The Georgia Swarm has signed four of its ten selections in the 2018 NLL Entry Draft. Adam Wiedemann, Steven Orleman, LeRoy Halftown and Tanner Poole join the Swarm on two-year contracts.
The signings come immediately after Georgia’s big draft night where it made a blockbuster trade in the first round with Calgary to get an additional first round draft pick and forward Holden Cattoni and drafted 10 players. The full Swarm draft recap can be read HERE.
Selected by the Swarm No. 8 overall, Wiedemann spent his collegiate career as an attackman for Belmont Abbey. In his senior year, the Caledon East, Ontario native posted 67 points (38G, 29A), 41 ground balls, and six caused turnovers over 18 games.
“Wiedemann was the Major Series Lacrosse Rookie of the Year,” Swarm Owner and General Manager John Arlotta said. “He’s a guy who can be a stay-at-home defender but can run up the floor and has great stick skills.”
“I think fans should expect some explosiveness up the floor in transition,” Wiedemann said about his style of play, “hopefully get a few goals, but mostly start the offense with a quick-hitter right away on a two-on-one or three-on-two with a couple of the O guys or get a couple of getaways, see what happens. But I like to play some tenacious D, kind of get into some guys a bit, then get up the floor as fast as I can and help out on the O end.”
Orleman was selected No. 19 overall by Georgia. He plays goaltender like his brother Kevin Orleman, who served as Georgia’s back-up goaltender in the 2017-18 season. Playing for the Brampton Excelsiors in 2018, Orleman spent 240:01 min. in front of the net during the regular season, finishing with a 3-1 record and a 6.25 GAA. He played 839:33 min. as Brampton proceeded through the playoffs and compiled an 11-3 record to go with his 6.50 GAA.
“I think my angles are pretty sharp,” Orleman said. “I’m not one of the bigger goalies out there, so I have to rely more on my speed and my reaction, and I think I do that pretty well. That’s one of my better points of my game.”
With the No. 20 overall pick, the Swarm proceeded to draft Halftown out of New York Institute of Technology. He netted 52 goals for the Bears in his senior season, fifth most in program history. Halftown finished his final year of college with 70 points (52G, 18A), 25 ground balls, and four caused turnovers through 18 games.
Poole was signed in the fifth round, No. 60 overall. A transition player with the Barrie Lakeshores Jr. A, Poole played 16 games with Barrie in 2018. He posted 10 points (5G, 5A).
The three defensive signings were part of Arlotta’s plan to shore up Georgia’s defensive end in the 2018 Draft, picking up fast and athletic guys with great stick skills and high character on and off the field.
All deals are pending league approval.
Season Tickets for the Swarm’s 2018-19 season are On Sale Now! Season Ticket packages include 10 games (nine regular season games and one postseason game) and a handful of VIP benefits. Join Sting City by reserving your membership today by calling 844-4-GASWARM.
