Toronto Rock Set to Make History in NLL Draft
Sign up for the latest news & updates
© 2025 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
© 2025 USA Lacrosse. All Rights Reserved.
Saturday could go down as a pivotal moment for one of the National Lacrosse League’s most decorated franchises. Barring a trade, the Toronto Rock will become the first in the league’s 39-year history to make the top three selections of the annual entry draft.
Adding to the power of the youth movement, the Rock’s top choice in last year’s draft — No. 2 overall pick Sam English — is set to make his debut this winter as well after returning to school for a final hurrah at Syracuse.
Toronto could look very different next year, and it’s a well-timed shakeup.
The group stumbled after back-to-back trips to the NLL semifinals, finishing 6-12 — its second-worst performance in franchise history and lowest point since 2016. Only Ottawa scored fewer goals than the Rock, and only two squads in the 14-team circuit had a worse goal differential. Early struggles spurred owner and general manager Jamie Dawick to ship out veterans, shifting the focus to the future.
New faces are set to join as the Rock return to the renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario, likely among them CJ Kirst, who is looking to join an elite group of Brennan O’Neill, Jeff Teat, Lyle Thompson and Kevin Crowley as the only players taken first overall in the indoor and outdoor professional drafts.
How did Toronto cultivate this treasure trove? It began back in 2022 with a trade the Las Vegas Desert Dogs would like to have back: Rob Hellyer for first round picks in 2024 and 2025. The first helped the Rock land English last year. This go-around, it gave them the top selection thanks to Las Vegas’ 4-14 finish.
The No. 3 pick, previously property of the Wings, came in February when defenders Mitch de Snoo and Chris Corbeil were sent south when the season’s trajectory crystallized.
While no team has been in as advantageous a position as the Rock are in this year’s draft, others have shown how accumulating top draft picks can lead to quick returns.
The Georgia Swarm provide the most extreme example, with the 2015 draft changing the course of the franchise. Lyle Thompson was the crown jewel with the No. 1 pick, with three more selections soon to follow in Jesse King (No. 3), Chad Tutton (No. 5) and Randy Staats (No. 6).
Two years later, that core (sans King) lifted the Champions Cup.
Toronto has recent success on its side, a contrast to the Swarm’s 6-12 and 4-14 records in the two years before their landmark rookie class. Could the 2025 season go down as a hiccup, with the Rock quickly rejoining the ranks of the contenders?
The draft will be held virtually, with the first round available to stream for free on NLL+. The Rock are on the clock starting at 1 p.m., with the Desert Dogs and Colorado Mammoth rounding out the top five selections.
Draft order as of Friday, Sept. 5. Subject to change based on trades leading up to and during the draft. Movement can be followed on the NLL transaction page.
Round 1
Jack Goods has covered the National Lacrosse League for USA Lacrosse Magazine since 2018 and the Premier Lacrosse League since its inception in 2019. A Buffalo, N.Y., native, Goods previously covered the Buffalo Bandits for The Buffalo News and spent time as a sports editor in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He now works as a communication specialist at his alma mater, Marquette University, in Milwaukee.
