Conrad Chapman was in the building at Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ont., for the National Lacrosse League draft on Monday but had no idea what the Vancouver Stealth had in store for him until they called his name.
The 22-year-old Prince George-born-and-raised transition/defenceman was taken totally by surprise when the Stealth picked in the second round, 12th overall.
He shook hands with league commissioner George Daniel and posed for pictures on stage with Stealth president /GM Doug Locker and the coaching staff, and now the real fun begins. Once he gets his contract worked out, it's up to Chapman to prove he's ready to make the jump this winter to begin his career as a professional lacrosse player.
"I'm still speechless, still waiting for it to sink in," said Chapman. "I was shocked. I had no sense of where I would go. I had talked to a few teams but nothing concrete. I just tried to play my hardest and show off my skills at the combine in Toronto this past weekend and it seemed to have worked out.
"I still have a job to earn. I just have to come to training camp in shape and play to the best of my abilities. This is a dream come true, I'd do it for free playing in front of crowds of people in a professional with the best players."
The Stealth obviously liked what they saw in the six-foot-six, 230-pound Chapman, who just finished his rookie season of senior A in the Western Lacrosse Association with the Nanaimo Timbermen.
"He's a big body and somewhat of a late bloomer who's really come on," said Stealth head coach Dan Perreault, on the team's website stealthlax.com. "He's turned into a fine player with great speed and keeps getting better every time I watch him."
Chapman's head coach in Nanaimo, retired NLL star Kaleb Toth, was hired this summer as the offensive coach for the Stealth. Chapman was a standout on a Timbermen team that finished last in the Western Lacrosse Association with a 4-13-1 record.
"It was a bit of a learning curve coming in as a rookie," said Chapman, who finished with three goals and three assists.
Chapman had hoped to become a teammate of NLL veteran Jeff Moleski of Prince George but instead he'll have to face him. Moleski, 32, left the Stealth and signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Calgary Roughnecks.
Chapman credits his minor lacrosse coaches, Dave Jenkins and Scott Anderson, for teaching him the game throughout his rep team career, which started when he was a second-year peewee.
Chapman had one year of NCAA college eligibility but became a candidate for the draft when he decided after one semester not to return to Mars Hill University in North Carolina, where he was enrolled on a field lacrosse scholarship. He decided Mars Hill wasn't the right fit for him and he's now a full-time student in the business program at Camosun College in Victoria.
The former College Heights secondary school student picked up field lacrosse when he moved to Victoria to attend Claremont secondary for his Grade 12 year to join the field lacrosse academy. At that time he was playing for the Victoria Shamrocks, his junior team for five seasons. Playing the field game not only led to a college scholarship but Chapman admits it made him a better athlete.
"Playing that game helps a lot, it keeps a stick in your hand pretty much every day and there's lots of running," he said.
