The PennZone

PHILADELPHIA - PennZone -- Top lacrosse prospects from across North America took the next step in their careers today as the National Lacrosse League (@NLL), the largest and most successful professional lacrosse property in the world, conducted its annual Entry Draft at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre (TRAC). Hearing their names called first were Dyson Williams (Oshawa, Ontario) by the Albany FireWolves, Adam Poitras (Whitby, Ontario) by the Las Vegas Desert Dogs and Callum Jones (Burlington, Ontario) by the New York Riptide.

The rest of the first round selections are as follows:

(4) Vancouver (from Las Vegas), Payton Cormier (Oakville, Ontario)

(5) Panther City (from Saskatchewan), Ryan Sheridan (Victoria, B.C.)

(6) Georgia, Toron Eccleston (Calgary, Alberta)

More on The PennZone

• The City's Most Elegant Open-Air Dinner Party Returns September 12, 2026
• LiteracyNation's 3rd Annual Indie Author Book Fair
• FDA Clears Major Regulatory Hurdle as Preservative-Free Ketamine Program Moves Within Reach of Commercialization: NRx Pharmaceuticals: (NAS DAQ: NRXP)
• Autonomous Robotics Platform Expansion as Public Market Debut is Very Close: MBody AI Corp. (N A S D A Q: MBAI)
• Loud! OOH calls for prize draw advertising standards as £1.3bn category moves outdoors

(7) Vancouver (from Philadelphia), Brock Haley (Brooklin, Ontario)

(8) Georgia (from Panther City), Jacob Hickey (Toronto)

(9) Vancouver (from Rochester via Las Vegas), Brayden Laity (Maple Ridge, B.C.)

(10) New York (from Halifax), Jake Stevens (Puslinch, Ontario)

(11) Calgary, Bennett Smith (Edmonton, Alberta)

(12) Saskatchewan (from Toronto), Levi Anderson (Calgary, Alberta)

(13) San Diego, Matthew Wright (Oakville, Ontario)

(14) Albany (from Colorado), Nicholas Volkov (Milton, Ontario)

(15) Rochester (from Buffalo), Graydon Hogg (Oshawa, Ontario)

(16) *Rochester (from Calgary), Ben MacDonnell (Oshawa, Ontario)

(17) *Albany, Zachary Young (Oshawa, Ontario)

(18) *Vancouver (from Saskatchewan via San Diego and Philadelphia), Connor O'Toole (Brampton, Ontario)

(19) *Georgia (compensatory selection), Kaleb Benedict (Onondaga, Ontario)

"We recognize the importance of this day to the players selected in the NLL Entry Draft," said NLL Commissioner Brett Frood. "For our franchises, it is a chance to build and reinforce their rosters, and for fans it's a peek at the next generation of NLL stars."

More on The PennZone

• Insurance for Braces Helps Make Treatment More Manageable for Pennsylvania Families
• Black Ribbon Productions Launches With Fearless 2026 Horror Slate
• Actor Dominic Pace Returns to Television and Film
• Opteamix welcomes Girish Ramachandra to its leadership team as Senior Vice President of Client Services
• Silicon Box Ships 500M Units at High Yield, Expands Production Capacity for Panel-Level Packaging

The complete draft results can be found at: https://www.nll.com/news/draft-central-2023-nll-entry-draft/.

"It's a surreal moment, I kind of have to pinch myself," said Williams, a four-year standout at Duke, member of Canada's World Men's Lacrosse Championship team and the son of Las Vegas Desert Dogs general manager and head coach Shawn Williams. "It's the start of my dream to play in the NLL, and I couldn't be more excited to be sharing this moment with my family and friends."

The Entry Draft followed Friday's induction of the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame Class of 2021 (delayed due to pandemic), a group that includes the elder Williams.

http://www.nll.com