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The first Premier Lacrosse League College Draft following its merger with the Major League Lacrosse airs Monday at 10:30 p.m. on NBC Sports Network and Peacock. Analyst Paul Carcaterra placed two Syracuse (6-4, 2-3 Atlantic Coast) players, Peter Dearth and Jamie Trimboli, on his draft boards in early March. Both are at third for their respective positions. 

Two other SU players are expected to get looks in the draft — goalie Drake Porter and attack Stephen Rehfuss. Porter entered the year as one of the top goalies in the nation but plays a position with little turnover year-to-year. Rehfuss rocketed up draft boards with a career season that has featured 23 goals and a team-leading 45 points thus far. 

The Daily Orange interviewed three PLL coaches for their analyses of all four players. Here’s what they said about each: 

Peter Dearth 

Dearth came to Syracuse as an offensive midfielder but switched to the defensive side his sophomore year. Since then, he’s emerged as one of the top short-stick defensive midfielders in the nation. He earned second-team All-American honors last year, and in coming back to Syracuse for a fifth year, Dearth became the first three-year captain in SU history. 

Syracuse’s defense has been suspect at times this year, but Dearth remained the third-ranked defensive midfielder on Carcaterra’s March 15 big board. The 6-foot-3, 214-pound player was the 10th-best overall, according to Dan Arestia’s draft rankings. Dearth is expected to get drafted in the top two rounds.

The Daily Orange: What are Dearth’s strengths, and what do you like about his game?

Sean Quirk, Cannons head coach: He’s just athletically gifted. He’s just so powerful as an athlete. We look at it as, if he’s playing with our guy Zach Goodrich and guys like Sam Duggan and Tyson Bell up at the D-middie spot, that’s as good a unit as you’re ever going to get, right? And transition-wise, he can just create offense.

Chris Bates, Archers head coach: He’s just an experienced kid who’s logged a lot of important minutes in big games. He’s got great size, is physical, can run the field, so especially with the shortened field in the PLL, he’s going to be able to crowd guys, be physical and create transition going the other way. 

Nat St. Laurent, Redwoods head coach: The first thing that comes to mind with him obviously is his size, right? He’s a really big, strong guy. 

Yiwei He | Design Editor

D.O.: How do you see his shift to the PLL game? 

S.Q.: Athletically, he’ll make the quick adjustment. He’s a very heady, smart player. I think stick-skill wise, IQ, he makes the adjustment right away. Size-wise? He’s a big boy. He’s a force down there.

C.B.: Yeah, I think he’ll translate well. I don’t think he’s going to cover the short, quick, change-of-direction guys. He’s going to be a guy who’s physical and meets somebody at the box. I think that serves him well, and he can square guys up and be a guy that can play pretty early in the league. 

N.S.L.: I’m interested to see where his feet are and how well he covers on-ball because we obviously don’t want to slide if we don’t have to in this league. But I think he’s certainly close.

D.O.: How have Syracuse’s defensive struggles affected his draft stock? 

C.B.: We look at the individual and where we feel like they’re going to translate. He’s a guy that continues to improve, and frankly, short-stick D-middie is a position that there’s a couple guys coming out of college, but I think there’s a need in the league with some guys retiring, so there’ll be a demand for that spot for sure. 

N.S.L.: He’s not the reason they’ve had struggles at times. I think they’ve had some unfortunate injuries, maybe, and things of that nature, but I don’t think them struggling will impact him.

Jamie Trimboli 

A first-team All-American last year and two-time honorable mention, Trimboli thrived with 17 goals and 20 points in five games last year. After tweaking his shot, he converted at a 47.2% rate in 2020, the highest among Syracuse players who took at least 10 shots.

This year, Trimboli’s seen a long-pole defending him far more often, and his production waned as a result. Before his hat-trick against Virginia on Saturday, Trimboli scored 11 goals through nine games, on pace for his lowest season total since his freshman year.

Trimboli still ranks third in Carcaterra’s draft board for offensive midfielders, behind Connor Kirst and Tre Leclaire. Arestia placed Trimboli lower on his draft board the day after, though, ranking him sixth out of offensive midfielders.

D.O.: What are Trimboli’s strengths, and what do you like about his game?

C.B.: He’s just got such a great IQ. He does what his team needs. He’s really good off-ball. But when the opportunity presents, he’s a good dodger, and he can create shots for himself, so I think he can fit in a lot of different ways in an offensive scheme. 

N.S.L.: He can catch the ball, shoot. He can do a quick dodge. I think (against Virginia) he scored left-handed, right-handed, off-ball cuts. Those are the things we’re looking for.

D.O.: How do you see his transition to the PLL game? 

C.B.: It depends on the roster. These rosters are so loaded, so it’s really tough to tell. It’ll depend on how he comes to training camp and what system he’s in, but I’m sure he can compete.

