Las Vegas Desert Dogs draft eight, head coach joins NLL Hall Of Fame

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Desert Dogs' pack is getting even bigger. On Saturday, the team welcomed eight new faces to the team following the 2023 Entry draft.

That includes:

• Round 1, Pick 2 - Adam Poitras, left forward, Loyola

• Round 2, Pick 24 - Luke Pilcher, left forward, Rochester Institute of Technology

• Round 3, Pick 42 - Mustang Sally, left transition, Loyola
• Round 3, Pick 51 - Luke Robinson, right forward, Jacksonville University
• Round 4, Pick 57 - Joey Szabo, left transition, Queens University of Charlotte

• Round 5, Pick 70 - Tyler Carpenter, left transition. Duke
• Round 6, Pick 86 - Kenny Brower, right defense, Duke
• Round 6, Pick 97 - Nick Murphy, right forward, High Point University

The 2022-2023 season was the Desert Dogs inaugural season. They finished the year with a record of five wins and 13 losses. They're looking to build on last year and made a big trade right before the draft with the Vancouver Warriors.
The Desert Dogs sent their fourth and ninth overall picks and Jackson Suboch to the Warriors in exchange for the second overall pick, a fifth round pick, and Jonathan Gagliardi.

"You just try and move the chess pieces around and see what you can do. We're hoping to do as much as we did last year based on the guys we brought it to make a playoff push," Head Coach and General Manager Shawn Williams said ahead of the draft. "Any time you're approaching a draft, you're looking to see if you can move up. We moved up a couple picks there. There are some special guys and I wanted to ensure we are part of the process."

It was a special weekend for Williams too. He was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall Of Fame. Williams played for 17 seasons in the league making stops with Ontario, Toronto, Buffalo, Rochester, and Edmonton. He also won two championships in his playing career and retired as one of only eight players to score 1,100 career points.

Williams' son Dyson was the number one pick in the National Lacrosse League draft. Both Shawn and Dyson said it was a special day to celebrate as a family but also a bittersweet one. The Williams' lost their son Tucker to Burkitt's Lymphoma in December 2014. His dream was to play professional lacrosse just like his dad and brother.

The National Lacrosse League's 2023-2024 season will start with Faceoff Weekend, which is scheduled for Dec. 1 and 2. The full schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.