Bayhawks’ roster filled with imports
Many Canadians playing prominent roles for Chesapeake
A quick scan of the Chesapeake Bayhawks roster reveals an interesting makeup. There are just as many players (seven) from Ontario as there are from Maryland.
That is a unique situation for a Major League Lacrosse franchise based in Annapolis and is the result of various factors.
To call it a coincidence that Chesapeake has accumulated so many Canadians would not be completely accurate. However, it happened not so much by design as much as need.
“We’re trying to put together the best team possible and it just so happens that a lot of the available talent was from Ontario,” Chesapeake head coach and general manager Dave Cottle said.
“If there is one common theme among all the Canadian players that we’ve signed it’s that they bring athleticism, skill, grit and toughness. They are great teammates and tremendous competitors,” Cottle added.
Midfielder Colton Watkinson is the only one of the seven Ontario imports who has been with the Bayhawk since training camp started in early May. The 6-foot-4, 205pound Burlington resident has been a regular member of the offensive midfield rotation.
While Watkinson was the only Ontario native to break camp with the Bayhawks, he has watched as others have been added to the club.
“I love seeing so many guys from north of the border playing for the Bayhawks. Coach Cottle has been slowly but surely bringing more guys aboard. It’s kind of been a trickle effect,” said Watkinson, who was selected by the Bayhawks through the 2019 MLL Disbursement Draft.
Chesapeake selected close defenseman Warren Jeffrey out of Vermont with the 52nd overall pick of the 2019 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft. Jeffrey joined the team for the final week of training camp and has proven to be a tremendous find, starting seven games and showing he belongs at the professional level.
“I went and watched Warren Jeffery practice in college and thought he was a real sleeper,” Cottle said of the 6-foot-3, 210pounder. “Warren has great size and has displayed an ability to cover the big attackmen in this league.”
Brendan Bomberry was familiar to the Bayhawks because he was a close friend and longtime teammate of star attackman Lyle Thompson. Bomberry, a Syracuse University product, plays with Thompson on the Iroquois National team as well as with Six Nations for indoor lacrosse.
Assistant coach and offensive coordinator Tom Mariano recommended picking up Bomberry from the MLL Player Pool after he was cut by the Boston Cannons. The 6-foot-1, 198-pound Osweken resident has scored seven goals in seven games since joining the Bayhawks.
“Coach Mariano thought Bomberry would fit with our offense, especially since he’s great in the two-man game with Lyle,” Cottle said. “Brendan handles the ball well inside and just knows how to score.”
Attackman Andrew Kew was next to come aboard, making his Major League Lacrosse debut during the Fourth of July game against the Denver Outlaws. The Oakville resident had been drafted by the Florida Launch following a record-setting collegiate career at Tampa.
Chesapeake assistant Chris Burdick was a strong backer of Kew, a left-hander with a wicked crank shot. That’s because Burdick is the offensive coordinator at Tampa and watched the 6-foot-3, 210-pounder scored 162 career goals.
“Chris told me that Andrew had great hands and was elite in terms of being able to catch and finish,” Cottle recalled.
That scouting report has proved spot-on with Kew ranking among the team leaders with 12 goals in 16 games.
Chesapeake considered drafting attackman John Wagner out of Marquette, where he was a first team All-Big East Conference selection as a junior. However, Cottle discovered the St. Davids resident was planning to tour Europe after graduation and did not pull the trigger.
“I told Wagner to give me a call when he got back from Europe if he was interested in playing pro lacrosse this season,” Cottle said.
Wagner did just that and has been a real revelation since being signed and activated by the Bayhawks on July 17. Chesapeake has used Wagner primarily as a midfielder and he has produced seven points in three games.
“Wagner is a dangerous offensive player with the ability to create space by dodging,” Cottle said. “He’s also a very good passer and picked things up so fast he was able to play extra man after one weekend of practice.”
OUTLAWS at BAYHAWKS
Completing the ongoing acquisition of Canadians was midfielder Shane Simpson, who made his Bayhawks debut last weekend and contributed a goal and assist during Sunday’s 24-7 rout of the New York Lizards.
“Shane Simpson has tremendous speed and does a lot of little things between the lines,” Cottle said of the Hamilton resident.
Simpson has not played outdoor lacrosse since graduating in May 2017 from North Carolina, where he was an integral member of the 2016 national championship squad. Simpson, who plays for Six Nations alongside Thompson and Bomberry, would have been with the Bayhawks earlier this season if not for some Visa issues.
Bomberry (Georgia Swarm), Simpson (Calgary Roughnecks) and Watkinson (New England Swarm) are established professional performers in the National Lacrosse League. Kew, Jeffrey and Wagner are almost certain selections in the upcoming NLL Draft.
All the Ontario products have played with or against each other at some point. Kew and Watkinson were junior league teammates with the Oakville Buzz. They played against Simpson and Six Nations at the Junior A level.
Kew was traded to rival Mimico to help that program make a run at the Minto Cup – suddenly becoming teammates with Jeffrey, a longtime rival.
“Before that I couldn’t stand Mimico or Warren,” joked Kew, who now considers Jeffrey a close friend.
Kew plays indoor lacrosse for the Oakville Rock, which is engaged in a seven-game Mann Cup playoff series with Bomberry, Simpson and Six Nations.
Burlington (Watkinson), Oakville (Kew), Mimico (Jeffrey), Osweken (Bomberry), Hamilton (Simpson) and St. Davids are all located within an hour’s drive of Toronto.
Kew has a simple explanation for why so many players from the Ontario province of Canada have wound up with the Chesapeake Bayhawks. He points to the advent of the Premier Lacrosse League, which has split the overall talent pool available for professional outdoor lacrosse.
“I think it’s just a matter of opportunity. Canadians are getting more of a chance this year and you’re seeing a lot more of us throughout the league,” Kew said.