Nick Mellen, one of Syracuse’s primary cover defenders, will be one of the top draft choices available in the 2020 Major League Lacrosse Draft on Monday. 

The two-time USILA All-American announced April 13 that he won’t return for a sixth year with the NCAA’s eligibility relief and entered his name into the MLL Draft portal. 

Mellen’s been listed as one of, if not the best, close defenders available in the draft. But only one defender has ever gone first overall: Princeton’s Ryan Mollett in 2001. The New York Lizards hold the first overall pick, but are expected to shore up offensive deficiencies. Chris Sabia was the first defender picked last year, going eighth overall to Dallas. 

The Daily Orange spoke to front office members for four of the six MLL teams to break down Mellen’s game and how the draft will shape up given the canceled college lacrosse season. 

Defensive strengths

Despite playing in just one game during the shortened 2020 season, Mellen landed a spot on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List. Elected as one of four team captains, he wore the prestigious No. 11 jersey to signify his status as the defensive leader while also being an Inside Lacrosse preseason All-American.  

Mellen’s 55 caused turnovers ranks fifth in Syracuse history, and he ranked second and fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the stat during his redshirt sophomore and junior seasons, respectively.   

Spencer Ford, Philadelphia Barrage general manager and head coach: I think the kid can cover, I really do. I think he made a name for himself that he can eliminate players. And when you can build defenses without a lot of strategy time in the world that we are in now, where you can say to a guy, ‘Hey, go cover a guy. Here’s his strengths. This is the way that we want to play him. This is where we’re going to slide from,’ and have him just take it and go. So I think that the IQ piece and the ability to cover I think he’s got that down pat. 

Tom Mariano, Chesapeake Bayhawks head coach: He’s a great cover guy, very athletic, seems like he’s a great teammate, competitor, covers some of the best guys in the country and has a lot of success.He’s a very sound lacrosse player. 

Sean Quirk, Boston Cannons head coach and director of player personnel: I think Nick is a prototypical professional defenseman, he’s versatile, he’s a guy who can play down low, you can put him up top as well. I think system-wise, he would fit unbelievably into our system and our culture from what I’ve heard about him as a young man as well.

Jon Cohen, Denver Outlaws general manager: I’ve obviously known about him since his freshman year just like everybody else, with how incredible his freshman year was. I think obviously his strength and his footwork is incredible, especially for his size, and he is very strong pound-for-pound for his size.

Nick Mellen only appeared in one game during the 2020 season because of a leg injury, but still finished fifth all-time at Syracuse for caused turnovers. Will Fudge | Staff Photographer

Transitioning to MLL

In addition to a faster-paced style of lacrosse, Ford described the MLL as being a “personal responsibility league” — the biggest worry when it comes to drafting any college player. Teams fly in players on Friday for practice followed by a Saturday morning shootaround before a game the same day. Sunday through Thursday and during the offseasons, players are responsible for keeping their own bodies in match shape. 

Quirk said the real test comes when a player has had months off from the league during their second or third season, unlike when they join their rookie year immediately after playing a full college season. 

One point of potential concern with Mellen was his injury history. Mellen redshirted what would have been his sophomore season in 2017 after suffering a shoulder injury. He came back the following year to become a third-team All-American. Then in 2020, he injured his leg against Colgate and missed the next four games. The season was canceled before what was likely his return game against Rutgers on March 14.  

S.F.: Guys that have fought adversity sometimes come into this thing better off because they understand how to get through it, whereas if a kid comes in and faces adversity in the pro league, it’s hard to recover simply because it’s like, ‘Well, what do I do now? I gotta get out of bed and go do this on my own.’ Nick knew what he wanted to do to get himself back to playing at a high level. 

T.M.: I think the other way to look at it is that in college, you’re practicing every single day, you’re grinding and you watch how Nick plays, I’d assume he’s practicing at that same intensity. Where in the pros, you’re not banging on each other every day, it’s a couple days a week. So actually, it may give him the opportunity to let his body rest and heal which could be a positive for him. 

J.C.: I think, again, you were looking at a guy who was going to be a four-time All-American if injuries didn’t happen. I think that’s obviously the easy kind of knock or weakness that some people have is that he’s been banged up over these last couple years.

NCAA eligibility impact

Mellen was the only Syracuse senior starter that decided against using the NCAA’s additional year of eligibility, instead registering for the MLL Draft. Teams can still select any player that was listed as a senior for the 2020 season regardless of whether they are going back to play another year of college. If the player chooses to return to college, the MLL team retains the player’s rights for a year. 

“This year, it’s been interesting,” Mariano said. “You check the Instagram every day to see who’s saying they’re going back.” 

S.F.: This is something that there is no answer for because we’ve never experienced it. It is going to be very, very hard. I’m going into this thing trying to add a couple of pieces on the defensive end, and a couple of midfielders and that’s where my mindset is going to be to where in previous years, it would be, OK, let’s take care of this and then let’s get the very best players. Because then we knew we could have them in training camp, then we could see where we are. Right now all of it is unknown, so it’s very difficult.

T.M.: The Nick’s of the world that have declared that they’re not going back, and not that they weren’t on top of the list before, but this certainly puts them, they have to go ahead of the guys who aren’t sure. Because you may not have that guy this summer, where a guy like Nick Mellen, who said he’s playing (pro), you have gaps and he can dress for you. That’s huge. 

S.Q.: It’s a challenging year right, cause there’s some guys that maybe didn’t register that are hemming and hawing between going back and playing for a fifth year and guys that may go into the pro level. So we’ll take a shot maybe in those later rounds for some of those guys that maybe go back to college, but certainly Nick showing his commitment to entering that registration portal is a good sign.

J.C.: As far as how this year’s gone as far as scouting, it’s been a little bit of a nightmare to be completely honest. That’s why it’s nice with guys like Mellen and stuff like that that have been like, ‘My time’s done.’ I mean my big board starts with 130 guys on it and I would say 80 of the guys are taking fifth years. And so, that leaves me to 35 to 40 guys we really like that are coming out (of college) and then 10 that we like but are still waiting to hear from grad school or might be trying to find an opportunity with a different school.

Katelyn Marcy | Digital Design Director

When Mellen gets drafted 

S.F.: You just don’t know what route guys are gonna take depending on the need, but I think in the top two rounds that Nick will certainly go. I don’t think he will go number one overall. But I do believe that he could be the number one pick, he could be the number 16 pick, you just never know where these guys stand and how these guys are gonna roll the dice.

T.M.: I think he’s a first round talent. I think he’s a guy who can come in and compete for a starting job as a rookie. So I would envision him going in the first round.

S.Q.: I think he’s hands-down the best defenseman in the draft this year. … I’ll be surprised if he is (available at No. 4) but I’ll be a happy coach if he is.

J.C.: I think he’s probably going to be gone by the time we’re selecting a defenseman (in the later rounds). So I mean he’s on our big board, stuff like that, but I think with his skill set and everything like that, I don’t think we’ll have the opportunity to draft him.

These interviews have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Published on May 3, 2020 at 1:22 pm

Contact Arabdho: armajumd@syr.edu | @aromajumder