Indians Nation Lacrosse Akwesasne Junior A Indians

Over the course of the past couple of weeks the Akwesasne Jr. A Indians were hard at work preparing for the 2010 OLA Jr. A Midget aged player draft which was held last weekend in Toronto.

This year the Indians were very active as they made some big moves helping their short and long term needs. The Indians made a pre-draft trade with the Toronto Beaches for the rights to Ryan Serville. The 6’1, right handed player was born in 1991 and is expected to add immediate depth. Serville played last season with the Jr. B powerhouse Clarington Green Gaels. Serville played 19 games, recorded 41 goals and 56 assists for a total of 97 points. In the playoffs he played 13 games and recorded 64 points. He is currently a member of the NCAA Div. 1, Jacksonville Dolphins.

On draft day the Indians drafted two players in the second round. With the 14th pick, the Indians drafted Dylan Gatt, from Welland. Gatt played Jr. B last season for the Welland Warlords. He recorded 12 pts over the course of the season. He was also a member of the National Champion U-16 Ontario Field Lacrosse last September. The Indians feel Gatt is a hard worker and could be a spark plug for the club. The Indians also had the 21st pick of the draft and chose local Nathan Sanseverino from Cornwall Minor lacrosse. Two years ago Nathan played with many of the Indians players at the Ontario Summer Games with the Akwesasne Midget Storm. Having played for and learned from Garrett Cree and his staff, the Indians expect Nathan will develop into a hard working player that will be solid every game, in the next few years.

The Indians Coaching staff will take the time to develop these young drafted players. They are in a good situation with their current nucleus being relatively young. They will be able to allow these young drafted players to grow at their own pace.

Two more young exciting players were acquired over the course of the week. The Indians picked up Iohahiio Goodleaf, a talented left handed player who played 19 games last season and recorded 54 pts for the Jr. B Kahnawake Hunters. Iohahiio will remind our fans of a very good player from Akwesasne who played at the Major level for years, like Scott Thompson; he has good hands and good vision. The Indians also acquired Ashennatie McComber from the Kahnawake Hunters Jr. B club. McComber a hard working player, always gives everything he has. A left handed player, he played 6 games for the Hunters last season recording 16 pts and receiving 5 player of the game honors. Indians Nation is continually searching for these types of players for the upcoming season

Indians Nation Management and Coaching Staff feel these additions along with members from their own minor system, such as Seth Oakes the powerful right hander, who, on August 29th, 2009, playing for Team Iroquois took the Midget National Box Lacrosse Championship game into his own hands when he scored 4 overtime goals vs. team Ontario, leading Team Iroquois to the Canadian National Championship. Oakes currently holds the CLA championship game record with 4 o/t goals. With many years of junior remaining, Seth Oakes will have plenty of time to make his mark at the Jr. level.

Indians Nation is excited about the way last year’s young players performed, as they worked hard game in and game out, resulting in a playoff spot and valuable experience. The Indians Coaching Staff and Team Management are excited about the talented players in Indians Nation and are ready to work hard towards a bright future and a Minto Cup for their fans.