The Boston Blazers selected Dan Dawson with the first pick in today's National Lacrosse League dispersal draft, held because the Arizona Sting failed to return from a one-year suspension of operations.

Arizona suspended operations last fall in the wake of troubled collective bargaining negotiations, having taken a one-time offer to return for 2009 and be able to recall its players.

The Sting's players were thus dispersed on one-year loans, but when the team opted the extend its suspension of operations indefinitely, another dispersal draft was necessary, this time for the players' permanent rights.

Boston, rejoining the league after taking the same one-year hiatus as Arizona (although opting not to recall its players) plucked Dawson from the Portland LumberJax, for whom he scored 38 goals in the regular season and then led to the NLL Championship Game.

Dawson was also selected first, by Portland, in the November dispersal draft.

Edmonton, drafting second, snagged forward Andy Secore, who broke out in 2008 with Minnesota, scoring 28 goals and dishing out 48 assists.

In the first of several selections that turned loaner players into permanent team members, Chicago chose defenseman Scott Self with the next pick; Self was a second-team All-Pro last season, scooping 100 loose balls. Five first-round picks were drafted by their own 2008 teams, and a sixth finished the day back home after a trade.

Craig Conn, who missed all of 2008 after suffering a knee injury last summer, went fourth-overall to Toronto. On the hope that his knee might recover quickly enough to have played this past season, Buffalo selected Conn with the tenth pick in the first Arizona dispersal draft.

Choosing fifth, Rochester drafted Lindsay Plunkett, who split time in 2008 between Chicago and Edmonton, tallying 17 goals and 20 assists in a total of twelve games.

Plunkett, in fact, became the centerpiece of the day's only trade. Rochester sent Plunkett back to Edmonton, along with second-round pick Matt Brown, for defenseman Troy Bonterre, a 2008 third-round entry draft selection and future considerations.

The draft finished one selection before its scheduled end, as the last of 22 available Sting players was drafted before Buffalo could make its second-round pick.

Full draft results follow.

##  TEAM                SELECTION (POS)
--  ------------------  -------------------------- 
 1  Boston              Dan Dawson (F)
 2  Edmonton            Andy Secore (F)
 3  Chicago             Scott Self (D)
 4  Toronto             Craig Conn (F)
 5  Rochester           Lindsay Plunkett (F)
 6  Calgary             Bruce Codd (D)
 7  Colorado            Bruce Murray (D)
 8  San Jose            Mike Grimes (D)
 9  Philadelphia        Rob Blasdell (G)
10  New York            Jamie Rooney (F)
11  Minnesota           Chris McKay (D)
12  Portland            Derek Malawsky (F)
13  Buffalo             Greg Hinman (D)

14  Boston              Peter Veltman (F)
15  Edmonton            Chris Seller (D)
16  Chicago             Brad MacDonald (D)
17  Toronto             Mike Attwood (G)
18  Rochester           Matt Brown (F)
19  Calgary             - Pass -
20  Colorado            Matt Ward (F)
21  San Jose            - Pass -
22  Philadelphia        Luc Pinder (D)
23  New York            - Pass -
24  Minnesota           Brad Dairon (F)
25  Portland            Kyle McEwan (D)
26  Buffalo             - No Pick -