It is finally here. Waterdogs LC is just days away from getting the bulk of its roster after weeks of speculation and tinkering with mock drafts of the available unprotected players.

Waterdogs coach Andy Copelan, the former Fairfield head man set to make his debut with the franchise after being hired on Jan. 2, will draft the core of his roster on Wednesday at 6 p.m. EST on YouTube.

A quick overview of the core rules:

• The Waterdogs will select 18 players from the founding six franchises, with no required amount by position.

• No team will lose more than four players to the new team.

• Each of the original six clubs were allowed to protect 11 players, one goalie and ten runners. The rest are up for grabs.

Here’s a look at some of the notable unprotected players, broken down by position and the players I think the Waterdogs will select when the time comes on Wednesday.

Attack

Notables unprotected: Christian Cuccinello, Archers; Kevin Rice, Archers; Kieran McArdle, Atlas; Chris Cloutier, Atlas; Miles Thompson, Chaos; Curtis Dickson, Chaos; Ty Thompson, Chaos; Jojo Marasco, Redwoods; Clarke Petterson, Redwoods; Ryan Drenner, Whipsnakes; Ben Reeves, Whipsnakes.

My selections: Christian Cuccinello, Kieran McArdle, Miles Thompson, Ryan Drenner.

Overview: It will be interesting to see how Copelan approaches the attack position considering the wealth of talent at the position in the collegiate entry draft. With Grant Ament, Michael Sowers, Mac O’Keefe and Jeff Teat all graduating — among others —Waterdogs LC can likely put together a strong collection of attackmen.

Kieran McArdle seems like an obvious choice; a perfect player to build an expansion team around. He was a star in Major League Lacrosse and should provide similar production on a team with fewer stars than Atlas LC.

Drenner provides an excellent weapon from X, and he showed a knack for coming up in the clutch for Whipsnakes LC. You can do much worse than Miles Thompson and Christian Cuccinello as depth pieces, with both coming off seasons of double-digit points.

The closest call of the bunch for me is Ben Reeves, but I opted against selecting the former Tewaaraton winner since it seems likely he’ll leave professional lacrosse at some point to pursue a medical career.

Midfield

Notables unprotected: Dan Eipp, Archers; Ian McKay, Archers; Ben McIntosh, Archers; Joey Sankey, Archers; Ryan Conrad, Atlas; Joel Tinney, Atlas; Jeremy Thompson, Chaos; Greyson Torain, Chaos; Kyle McClancy, Chaos; Romar Dennis, Chrome; Peter Baum, Redwoods; Wes Berg, Redwoods; Tyler Dunn, Redwoods; Jack Near, Redwoods; Sergio Salcido, Redwoods; Pat Harbeson, Redwoods; Connor Kelly, Whipsnakes; Joe Locascio, Whipsnakes; Jeremy Sieverts, Whipsnakes; Drew Snider, Whipsnakes.

My selections: Joel Tinney, Romar Dennis, Jack Near, Sergio Salcido, Connor Kelly, Drew Snider.

Overview: Don’t be surprised if Waterdogs LC loads up on midfielders, especially considering this is really two positions — offensive midfielders and short-stick defensive midfielders. With the nature of the PLL, having as many two-way talents as possible is crucial.

There’s some serious offensive firepower in this group, including outside bomber Romar Dennis and dodge-master Sergio Salcido. The talent that helped Whipsnakes LC to the title last year gets pillaged a bit with Kelly and Snider coming over, two players with strong pedigree.

There were more two-way players made available on unprotected rosters than straight SSDMs, and Waterdogs LC likely can’t go wrong with any of them. I opted for Jack Near, a reliable presence that doesn’t get the headlines or attention he likely deserves, and Max Tuttle, a versatile second-year player who could be key when you’re only able to draft 18 players.

Defense

Notables unprotected: Evan Connell, Archers; Jackson Place, Archers; Mike Simon, Archers; Austin Pifani, Atlas; Cade Van Raaphorst, Atlas; Callum Robinson, Atlas; Noah Richard, Atlas; Brodie Merrill, Chaos; Ryan Flanagan, Chrome; Joe Fletcher, Chrome; Chris Sabia, Chrome; Brian Karalunas, Redwoods; Larken Kemp, Redwoods; Isaac Paparo, Whipsnakes; Brett Schmidt, Whipsnakes.

My selections: Mike Simon, Cade Van Raaphorst, Noah Richard, Brodie Merrill, Joe Fletcher.

Overview: Joe Fletcher, who entered the PLL late in the league’s first summer, provides Waterdogs LC a player who has been a lockdown No. 1 defender at the professional level before. Cade Van Raaphorst is an excellent No. 2 who provides longevity entering his second professional season.

Brodie Merrill isn’t the player he once was, but he still provides leadership and can fit in well. There’s something to be said for unmatched veteran leadership on a new team. He’s mostly playing close defender now, giving up-and-comer Noah Richard a chance to shine on this team at LSM. The last spot was down to a pair of Archers defensemen, Mike Simon and Jackson Place.

Goalie

Notables unprotected: Adam Ghitelman, Archers; Scott Rodgers, Atlas; Charlie Cipriano, Chaos; Brett Queener, Chrome; Jack Kelly, Redwoods; Dan Morris, Whipsnakes.

My selections: Adam Ghitelman, Jack Kelly.

Overview: Once it was announced the PLL was adding a seventh team for this summer, it appeared a foregone conclusion that whomever the Archers decided not to protect would be the team’s starting goaltender. Ghitelman split duties in the pipes with Drew Adams in 2019, making him the most battle-tested unprotected goalie in the league.

Jack Kelly makes for an interesting backup, with the young keeper likely providing the higher upside of these two. Kelly missed all of last season with injury, allowing Tim Troutner to emerge for the Redwoods, but he was clearly one of the best goalies in the league while with Denver in the MLL. He also has Team USA experience.

Faceoff

Notables unprotected: Brendan Fowler, Archers; Drew Simoneau, Chrome; Jerry Ragonese, Redwoods.

My selections: None.

Overview: As Paul Rabil said on his vlog back in January, the word on the street was that Copelan was not going to take a faceoff specialist in the expansion draft. He’ll likely find a FOGO somewhere else, whether that’s the entry draft, college draft or on waivers.

In review

Its clear Waterdogs will have some serious talent right out of the gate, and there were many players I considered that will be tough to pass on. Of course, the preexisting six teams will breathe a sigh of relief when they learn they are getting some of those pieces back for 2020.

As usual for expansion drafts, don’t be surprised if there’s a bit of gamesmanship, with Waterdogs drafting a player to trade them back to their old team for more pieces or to another team for a player at a different position.