The Columbus Landsharks selected their first eight players Thursday during an expansion draft, claiming Philadelphia's veteran backup goaltender Andy Piazza, New York attacker Mike Benedict, Toronto's Rory Graham, and five others.

Each of the other eight teams in the league -- Albany, Buffalo, New York, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Rochester, Toronto and Washington -- were able to protect either thirteen runners and one goaltender or ten runners and two goaltenders. The Rochester Knighthawks are known to have protected two goaltenders -- Steve Dietrich and Pat O'Toole -- while it can be inferred that since Piazza was left unprotected, Philadelphia protected only Dallas Eliuk in the goaltender category. (Full protected/unprotected lists were not available at the time of this report)

Piazza, an eight-year veteran who has played exclusively for the Wings, had developed a reputation for coming up big in emergency relief situations, such as a 1998 game where Piazza made 30 saves in a 15-8 victory at New York when Eliuk left with an injury just 38 seconds into the game. He has appeared in 27 games during his career, including five games this past season.

Benedict, who played for Rochester, Buffalo, and Syracuse before joining the Saints for the 2000 season, has accumulated 106 points (49 goals, 57 assists) over his six-year career. If he remains with the Landsharks, Benedict joins a short list of players who have played for five teams in their careers.

One of the most penalized players on the Rock during both of his professional seasons, Rory Graham now must take his enforcement activities south of the border. Graham has tallied eighteen points (6+12) and seventy-two penalty minutes over his career.

Also drafted by the Landsharks were Bruce Codd (Albany), Shane Wannamaker (Buffalo), Neal Powless (Ottawa), Dan Teat (Rochester), and Eric Gervais (Washington). Teat and Powless are four-year veterans, while Gervais has two years of experience. Codd and Wannamker were rookies this past season.