Paul Rabil Traded To The New York Lizards

Is it just me or do the New York Lizards look unstoppable for the upcoming MLL season? The Boston Cannons and NY Lizards officially released on Monday, January 5^th, that the Cannons will be trading MLL star Paul Rabil and Mike Stone for Max Seibald, Brian Karalunas as well as the Lizards’ first and second round MLL Collegiate draft picks in the 2016 draft. The Cannons also acquired the Lizards’ first round pick in 2017. Paul Rabil has become the face of lacrosse for the past few years and is a huge impact player. He has a cannon of a shot, he held the world record for fastest shot for multiple years, he is extremely athletic, and has great field vision and knowledge. Rabil leaving Boston doesn’t destroy the Cannons hopes for a good season however. Max Seibald is another huge impact player also. The guy is a monster in size and playing ability and will no doubt be able to contribute in a positive fashion to the Cannons offense. I wouldn’t be too worried about the Cannons’ future after this trade. They are setting themselves up to have some good fortune over the next couple seasons. The Lizards on the other hand are looking to become even more of a powerhouse right now in the present. The addition of Rabil to the roster basically completes their team of all stars. One could say that they posses the best players at every position. They already have Rob Pannell at attack, Greg Gurenlian at the face off x, Joe Fletcher on defense, Kyle Hartzle as their LSM, and Drew Adams in the goal. And now with the addition of Paul Rabil at midfield the Lizards line up is completely stacked! The big question I have though is how will Rabil fit in with this new offense, meaning how well will he be able to fit in with his new teammates’ play styles? Pannell is no doubt an amazing young player. The thing that has me slightly concerned is that Pannell and Rabil are both initiators with the ball. Both of them are HUGE scoring threats and draw a slide quickly. Over the past few seasons Rabil has adapted his playing style to become more of an all around midfielder. He opened his skill set and became a pretty good feeder as well as a scorer. It seems my real question is how well will Rob Pannell be able to work off ball while the big #99 goes at it up top, and vice versa. Both of these players are extremely capable of good things and will definitely be able to work together but I just want to know how well and how fast will that come. This is going to be an interesting season for the MLL and I know all of us here at Universal Lacrosse are excited to see how it unfolds. IT’S ALL U