The Drive for Five is underway, as the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers added some key new pieces to their championship team through the annual Major Series Lacrosse draft.
Peterborough held three picks in the six-round draft.
Their first round pick, third overall, was Matt Wright from the Mimico Mountaineers. The 6’1, 210 lb. right-handed defenceman from Oakville will fit in right away with the Lakers, said general manager Paul Day.
“We are very excited to draft Wright,” said Day. “We feel he has a great motor and is someone that can play and make an impact right away. We need righty defencemen and he is big and fast.”
Wright is in his fourth year at the University of North Carolina. He recently won a silver medal with Team Canada at the U21 World Championships in Limerick, and was on Canada’s roster at the inaugural World Lacrosse Super Sixes event in 2021 with Mark Matthews and Zach Currier.
The Lakers’ fourth round pick was lefty transition player Caleb Commandant, drafted 21st overall. Commandant, 5’9 and 170 lbs., is an Oakville Buzz Jr A/Guelph Regals Jr B graduate. He is currently in his third year at RIT as a Long-Stick Midfielder.
With their final pick, the Lakers stayed close to home, choosing Lindsay native and Jr. A Lakers righty defenceman Tyler Grandel at pick 27. Grandel, 6’0 and 165 lbs., played as a call-up for the Sr. Lakers in a game versus Cobourg last season. He was the Jr. A Lakers’ primary face-off man which is an area the Lakers will need to shore up should Jake Withers continue to play in the PLL.
Grandel previously won the Meredith Cup with the Jr. C Lakers, and is currently playing for the Oshawa Outlaws in the Arena Lacrosse League.
Prior to the draft, the Lakers protected graduating Jr. A Lakers Carter Page, Tyler Hendrycks, Nick Webb and Owen Hiltz.
Fellow Jr. A Laker grad Holden Lowes was selected by Cobourg in the fourth round, 13th overall. Mimico’s Justin Sykes was taken first overall by Cobourg.
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