Dispersal Draft, Done. Free Agency, Open. The next step in the NLL off-season in the 2024 NLL Draft, which will take place on Sept. 15.

We’ve gone over the forwards and defenders who could hear their names called in this year’s class. But now, we' switch our attention to the netminders. There’s a good crop of goalies this year who could get drafted. Most of the class is fresh off or currently playing junior lacrosse, with some goalies entering early following strong seasons.

Let’s take a look through the shot-stoppers who are at the top of the 2024 class.

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NLL DRAFT - FORWARDS TO WATCH

NLL DRAFT - DEFENDERS TO WATCH

Nate Whittom, Mimico (OJLL)

The Elmira, Ontario native is one of the premier Junior A goaltenders in Canada, and still has two more seasons of Junior eligibility. At 6-foot-2, 255 pounds, Nate takes up a lot of net but is not slow-moving laterally like some may be concerned with at that size. Whittom plays his angles well and has a good stick to help out with the transition game to boot.

Similar to Thomas Kiazyk being taken by the Rush last year having lots of junior ball left to play, I’d expect a team to take a flyer on the kid. We could see him be the first goalie taken in this year’s NLL Entry Draft.

Colby Bowman, Walsh & Nanaimo (WLA)

After a phenomenal final season of Junior A which saw him post an 11-4-0 record with an .841 save percentage and 7.96 GAA, with First-Team All-Star honours in 2023, Colby Bowman put together a stellar rookie campaign in the WLA this past summer.

The 6-foot, 215-pound Nanaimo native has proven to be one of the premier goalkeepers out West for more than a couple of years now. Of all draft-eligible goalies this year, Bowman may be the most “NLL ready” and a strong candidate to be the first keeper to have his name called this at this year’s Entry Draft.

Lindyn Hill, Orangeville (OJLL)

At 5-foot-10, 180 pounds, Hill is the new-age athletic-style goalie who relies on his reflexes, flexibility, and ball-tracking skills to stop rubber. Hill had a good season with the Junior A Orangeville Northmen, where he posted a 6.70 GAA with an .866 save percentage in his 10 regular-season starts. Lindyn also saw some action in the 2024 Minto Cup, winning his lone start, and playing serviceable relief minutes when starter Connor O’Toole needed it.

Marc Russell-Rippberger, Burnaby (BCJALL)

Rippberger is a prototypical athletic-style goalie who moves laterally with ease, tracks the ball well, and has a compete level that runs through the roof.

He suffered a tough early-season lower-body injury that derailed his graduating junior season, but Rippberger stepped in during Burnaby’s playoff run and was more than serviceable despite not playing at 100 percent. The sample size isn’t the largest, but the talent is obviously there. Rippberger has even drawn comparisons to Christian Del Bianco’s play style from Burnaby Head Coach Ty Yanko.

Tristan Lomas, Coquitlam (BCJALL)

Being stuck behind arguably the best goalie in Junior A lacrosse in Jack Kask is tough for a goalie, but Tristan Lomas was extremely successful in all of his starts during the 2024 season with the Minto Cup Champion Coquitlam Adanacs.

In total, Lomas posted a 6-0-0 record with a 6.35 GAA and an impressive .831 save percentage. Lomas takes up a good amount of net, has good height standing above 6-feet, and reacts to the ball well. There’s no doubt that, on most other Junior A teams, he would have been a serviceable starting goalie, capable of posting similar numbers over a larger sample size.

Calum Leaver-Preyra, McGill & Burlington (OJLL)

Filling the shoes of the goalie that backstopped your team to a Minto Cup Championship the year prior is no easy feat, but Calum Leaver-Preyra did just that in his final Junior A season this summer.

Posting an .843 save percentage and an 8.62 GAA, the Mimico native gave his Burlington Blaze team a chance to win every night. While he is a bit on the smaller side, he makes himself very big in the net and can cut angles down with his footwork.

Brayden Wandler, Burnaby (BCJALL)

The pride of Maple Ridge, BC, Wandler spent much of his Junior A career with the Langley Thunder before being traded to the Burnaby Lakers in his penultimate junior season this year. On the smaller side, Wandler is another reactive goalie but has great success tracking the ball and attacking the save.

Wandler was a full-time starter for his final three seasons, backstopping the Thunder to the BCJALL finals in 2022. For his career, Wandler posted an .801 save percentage and 10.10 goals against average.

Tommy Wood, Okotoks (RMJALL)

Not a lot was expected of a young Okotoks roster this summer, and they only went and won the RMJALL to appear in the Minto Cup. Wood, one of the veterans on the roster, was a big reason for their massive year.

Playing in 15 games for the Raiders this summer, Wood posted a ridiculous 6.60 GAA and an .869 save percentage over that span.

Wood is just a solid, all-around goaltender who’s able to track the ball well and read shooters to stare down scoring chances. Like many on this list, Wood is a 2004-born goaltender who has one more summer of junior lacrosse left. With Okotoks already looking to repeat as champions in 2025, getting him back will be a huge boost. A team could look to bring him in and develop him long-term.

Photo: Craig Robertson/Peterborough Jr Lakers

Cole Gervais, Peterborough (OJLL)

Gervais saw himself go from the starter in Burlington to Peterborough last summer at the OJLL trade deadline when the Blaze traded for Deacon Knott in a blockbuster.

After joining the Jr. Lakers, Gervais turned a corner to end his junior career, posting an .824 save percentage in four games last season before posting an 8.25 GAA and an .843 SV%. More importantly, he helped turn the Lakers’ hopes around, backstopping the young squad to a top-three seed in the OJLL.

Gervais entered the 2022 Draft early, so this will be his third kick at the can when it comes to being selected. But this is by far his best season, both on film and on the stats sheet, that he’s posted since that point. He’s a name to keep an eye on later in the draft.

Tyden Redlick, Edmonton (RMJALL)

Redlick has a very similar frame to Wood, standing at 6-foot-2, 181 pounds, and the two Alberta goaltenders went back and forth for the chance to make the Minto.

The Miners came up a game short, but Redlick proved to be one of the most exciting young goaltending prospects in the country.

With a 7.40 GAA and an .837 save percentage this summer, he put his team in a position to win every game. Like Whittom, Redlick has multiple years of junior left, being a 2005-born netminder.

He’s an athletic goaltender who competes in every game. There’s still room for growth over the next couple of years for him. Another long-term project for a team to scoop later in the draft.

NLL Draft - Goalies To Watch