the PLL Expansion Draft.

Another potential pick is Deemer Class, who, despite missing last season with an injury, would be a great pickup by Cannons LC. Quirk could also take a chance on faceoff specialist Tommy Kelly, who is coming off an underwhelming 2020, but still has the potential to start in the league.

Chrome LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

The Chrome certainly were in a tough spot, but Coach Tim Soudan's protected player roster decisions essentially sealed the fate for a few guys. We'd be shocked if long-stick midfielder of the year finalist Reece Eddy isn't a Cannon this season, and the same can easily be said about defender Jake Pulver. Matt Gaudet was also another interesting player left off the protected list, but given the amount of offensive talent, he could still find his way back on the Chrome. Sam Duggan is a SSDM that many expected to be unprotected, but would also be a potential pickup by Quirk given how well he played in his first season with the Men of Chrome.

Redwoods LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

Once again not too many surprises— OH MY GOODNESS, BRENT ADAMS IS AVAILABLE! The Redwoods roster was fairly by the numbers with the exception of Brent Adams, whose Cannons jersey you should have bought yesterday. Adams played for Coach Quirk on the Boston Cannons for one season in the MLL in 2016 and we can't imagine him not finding his way onto the Cannons once again.

Some other players Quirk could target are attackman Clarke Petterson, midfielder Joe Walters and/or versatile short-stick defender Tyler Dunn. As we've said in the past, Jack Kelly would have also been a prime target at the goalie position, but we've confirmed with the PLL that he has not been cleared to play yet and likely won't be selected by Quirk and Co.

Waterdogs LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

Three players who were left off the Waterdogs protected list and could find themselves on different teams for the third year in a row are Brodie Merrill, Drew Simoneau and Ryan Drenner. While leaving all of them off the protected roster was not too shocking, given Merrill's age and the Waterdogs' depth at Simoneau and Drenner's positions, at least two if not all three will be Cannons this upcoming season. Merrill in particular is also a player who has played for Coach Quirk and his veteran presence would be invaluable on the expansion Cannons.

However, some wild cards to consider would be Ben Reeves (medical school status pending), Dan Eipp, Kyle McClancy and Michael Kraus. The chances they end up Cannons are much slimmer, but not out of the realm of possibility.

Whipsnakes LC

PLL Expansion Draft Overview

We nailed our predictions for the Whipsnakes protected roster, but honestly it was really hard not to. Max Tuttle was ultimately the odd man out as the only player on the Whipsnakes' 2020 PLL Championship roster that was left unprotected. He'll also likely be the only Whips player that Coach Quirk picks up in expansion. What a great time to be a Whipsnakes fan.

PLL Expansion Draft Predictions

Adam

Let's get crazy, Coach Quirk. We all know you have your sights on lefty Nick Marrocco in the PLL Entry Draft, so let's add some draft capital and draft Adam Ghitelman with the intention of trading him right back to the Archers. This happens all the time in NLL and NHL expansion drafts, so why not the PLL?

As for players I think Coach Quirk drafts and keeps, I opted for several of the big names everyone is talking about, but some under the radar guys who performed well in 2020, such as Josh Currier, Clarke Petterson and Sam Duggan. I also think Aiden Hynes is a dark horse candidate for Coach Quirk to add to this defense that will most likely be lead by veteran Brodie Merrill.

Hutton

Yep, that's right. I passed on a goalie. I love Adam's strategy of drafting Adam Ghitelman as a potential trade chip and even considered taking a chance on a guy like Jake Stover, but I just don't think any of the available goalies make sense when you have Dillon Ward just a trade away and Nick Marrocco, Sean Sconone, Chris Madalon, Nick Washuta and Brian Phipps available in the PLL Entry Draft.

Some guys on my bubble were Tommy Kelly, Michael Kraus and Clarke Petterson, but I ultimately didn't think their value right now was worthy of a pick. With the exception of Miles Thompson, what Coach Quirk does at the attack position is ultimately what intrigues me the most. Matt Guadet and Ryan Drenner are my picks to compliment a Lyle Thompson-led offense, but they're not shoe-ins and I could see Quirk potentially going more midfield and defense-heavy in the PLL Expansion Draft in order to leave the door open for a reunion with an attackman like Mark Cockerton in the PLL Entry Draft.

What are your thoughts on our PLL Expansion Draft predictions? Who did you think Coach Quirk will draft to his 18-player Cannons LC roster? Let us know in the comments or on social media.