As we get ready for the NLL Draft this fall, let’s take a look at some prospects that should be on the board heading into that night.

Next up, Ryan Smith from Burlington, Ontario

The righthanded forward played Junior A for his hometown Burlington Chiefs under the tutelage of a familiar face for Riptide fans – team captain Dan MacRae is the Chiefs head coach. In two seasons with the Chiefs, he had 181 points on 97 goals and 84 assists in 39 games. In 2018, Smith recorded 101 points, the second-highest total in OJALL that year. In 2019, Smith saw action in 18 games for the Oakville Rock in Major Series Lacrosse. He had 49 points with 22 goals and 27 assists, including two game winning goals and four power play goals.

Collegiately, Smith has had a standout career at Robert Morris. The first player in program history to be named NEC Rookie of the Year in 2017, he earned two All-NEC Second Team honors (2018 and 2019) and was on the All-NEC Rookie Team in 2017 as well. That season, he also earned a spot on the NEC Academic Honor Roll and in 2020 was named a USILA Scholar All-American. Smith owns the RMU single-game record for points in a game with 10 and tied the record for most goals in a game with eight on February 15, 2020. He also ranks sixth in program history in career goals with 94, assists with 52 and points with 146 and is fifth in points per game at 2.61. In a shortened senior season, he started all six games and led the team in points (28) and assists (11) while ranking second in goals (17) and groundballs (22).

Be sure to follow the Riptide all summer long on social media at @NewYorkRiptide as we get ready for the draft!