N.S.L.: The thing he has going for him is he does not have to have the ball on his stick to score goals. At this level, you have ball-dominant players that are world-teamers, so when you bring in a rookie, you have to make sure and bring in a rookie that doesn’t have to have the ball on his stick to make an impact.

D.O.: How have his struggles this year affected his draft stock? 

C.B.: I think we go back and look: This year’s been so funky, and if you don’t have the ball as much, and (if) the dynamics of the offense are clicking or not clicking … I think as evaluators of talent, we can sort of see through that and see potential and see a guy fitting in at the next level based on the body of work.

Stephen Rehfuss

Rehfuss led Syracuse three times in assists during his redshirt sophomore, junior and senior years. This year, he’s on pace to have career-highs in goals and points, contributing to his surge up the draft boards that’s likely pushed him into the top three rounds. 

Rehfuss is the prototypical feeder, able to work from the X and also from the wings. He’s been asked to play in a variety of roles for the Orange this year and thrived in all. He’s showcased his finishing skill far more than in any year previous and is shooting 46% for the year. With at least three points every game, he’s been SU’s most consistent attacking threat. 

D.O.: Has Rehfuss brought himself into the draft conversation with his play this year, and what do you like about his game? 

S.Q.: I’ve always been impressed with him, but particularly this year, he’s come along really well … His natural ability to play free lacrosse, and playing with guys like Lyle (Thompson) and Andrew Kew there, he can fulfill all roles of being an off-ball guy. He can carry the ball. He can certainly pass the ball really well. So we kind of see him as a guy that can really do it all at that attack spot.

Stephen Rehfuss leads Syracuse in assists with 22. Courtesy of Rich Barnes | USA TODAY Sports

C.B.: He’s interesting, right? It feels like he’s been around forever and everybody knows about him, right? But he’s just been such a consistent performer, he just puts up points, makes plays. He’s just continued to improve, and he sees the field so well — I love his creativity — and he can score the ball, can shoot the ball. He’s good off-ball. 

D.O.: How do you see his transition to the PLL game? 

S.Q.: Once you get him into training camp and get him surrounded by that next-level player, he’s just going to continue to grow all around as a player … He’s a guy that could play right away in the league in some capacity, but the future would be even brighter.

C.B.: There are so many lefty attackmen in the league, and I don’t see him as a pure X guy, but he can certainly operate there. I see him as somebody that can come in, come from the box, not used to seeing a short stick, and any time that happens, if you’re a former attackman, you’re salivating. He’s long, too, so he’s a guy that can invert. He’s a guy that works well off-ball. He’s a guy … you plug in at attack when need be if you want to mix and match your lineup.

N.S.L.: I’m really curious to see how he gets utilized. I’m very intrigued to see where he goes in the draft and what situation he goes to because I do think he brings value. He’s got great hands, can shoot the ball well. He’s got a good lacrosse IQ.

Drake Porter

Porter came into the year as the best goalie in the ACC. He’s struggled at times to fulfill those expectations with a defense that’s let him down at times. Still, his talent is undeniable. He followed up 15 saves in a win against Virginia with 21 against an unranked Vermont team to prevent an upset. He had 16 against a relentless North Carolina attack in SU’s loss, too.

D.O.: What are Porter’s strengths, and what do you like about his game? 

S.Q.: If he went undrafted, we would look at bringing him into training camp. I’ve watched him really closely over the years, and he makes a lot of saves he shouldn’t make, which is impressive. He always puts himself in the right position to make a save, whereas some goalies almost try to get too technical with their ready position … And he can clear the hell out of the ball.

C.B.: Well, he’s seen a lot of rubber this year, poor kid. I mean, it’s just the nature of that league. So he’s battle-tested. He’s not backed down from a challenge … He’s one of the best ones coming out for sure.

Drake Porter had a season-high 21 saves against Vermont on March 6. Courtesy of Dennis Nett | Syracuse.com

N.S.L.: Drake’s got the quickest hands in college lacrosse. So he doesn’t need to step to the ball. His hands are so quick. He sees the ball so well. 

D.O.: How do you see him transitioning to the PLL? 

C.B.: He’s played at the highest level week in, week out. He’s stood up to that challenge. There is certainly a transition — it is the next level, the balls are coming quicker, and it’s a professional league for a reason — but he’s playing as close to it in a college setting. 

D.O.: With his clearing game particularly, how important is that at the PLL level?

S.Q.: It’s really important, especially with the 52-second shot clock, those goalies have to make the save, they have to get it up and out really quick. He’s a really good passer, clearing goalie, but before that happens, he sees it almost like a quarterback, looking for those wide receivers and tight ends. He finds that guy who has the best opening and can push it all the time.

N.S.L.: He’s got a great, smooth outlet that he can get up and out pretty quick, which, this is my seventh year of coaching pro lacrosse now, and in our game, that is extremely important.

These interviews have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Published on April 25, 2021 at 11:05 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder