NYDC Roster Officially Announced

The NYDC Capitalists have confirmed with The QuidKid that a complete roster leaked last night on the tumblr blog IQACommunityNews is, in fact, accurate. The list includes 21 players that have not been officially confirmed by the team until now, plus the four captains announced on the IQA site on August 12th and the four players announced on this blog last night. Big name additions include keeper James Hicks, chaser Casey Sabal and seeker Freddy Varone. Adding up to twenty-nine currently, (the Capitalists are still looking for a third male beater) NYDC's roster exceeds the IQA tournament limit of twenty-one.

Along with misspelling the names of several players, the article on IQACommunityNews stated incorrectly why the Capitalists have twenty-nine players. The blog noted unclearly that, "roster size is so they can split up and ease cost of travel for members of the team in two cities."

"Our competitive roster is composed of twenty-nine players because we have twenty-nine strong players," corrected co-captain Amanda Dallas.

Whether the number stays around thirty throughout the season is up to the captains, continued Dallas. "The roster is also liable to change at the discretion of the captains. This way our players are kept on their toes and consistently striving to be better. There's no room for complacency on this team."

There truly isn't. This roster is stacked with talent, and unless eight players are too injured to play, it's going to be very difficult for the captains to pick a team for World Cup VII. Here is the official NYDC Capitalists, 2013-14 roster plus a little analysis.

Note: NYDC has quite a few utility players. Each player was required to pick a main position and they are listed under the position they picked.

Keepers
Michael Parada, James Hicks, John Gaffigan

Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Staff

With Parada, Hicks and Gaffigan, keepers are the backbone of the Capitalists. Despite having different body builds, each seems to have drawn comparisons to each other. Bringing the quaffle up the pitch, all three keepers know how to pace a game, rarely forcing the quaffle anywhere. They are patient at the point and find ways to get around point defenders. Shooting and passing accuracy is also a common trait of the three.

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff

Parada's the best driver and most reliable scorer of the three and will likely see the most minutes, but the Capitalists have to be careful not to underuse Hicks and Gaffigan. While Parada can undoubtedly be a really great team player, Hicks and Gaffigan have more experience utilizing all three chasers on the pitch. Hicks especially is great at running a less aggressive perimeter offense that requires all three chasers to be moving and getting open.





Chasers
Michael Bufardeci, Taylor Crawford, Katryna Fernandez, Tony Greco, Missy Hanley, Dean Hoff, Steve Hysick, Tim Keaney, Howie Levine, Alex Linde, DJ Lynch, Walter Makarucha Jr., Steve Minnich, Chris Pavlovych, Emily Pertz, Casey Sabal, Brook Schulze

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff

Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Staff

Photo by Kat Ignatova/IQA Staff

The Capitalists have an abundance of talented chasers. Tony Greco, a young keeper/chaser that has gained attention, will learn from Yada, Hicks and Gaffigan and get a chance sometime this season to lead the Capitalists. DJ Lynch is a tough point defender and has explosive speed on the fast break. Parada's Penn State teammate Steve Hysick and former Badassilisk Casey Sabal play well on both ends of the pitch. While they are terrific ball-handlers with a knack for getting open and scoring, it's their rock solid, tenacious defense that draws attention. Co-captain Alex Linde could play really well in a dual point guard system with James Hicks with his experience as a distributor. Former Hofstra Flying Dutchmen Michael Bufardeci, Taylor Crawford and Tim Keaney have led Hofstra's high-powered offense and bring a whole chaser line of chemistry to NYDC.

Beaters
Emily Crouch, Amanda Dallas, Kerri Donnelly, Bryan Hall, Robby May, Amanda Salvucci

Photo by Michael E. Mason/IQA Staff

The beating core of the Capitalists revolves around co-captain Amanda Dallas. Robby May debuted at beater alongside Dallas at the River City Invitational and showcased his improvement (with Dallas) at Champagne Cup. By the time NYDC plays it's first game, May will look like a veteran beater. Bryan Hall, Dallas' teammate with NYU, is known for his physical chaser play. However, Hall played beater while recovering from ACL surgery last summer and occasionally played the position for fun at NYU practices. Beater will be Hall's main position with the Capitalists. Amanda Salvucci, Kerri Donnelly and Emily Crouch provide lots of female beater depth behind Dallas. With four talented female beaters, NYDC could (and should) experiment with playing a two female beater/all-male chaser set.

Seekers
Billy Greco, Sarah Staatz, Freddy Varone

Photo by Michael E. Mason

The Capitalists' seeking game will be one of the strongest in the IQA next season. Billy Greco, Sarah Staatz and Freddy Varone are a scary rotation to begin with. Led by the Olympian Greco, they are an experienced, scrappy threesome who have pulled lots of clutch snatches. But, when you factor in that many of the Capitalists' chasers have also seeked, the Capitalists look unstoppable in the snitch game. Michael Parada put on the yellow headband whenever it mattered for Penn State this year and snatched several key grabs en route to his fantasy three-peat. Walter Makarucha Jr. is a go-to defensive seeker due to his snitching experience and Steve Hysick gained attention as a seeker when he caught the Northeast Fantasy Finals grab. Most opposing teams will helpless against the Capitalists' seeking game, but Maryland's Ricky Nelson and Harry Greenhouse are sure to put up a fight.


As I write this, I can only predict based on what I've seen from each player. How they will develop with their new teammates awaits to be seen. Lesser known players will blossom alongside some of the biggest stars of the IQA. For many of the Capitalists' stars, World Cup VI ended painfully. With a roster overflowing with talent, experience and the will to win, the Capitalists have to be a favorite in their region and in the country. Dallas put it simply, "We recognize this is our year if we want it to be."