By MaKenna Williams
Sports Editor
Saint Rose lacrosse standout, Camden Smith, was drafted by the Halifax Thunderbirds in the 6th round. Smith is the first Saint Rose lacrosse player to be drafted into the National Lacrosse League and is also the only person from Massachusetts to be drafted this year. Cam Smith is one of four Albany area students to be drafted in 2023 along with Graydon Hogg, Jacob Piseno, and Elijah Gash, all from the University at Albany. Smith set the school record for 50 goals this past season, and he was also ranked 17th in goals for the NCAA Division II lacrosse.
Cam Smith had spoken about how the Saint Rose lacrosse coach, Coach Williams, and many other coaches have helped him prepare for these next steps of his life; “Coach Williams was a big help in not only terms of the draft process but development in lacrosse as a whole. His guidance, positive mindset and flexibility are a few admirable traits. I also want to give a big thank you to Coach Madden, the strength coach here at Saint Rose. He has gone above and beyond to create a specific training program to help me put on weight as I prepare for training camp with Halifax.”
Smith also took the time to speak about his journey to wanting to play in the NLL. “When I was a young kid I dreamed of playing in the NHL. My first year of playing lacrosse I met a man named Colin Doyle (NLL hall of fame inductee 2023) and since meeting him my dream shifted to the NLL. So since the age of 12 it’s always been a goal of mine. I want to thank Mr. Curt Styres, Coach Accursi and the rest of the Halifax Thunderbirds staff for giving me the opportunity to make that dream come true!”
In addition, he spoke about his biggest inspiration in life; “The late Matt Frankel, a Saint Rose teammate of mine, is someone who saw the NLL vision and influenced me to make it. Even when I wasn’t getting playing time at Saint Rose and questioned myself, Matt was so confident in my future and now that I am one step closer, I am certain Matt has a big smile on his face waiting to say “I told you so.” The thought of succeeding in the NLL to make Matt happy and prove him right has been my motivation for the past year and I am ready to put more work in then ever. The biggest lessons I’ve learned from Matt are to believe in yourself and always pick your teammates up when they need someone,” Smith said.
Not only has Cam Smith had tremendous amounts of success through his high school and college career, he soon will be pushing the limits and taking on challenges at the professional level. Smith will be trading in his black and gold for purple and orange in the late spring and heading to Nova Scotia, Canada to pursue his dreams up north. Smith was the lead scorer in the Northeast-10 conference this past spring. The Saint Rose community is wishing for a successful final season for Smith as a Golden Knight, as well as the beginning of a successful professional career.
