LaxTV Forums | A Forum About The MCLA

64. Portland (from Rochester) - Daniel Ernst (University of Oregon)

Congratulations to Danny!!! Way to represent!

Portland certainly got a phenominal athlete with outstanding character.

Congrats Danny! We'll be sure to come down and see you play.

Congrats to Danny! Hopefully with his well-rounded skills and face-off abilities he will indeed make the team and we can watch him play for the Lumberjax. One more pro player out of the PNCLL, first from a school other than Simon Fraser...

Hell Yea. Pint-Size is a BALLER!!!! What Izz It!!!

It seems like I've played with Danny forever now, being a teammate of his on Oregon All-stars, and playing with him the past 4 years at UofO. I can honestly say that there is nobody more deserving of this than Danny. He and I battled against each other every day at practice, and I must say that he is the most difficult person I have ever had to defend in the entire USLIA. To say the least, I am very happy for him right now. Good luck buddy.

Jeremy Tesar

P.S. You know that we're still going to keep up the tally when we play outdoor.

We'll be sure to come down and see you play... he will indeed make the team and we can watch him play...

woah, aren't you guys jumping the gun a little bit.. a draft selection is a long-way from a roster spot. and boxla is a lot different than field.. but i gotta give you your props ernst, that's pretty tight.. did they talk to you before hand? i wonder if they drafted you for media reasons too.. anyways, i'll see you at the main camp -- after i tear up the opens.. jk, i'm washed-up.. plus the jax drafted two other victoria boys to represent.. good luck, steve

His spot is pretty solid -hometown hero/media spot- from what I hear.

ZsT wrote:His spot is pretty solid -hometown hero/media spot- from what I hear.

His spot is probably about as solid as Plonkey's or that guy from Arizona State that got drafted by the Sting last year. Neither of them touched the floor. Drafting a local guy like that is a good PR move, but if this guy's never played box lacrosse before, he's a long, long shot.

Paddy Corrigan from Simon Fraser got drafted to Calgary as well, let's not forget him.

Still, you gotta give them a hand, going 63 and 64 in the draft. Aint too shabby- it's not like the NFL when guys get drafted post ESPN TV coverage in the umpteenth rounds. Will Patton from UCSB also got picked up- this gives our organization credibility- especially out west.

Good move by Philly to take both Harrison and Erwin like that. If I had it my way, I'd put both of those guys together on the same team too.

Quite an accomplishment to be drafted but the fact of the matter is that Ernst will probably not play. Before you get all hot under the collar here is my reasoning

Field is completely different game than box. ALthough the stick skills are similar the thought processes are totally different. This being said Ernst will be going up against individuals that have bein playing BOX since they could walk.

Portland is on the west coast - This gives portland the ability to draw from the huge amount box players in British Columbia that were not drafted or that are free agents. Being so close I am sure that these players will be more than ready to fight for a spot. Trust me they have grown up getting smashed, bashed and generally knocked around which does not often occur in Field.

Finally, the conversion of field players to bxo does not often go that well. I draw on a couple of examples. First, a number of years ago a player by the name of Kelten Johnson was brought to BC to play for the Coquitlam Junior Adanacs. For lack of a better expression he did not do well in the new system and did not live up to expectations. This was at the Junior A level not the NLL. Other elite NCAA field players have also had problems converting to the box system.

This being said I hope that this post spurns ERNST to work harder than he ever has in his life because he is going to need to in order to make the team.

That is quite the recognition to be drafted from the West Coast into a professional lacrosse league. The transition will most certainly be difficult- I've seen some of the best DI lacrosse players in the country not make the Stealth roster and a number of DIII all americans (including unanimous player of the year Josh Bergey). Most likely it will take a long time adjust to box, especially at the highest level- but if its something you're dedicated to doing, people telling you that you can't certainly won't stand in your way. Regardless of what happens, this is certainly an important step for lacrosse in the NW and will only move towards opening doors for up and coming high school and college athletes looking to take their games to the highest level. Congratulations and the best of luck.

Say what you want about Box vs. Field. . .there are many players that made the transition quite well. . .and Danny has the smarts and skills to make the transition. I remember playing against Darren Fridge in California when he was at Sonoma State 15 years ago. . .the players on the left coast are far better now than they were then. . .and he made the transition to Box just fine. . .

All the best to you Danny. I hope you prove all of these nay-sayers dead wrong.

Jason

Daren also grew up playing box lacrosse in Vancouver....