MLL recently released each team’s 23-man protected roster for December’s Supplemental draft and the following players were protected by Florida:  

Player	Position
Reid Acton	Defense
Niko Amato	Goalie
Steven Brooks	Midfield
Joe Cinosky	Defense
Ryan Creighton	Midfield
Kevin Cunningham	Attack
Tucker Durkin	Defense
David Earl	Midfield
Adam Fullerton	Goalie
Jordan Hall	Midfield
Jon Hayes	Midfield
Stephen Keogh	Attack
Roman Lao-Gosney	Midfield
Chris LaPierre	Midfield
Bobby Lawrence	Defense
Chris Mattes	FO
Kieran McArdle	Attack
Joe Meurer	Defense
Mike Poppleton	FO/Middie
Casey Powell	Attack
Brett Queener	Goalie
Peter Ricci	Defense
Dillon Ward	Goalie

  Some names that were not protected were Josh Amidon, Matt Harris, Cameron Lao-Gosney, Andrew Scalley, Mario Ventiquattro and Garrett Thul.  Local names that ended the season on the practice squad such as Chazz Woodson, Doug Shanahan and Nick O’Hara were also left unprotected.  Should any of them go unclaimed/re-drafted they could still make next season’s roster. The deadline for players to apply for Supplemental Draft availability as active players in December 10th and the Supplemental Draft is scheduled for December 17th.  This draft allows teams to find fits for a niche the coaching staff is looking to fill before the College Draft in January.  Last year the Launch filled their Faceoff need when they selected Chris Mattes in it.  They also picked up Mario Ventiquattro and Adam Fullerton last December. ———- According to league sources the MLL front office is debating whether to push the start of the MLL season up two weeks, which would have set a starting date of 4/12 if it was in place the past season.  This would have quite the impact on many franchises, including ours.  An April 12th start date would be right around when district playoffs start in the high school season down here.  It would also impact availability of players, as it would also coincide even more with the NLL indoor league and the college schedule.  Fans will remember that it took the Launch three weeks last season before the majority of the roster was available. ———- The NCAA/MCLA College Draft takes place on Friday MaleEdge, January 23rd, at 8:30pm.  The Draft takes place during the US Lacrosse convention in Baltimore, Maryland.  The MLL Draft is open to the public if you are in the area will also be streamed live on the MLL YouTube channel.  Last year FLN provided live coverage of the Draft and we are hoping to be in Baltimore for the Draft. The Launch are actually well positioned for this Draft as they hold BOTH the #1 and #2 overall picks in the Draft through trades and league finish.  The #1 pick overall was acquired based on a 2013 trade when the franchise was still in Hamilton and was focused around a trade with Charlotte that allowed then to draft Josh Hawkins.  Florida won the tie-breaker with Chesapeake this past season to slot into the #2 spot. The first round is currently (pending possible pre-draft trades):

1	Florida	From Charlotte
2	Florida
3	Chesapeake
4	Boston
5	Ohio	From Florida through Ohio
6	Rochester	From New York
7	Rochester
8	Denver

The draft will focus on those players entering their senior seasons. The consensus #1 pick at this point is Albany’s Lyle Thompson, co-winner of 2014’s Tewaaraton Trophy, with his brother Miles. After the Supplemental Draft in December, FLN will focus on the college draft and look at where the Launch will be focusing on.  We’ll also profile some of the ways the Launch will look at to utilize their unique draft position. MLL is currently going through the various trades that have been made over the year and will release the remaining 6 rounds of the draft in the near future. ———- The Launch are hoping for good news on the FAU side as sources have told FLN that FAU is renegotiating its’ contract with Ticketmaster.  Ticket prices were clearly affected last year by the Ticketmaster policy of charging high per ticket fees, limiting the Launch’s ability to offer targeted discount ticket approaches.  Hopefully the negotiations are successful and various ticket packages can be offered to local fans next season.