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The 1997 NLL Draft composed of nine rounds where 72 lacrosse players were selected. The draft was completed on a conference call with all the teams coaches. [1]
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Baltimore Thunder | Matt Shearer [1] | F | Loyola College |
| 2 | Boston Blazers | Brenden Glass # | University of Massachusetts | |
| 3 | Ontario Raiders | Ken Millin | F | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) |
| 4 | Syracuse Smash | Jim Rankin | G | Western Canada |
| 5 | New York Saints | Tom Wreggitt # | Peterborough Lakers (MSL) | |
| 6 | Philadelphia Wings | Rusty Kruger | F | Orangeville, Ontario |
| 7 | Buffalo Bandits | Casey Zaph | F | Peterborough Lakers (MSL) |
| 8 | Buffalo Bandits | Marty O'Brien | F | Whitby Warriors (OLL Jr. A) |
* Denotes player who has been selected for at least one All-Pro Team and had won at least one NLL Award
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | Baltimore Thunder | Michael Watson # | F | University of Virginia |
| 10 | Boston Blazers | Mike Tughan # | Scarborough, Ontario | |
| 11 | Ontario Raiders | Derek Malawsky | F | New Westminster Salmonbellies (WLA) |
| 12 | Syracuse Smash | John Wilson | F | Burnaby, British Columbia |
| 13 | New York Saints | Danen Reisig | D | Victoria Shamrocks (WLA) |
| 14 | Philadelphia Wings | Verigin Tutty # | Vancouver, British Columbia | |
| 15 | Buffalo Bandits | Bob Henry | F | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) |
| 16 | Rochester Knighthawks | Josh Sanderson* | F | Orangeville Northmen (OLL Jr. A) |
x Denotes player who won at least one NLL Award
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | Baltimore Thunder | Andrew Ross | F | United States Naval Academy |
| 18 | Boston Blazers | Cam Woods x | D | Brooklin Redmen (MSL) |
| 19 | Ontario Raiders | Chris Langdale | D | Ontario |
| 20 | Syracuse Smash | Jason Johnson # | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) | |
| 21 | New York Saints | Jeff Gombar # | G | North Shore Indians (WLA) |
| 22 | Philadelphia Wings | Brad Downey # | Coquitlam Adanacs (WLA) | |
| 23 | Buffalo Bandits | Gary Scott | F | Orangeville, Ontario |
| 24 | Rochester Knighthawks | Kevin Dance | F | Brampton Excelsiors (MSL) |
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 | Baltimore Thunder | Billy Evans # | Johns Hopkins University | |
| 26 | Boston Blazers | Scott Ronson # | Niagara Falls Gamblers (MSL) | |
| 27 | Ontario Raiders | Glenn Clark | D | Brooklin Redmen (MSL) |
| 28 | Syracuse Smash | Brent Rothfuss | F | Nazareth College |
| 29 | New York Saints | John Gagliardi | F | Johns Hopkins University |
| 30 | Philadelphia Wings | Dave Stilley | D | Duke University |
| 31 | Buffalo Bandits | Clay Hill | D | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) |
| 32 | Rochester Knighthawks | Bob Fisher | F | St. Catharines Athletics (MSL) |
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Baltimore Thunder | Doug Knight | F | University of Virginia |
| 34 | Boston Blazers | Jason Fivek # | Colgate University | |
| 35 | Ontario Raiders | R. Phillips# | G | Peterborough Lakers (MSL) |
| 36 | Syracuse Smash | Ryan Kells | F | Niagara Falls Gamblers (MSL) |
| 37 | New York Saints | Jason Osier # | Princeton University | |
| 38 | Philadelphia Wings | Jake Bergey | F | Salisbury State University |
| 39 | Buffalo Bandits | Sean Howe # | St. Catharines Athletics (MSL) | |
| 40 | Rochester Knighthawks | Pat Cougevan | Syracuse University |
x Denotes player who won at least one NLL Award
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 41 | Baltimore Thunder | Jason Wade # | University of North Carolina | |
| 42 | Boston Blazers | Paul Judge # | Hofstra University | |
| 43 | Ontario Raiders | Steve Toll x | D | Niagara Falls Gamblers (MSL) |
| 44 | Syracuse Smash | Warren Blackwell | F | Victoria Shamrocks (WLA) |
| 45 | New York Saints | Jim Gonnella # | Duke University | |
| 46 | Philadelphia Wings | G. Atterbury# | Washington College | |
| 47 | Buffalo Bandits | Cort Knodel # | Canisius College | |
| 48 | Rochester Knighthawks | Dan Garrett # | D | Nazareth College |
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49 | Baltimore Thunder | David Curry # | University of Virginia | |
| 50 | Boston Blazers | B. Proefrock# | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | |
| 51 | Ontario Raiders | Pat Jones | D | Whitby Warriors (OLL Jr. A) |
| 52 | Syracuse Smash | Tony Henderson | F | Niagara Falls Gamblers (MSL) |
| 53 | New York Saints | Chris Grande # | University of Massachusetts | |
| 54 | Philadelphia Wings | Jude Collins | F | University of North Carolina |
| 55 | Buffalo Bandits | Chris Clark | F | Michigan State University |
| 56 | Rochester Knighthawks | Phil Sanderson | D | Orangeville Northmen (OLL Jr. A) |
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 57 | Baltimore Thunder | M. Marchant# | Mount Washington College | |
| 58 | Boston Blazers | Steve Rogie # | Michigan State University | |
| 59 | Ontario Raiders | Kris Bryde | F | Coquitlam Adanacs (WLA) |
| 60 | Syracuse Smash | Jim Roberts # | Brooklin Redmen (MSL) | |
| 61 | New York Saints | Craig Kahoun # | Butler University | |
| 62 | Philadelphia Wings | Werner Krueger | F | Johns Hopkins University |
| 63 | Buffalo Bandits | Chris Levis | G | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) |
| 64 | Rochester Knighthawks | Rory Thorpe # | Syracuse University |
# Denotes player who never played in the NLL regular season or playoffs
| Pick # | NLL team | Player | Position | Club/college |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 65 | Baltimore Thunder | Brian Volpe # | Loyola College | |
| 66 | Boston Blazers | Alex Nephew # | Denison University | |
| 67 | Ontario Raiders | Chad Squire | F | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) |
| 68 | Syracuse Smash | Bill Genie # | Six Nations Chiefs (MSL) | |
| 69 | New York Saints | Brian Kuczma # | Johns Hopkins University | |
| 70 | Philadelphia Wings | Tim Lucky # | Mount Washington College | |
| 71 | Buffalo Bandits | Jeff Hanson | F | Burnaby Lakers (MSL) |
| 72 | Rochester Knighthawks | Matt Kerwick | F | Hobart and William Smith Colleges |