By: Fraser Vaughn @stingraysbeatwriter / CapeCodStingrays.com
March 5th, 2023
New Bedford, Mass. – After 10 days, 20 rounds, and countless hours of research and scouting, the Cape Cod Stingrays organization has selected 20 players to begin their journey in the Inaugural Season of Light the Lamp Hockey League (LTLHL). General Manager, Alex Berard commented on the draft, saying “Our team scouted diligently, and we liked the players we were able to select. Our strategy had to shift slightly, but the main focus of how we wanted to build our team didn’t change. We were able to select some really good leaders, a few veterans, and a handful of rookies. I think we have something special here for Season One and for seasons to come.”
The Stingrays were selecting 12th overall in the 24-team snake draft and started by drafting Albert Lager, a 26-year-old, left winger from Sweden. Lager has everything you could ask for in a player and at the age of 26, Lager can become a cornerstone player for the Stingrays for years to come. When asked, Berard said “I’m honestly shocked Lager fell to us at 12, we had eyes on him but weren’t expecting much come day one. I’m very glad we were able to draft a player like him. I look forward to watching him grow as a player in this organization.” Even with a small stature (five foot nine inches, 184 pounds), he has the speed, skill, and scoring touch to be an elite player in the LTLHL for years to come.
On day two, the organization made three more selections, and all three just like Lager, have an opportunity to succeed from the start in LTLHL. In the second round, Cape Cod selected 25-year-old center, Neale Pollak from the United States of America. In the third round, the organization selected 28-year-old right winger, Tom Folke, also from Sweden. Pollak and Folke are projected to play an extensive amount of time on the first line with Lager as all three looks to complement each other night in and night out. The last pick of day two ended with Cape Cod selecting their first defenseman, German-born Irmin Rosner. At 27 years old, Rosner looks to lead the back end with his lockdown defensive skill and elite passing ability.
Below is the full list of draft picks that the organization made in the league’s Inaugural Dispersal Draft. More information on each player can be found on the league’s website, https://www.ltlhl.com/team.php?team=18.
1st Round (Pick 12) Albert Lager (Left Wing)
2nd Round (Pick 37) Neale Pollak (Center)
3rd Round (Pick 60) Tom Folke (Right Wing)
4th Round (Pick 85) Irmin Rosner (Defense)
5th Round (Pick 108) Jonah Keitaanranta (Defense)
6th Round (Pick 133) Ashton Thomson (Center)
7th Round (Pick 156) Jensen Pettersson (Goalie)
8th Round (Pick 181) Pascal Latonas (Defense)
9th Round (Pick 204) German Tabanov (Right Wing)
10th Round (Pick 229) Vlademar Toresson (Left Wing)
11th Round (Pick 253) Kaj Spets (Defense)
12th Round (Pick 277) Martti-Veikko Rotsa (Center)
13th Round (Pick 300) Vyacheslav Oleshko (Defense)
14th Round (Pick 325) Brook Babcock (Left Wing)
15th Round (Pick 348) Channing Jerome (Goalie)
16th Round (Pick 373) Mikhail Radeyev (Center)
17th Round (Pick 396) Terence Bruneau (Left Wing)
18th Round (Pick 421) Kazimir Papazov (Defense)
19th Round (Pick 444) Jerry Malmkvist (Left Wing)
20th Round (Pick 469) Orjan Severin (Left Wing)