Boston Blazers - Inaugural Season

Inaugural Season

The 2009 NLL season was the Boston Blazers' first season playing in the league. In order to field a team for the season, the Blazers participated in the three separate drafts: the Arizona Sting dispersal draft, the expansion draft on July 24, and the entry draft in September.

On June 30, in the Arizona Sting dispersal draft, the Blazers selected Dan Dawson first overall and forward Peter Veltman with the first pick of the second round. On July 24 the team picked 12 additional players for their roster in the 2008 expansion draft, including goaltender Mike Poulin with the first overall selection.

Shorty after the draft concluded, the Blazers traded Cam Bergman back to the Edmonton Rush for F Brenden Thenhaus and G Kurtis Wagar.

On July 29, the Blazers and Rochester Knighthawks swapped defenders, with Kyle Laverty going to Rochester in exchange for University of Massachusetts Amherst alum Jack Reid.

On July 30, the Blazers, San Jose Stealth, and Calgary Roughnecks completed a 3-way trade that sent Tom Johnson, Travis Gillespie, and Boston's 3rd-round pick in the 2009 NLL Entry Draft to San Jose, Devan Wray to Calgary, and forward Sean Morris (another UMass alum and Marshfield, MA native), defenseman Steve Panarelli, Calgary's 3rd-round pick in the 2009 NLL Entry Draft, and San Jose's 2nd-round pick in the 2010 NLL Entry Draft to Boston.

Only weeks before the season began, the Chicago Shamrox suspended operations, and another dispersal draft was held. The Blazers had the first overall pick, and chose former Goaltender of the Year Anthony Cosmo.