January 27, 2010 E-MAIL PRINT

In chess move, Seibald swapped

by Staff Report/

Max Seibald scored 141 points during his college career, the most by a Cornell midfielder. (photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Max Seibald scored 141 points during his college career, the most by a Cornell midfielder. (photo: Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

The Blazers were hoping for a lot from Max Seibald when they selected him in the first round of the NLL Draft last year.

Now, they're hoping they receive a lot for the Tewaarton Trophy winner.

The Philadelphia Wings acquired Seibald, the 2009 NCAA Lacrosse Player of the Year, from the Blazers this week in exchange for the Wings' 2010 first-round draft pick and future considerations.

Seibald, Boston's first-round pick in 2009, did not agree to play for the Blazers.

"The job of a GM, much like a chess player, is to solve an immediate need while simultaneously creating an opportunity for a future maneuver. By receiving a first-rounder in the 2010 draft we've set ourselves up for either a move at the trade deadline a few weeks from now or a significant move leading into the 2010 draft,'' said Blazers general manager Doug Reffue.

"At the same time, the 'future consideration' component of this trade will at some point in the next several years create a significant shift in the Eastern Conference in favor of the Blazers. This is something that the fans can't and won't see in the immediate future, but when it does happen, we'll be in a great position vis-a-vis our conference rival.''

Reffue didn't specify how the future considerations will be determined.

"Max was the best player available for our franchise when we made our pick,'' said Reffue when asked if the team erred in selecting Seibald. "We have leveraged that pick to create short- and long-term resources for our franchise. We have a conference rival in Philly that has just given us their first-rounder in 2010 and a significant future consideration in return for a player who has never played a minute of box lacrosse. Within two or three seasons we will know exactly how this trade affected the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. I'm very comfortable with our position.''

His counterpart is also pleased.

“We are excited to have Max join our team,” said Philadelphia's general manager and head coach David Huntley.  “He is a terrific athlete and lacrosse player and is committed to learning the indoor game with the Wings.”

“Max was without a doubt the best player in Division 1 last year,” said Wings co-owner and senior vice president Mike French.  “He has the character and selflessness that matches perfectly with our team and how Dave [Huntley] runs our team.  I have known Max since his freshman year at Cornell and I saw how he was capable of singlehandedly carrying that team on his back.  He is a player we wanted to get at the draft, it didn’t work out, but we are delighted to have him as part of our team now.”

Seibald is a graduate of Cornell University and holds the school’s all-time scoring record for a midfielder with 141 points (91 goals, 50 assists).  In his collegiate career he was named the Ivy League Rookie of the Year (2006), was a four-time All-Ivy Team selection (2006-09) and a two-time first team All-American (2008-09).  He was awarded the Tewaarton Trophy in 2009 as the nation’s top lacrosse player, was named the USILA Outstanding Player of the Year, and won the McLaughlin Award as the nation’s top midfielder.  He also led Cornell to the 2009 NCAA Division 1 final, which was the team’s first appearance in the title game since 1988.

"With the progress we've seen in Ryan Hotaling and Matt Abbott we're satisfied that we have the talent in place to begin to fill the hole we had in transition with the departure of Jason Bloom,'' said Reffue. "As soon as the coaching staff was able to see these two guys develop we felt much better about the prospect of moving Max."

The Wings play Boston at TD Garden Saturday at 1 p.m.

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