Matt Brown and the Colorado Mammoth appear to be a perfect fit.
Brown is a talented left-handed forward, the position decimated by the retirements of left- handed standouts Gary Gait and Paul Gait and the loss of left-hander Randy Daly in the July 13 expansion draft.
Brown, 22, recently completed his degree from the University of Denver, where he scored 113 goals, fourth-best in DU history. The benefits of Brown’s local ties cannot be overstated in the National Lacrosse League, where players work during the week and play lacrosse on weekends, routinely commuting from Eastern and Western Canada and the U.S. East Coast for practices and games.
The only hitch is the Mammoth’s No. 7 position in the first round of today’s six-round NLL draft in Edmonton, Alberta. Brown is unlikely to last that long, and Mammoth general manager Steve Govett has been unable to make a trade to move up in the draft despite extensive talks with several teams, including Philadelphia, owner of the No. 3 and No. 4 picks.
“Everyone is holding onto what they have right now,” Govett said Sunday from Edmonton, where he and new Mammoth coach Gary Gait are scouting the Minto Cup, Canada’s box lacrosse national championship for players under 21.
With the No. 1 pick, the expansion Portland Lumberjax are expected to take defender Brodie Merrill, a Georgetown star from Orangeville, Ontario. Merrill, the brother of 2002 No. 1 pick Patrick Merrill of the Toronto Rock, was recently named MLL rookie of the year after helping the Baltimore Bayhawks win the MLL title under player-coach Gary Gait.
Rochester has the second pick, followed by Philadelphia. Arizona stands at No. 5 and San Jose, under new coach Walt Christiansen, Colorado’s former defensive coordinator, selects sixth.
Among other projected top picks: goalkeeper Matt Vinc, a former star of the St. Catharines, Ontario, Minto Cup team; right- handed forward Luke Wiles, a former Minto Cup MVP from Orillia, Ontario, and the University of Delaware, and right-handed forward Jeff Zywicki from Orillia and the University of Massachusetts.
Although Brown played field lacrosse at DU, his strength is the box lacrosse of the NLL. As a six-year member of the powerhouse Burnaby Lakers in British Columbia, he won three Minto Cups.
“I’d be thrilled to get Matt Brown,” said Burnaby native Govett, whose brother-in-law works with Brown’s mother. “To market a DU player; that would be fantastic.”
