BY RODERICK BOONE
Congrats to Bethpage's Tom Michaelsen are in order. He became the first St. John's men's lacrosse player to ever be selected in the MLL draft. Below is a release from the St. John's athletic department.
Of course, he isn't the only local product to get drafted. So for a complete recap of the entire draft, click here.
RELEASE
Senior Tom Michaelsen continues to make history for the St. John’s lacrosse program as he was selected by the San Francisco Dragons in the fifth round of the Major League Lacrosse Draft Wednesday night in Hoboken, N.J. Michaelsen is the first-ever Red Storm player to compete in one of the two professional lacrosse leagues.
“To be the first St. John’s lacrosse player to play professional lacrosse is very exciting,” said Michaelsen. “I am really honored to represent my school at such a high level.”
Michaelsen was the seventh pick for the Dragons, a member of the MLL’s Western Conference, and the 42nd pick in the overall draft, which included eight players from St. John’s conference, the ECAC.
“I’m pleased that Tom made the most of this chance,” said Red Storm head coach Jason Miller. “Our entire program is proud of him and proud to be represented by him in the company of the Danowski’s, Levielle’s, Rabil’s and other outstanding seniors in this 2008 class.”
The draft was held at Stevens Tech in Hoboken. It was an all day affair which included a combine in the morning to test the skills and agility of the country’s top 40 collegiate players followed by a scrimmage in front of the MLL’s commissioner David Gross, general managers and coaches. The actual draft began at 8:30 p.m. Paul Rabil from Johns Hopkins was the overall No. 1 pick by the Boston Cannons.
“When I first received the phone call inviting me to the combine I was extremely excited,” said Michaelsen. “I saw it as a great opportunity to display my skills in front of the pro scouts. It was a very long day but well worth it. My heart was pounding the whole day because I knew this could make or break me.”
Of the eight ECAC schools, St. John’s was one of five represented in this spring’s draft. University of Massachusetts had the most with three players selected, followed by Georgetown with two and Loyola and Hobart with one each.
Over his four-year career with the Red Storm, Michaelsen, a Bethpage native has created a legacy for the next generation of St. John’s lacrosse players to follow. One of the 10 members of the 2008 senior class who helped rebuild the program after its reinstatement in 2005, Michaelsen was the first player to earn All-ECAC honors in 2007, and last weekend was the first player since 1990 to be selected to play in the annual USILA Senior North/South All-Star Game.
In his senior season, he was named a National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) All-American, earned the Francis A. McCall Memorial Award as the team MVP and became the fifth player in St. John’s history to reach 100 career points.
In his collegiate career, Michaelsen tallied 71 goals and 46 assists for 117 points, making him fourth in career assists, fifth on the all-time leading scorer list and tied for fifth in career goals in the St. John’s record books. As a sophomore in 2006, he earned the team’s offensive MVP award.
A four-year starter, Michaelsen led the Red Storm squad in points for three-straight seasons. He earned eight ECAC weekly honors, including Co-Offensive Player of the Week on May 5, 2008 and was the league’s rookie of the week twice in 2005. He tallied 11 hat tricks in 50 games with the Red Storm.
The San Francisco Dragons began their 2008 season last weekend against the Chicago Machine. The Dragons will open its home schedule this weekend against the Los Angeles Riptide on May 31. Michaelsen is most likely to travel to the West Coast to begin play immediately.
Red Storm assistant coach Brian Jacovina is also a member of the MLL’s Western Conference as part of the Denver Outlaws. Michaelsen and Jacovina are scheduled to play each other three times over the 2008 season. Before Jacovina became an assistant with St. John’s, the pair played each other in conference play in the Massachusetts-St. John’s rivalry.
The Dragons picked up seven players in Wednesday’s draft, including Michaelsen’s ECAC foe Daryl Veltman from Hobart, and Brendan Loftus of the 2008 NCAA Championship team, Syracuse.
Michaelsen will be back on the East Coast to play the Long Island Lizards on July 26.