Atlas Castoff Cade van Raaphorst Thankful for Opportunity with Cannons

It had been over a year since the Cannons had won a game in the Premier Lacrosse League.

After beating the Waterdogs in the opening weekend of the 2022 season, the Cannons went winless throughout the next nine games and missed the playoffs. The team then lost in each of the first two weekends of the 2023 season.

In Week 3, the Cannons led the Chrome by one goal when the latter sent an errant fast break pass out of bounds with 7.9 seconds left. Newly acquired defenseman Cade van Raaphorst was closest to the ball and had the honor of throwing it high into the air and down the field to run out the remaining time on the clock.

Cannons coach Brian Holman triumphantly clapped his hands and hugged his assistant coaches as it was their first professional victory. Smiles stretched across the faces of the likes of Asher Nolting, Colin Kirst, and Bubba Fairman, second-year pros that didn’t have too many chances to celebrate in their professional careers.

While van Raaphorst hadn’t shared in those challenging experiences, he had his own adversity to get through. Even to be on a roster, let alone for a team that won, was a relief. He was happy to reward the coach and team that gave him another chance.

“So many times in this league, really good players get dropped from a team, and then it's really hard to claw your way back,” he said. “To have an opportunity from [Holman] to get signed when I hit the player pool, I'm really thankful for him for believing in me, and I'm hoping that going forward the rest of the season, I can hold up my end of deal and be an impact player for this organization and help us win games.”

The rosters for Week 1 were revealed on Twitter on June 1, two days before the first game. When the Atlas — van Raaphorst’s original team — announced its gameday lineup, followers were quick to point out that van Raaphorst was on neither the active roster nor the reserve roster.

It was a notable omission considering the fifth-year pro out of Duke was coming off a season in which he was selected to the All-Star Game for the first time. Not only did he finish with double digits in caused turnovers for the third consecutive season, but also he unearthed a potent transition and offensive side of his game, scoring a career-best three 2-point goals, tied for second-most in the league. A little more than two months before the season started, van Raaphorst re-signed with the Atlas as a free agent on a one-year contract.

The writing was on the wall, however, once the college draft arrived. The Atlas owned the first and third picks in a draft that was deep in defensive talent. In a pre-draft media conference, however, new head coach Mike Pressler stressed the Atlas — who already had van Raaphorst, 2021 All-Star Michael Rexrode, and six-time All-Star and 2017 Major League Lacrosse Defensive Player of the Year Tucker Durkin on the defensive end — needed to add depth at midfield. They especially coveted offensive players that didn’t need the ball in their stick to be effective.

Despite that evaluation, the Atlas selected Cornell defenseman Gavin Adler first overall and then with the third pick, Maryland defenseman Brett Makar. There was going to be an odd man out, certainly not either of the rookies given the draft capital invested in them.

With a 13-12 loss to the Redwoods in Week 1, it was believable that van Raaphorst’s situation on the team would change going into Week 2, and it did, just not in the way most thought.

He was released to the player pool.

Social media users went from shocked — either criticizing Pressler or clamoring for expansion — to prognosticating not if he would be picked up but when and by who.

The league was playing Week 2 in Charlotte, where van Raaphorst lives with his wife, former North Carolina attacker Riley Harrison. But instead of playing in front of family and friends, van Raaphorst was home. His wife didn’t let him sit around the house and mope, however.

“She's been awesome in terms of putting me through drills and making sure I'm still in shape and kicking my butt out there,” he said. “She is incredibly wise and just listening to her and trying to understand, ‘OK, you know, we're in this situation. What do we need to do to get out of it?’ She has just been so supportive of me as a player. Having her to lean on during that time was just awesome.”

Van Raaphorst called his experience humbling. He said he felt he had played well the previous few years, but his release caught him by surprise. He recognized that a lot of talented players aren’t currently on rosters, and it’s important to be prepared for when your name is called and to be a team player.

“Recognizing that the coaches have certain things they're trying to implement and certain players they're trying to play and just asking, ‘Where do you guys see me fitting into this role, and how can I help team win?’ That is really important,” he said. “To have that mindset of, ‘Play me wherever you see me impacting the most, and I'll trust that that's the right opinion.’”

While he may not have anticipated being in the Player Pool, van Raaphorst didn’t last there for very long. Holman called him almost immediately as the move was announced. The two had multiple conversations, first just getting to know each other and later discussing his fit with the Cannons.

Holman wasn’t his only believer, however. Jack Kielty was drafted with the first pick in the second round by the Cannons in the 2021 draft. He appeared every single game in his first two seasons and was selected as a team captain in 2023. A former first-team All-American and ACC Defensive Player of the Year at Notre Dame, Kielty was very familiar with van Raaphorst as a player, pointing out the numerous duels the Fighting Irish had with the Blue Devils during his collegiate career, and he was a fan of van Raaphorst’s game.

“He kind of just does his job incredibly well, and you can rely on it, and I think that's what separates him from a lot of guys in the league,” Kielty said. “He's comfortable playing in an off-ball role. He's comfortable not being the guy whose name is in the newspaper.”

The Cannons went through a major roster overhaul in the offseason, especially on the defensive end. They added goalie Adam Ghitelman, defensemen Finn Sullivan and Matt Rees and long-stick midfielder Kyle Hartzell in free agency. The quartet has 11 All-Star appearances between them. The team also added defender Max Wayne from the Atlas in free agency and long-stick midfielder Ethan Rall as an undrafted free agent.

Getting van Raaphorst up to speed two weeks into the season wasn’t a big issue.

“The day he signed, we got on a call. We Facetimed just to get to know each other a little bit better,” Kielty said. “As time progressed that first week, we jumped on two different sessions. I taught him our entire defense. He's a quick learner. It was pretty seamless for him to pick up on stuff we do, and you can tell he's all in.”

The Cannons utilized van Raaphorst, typically a close defenseman, as a long-stick midfielder in the game against the Chrome. He caused one turnover and picked up two ground balls. He also took two faceoffs.

Kielty was complimentary of van Raaphorst’s first game as a Cannon, saying he used his stick and body position well to disrupt the Chrome midfield. Van Raaphorst, however, was his own worst critic. He felt he could have done a better job both picking up loose balls while also being more of a calming presence, particularly in front of Kirst, who started for only the second time in his career.

Van Raaphorst praised the rookie Rall who had a ground ball and caused five turnovers. He gave credit to veteran Matt Kavanagh for coming through with a clutch goal at the end of the game. He pointed out the intensity that midfielders Jeff Trainor and Jonathan Donville displayed both on the field and on the sidelines.

“Every team is just stacked. If you go up and down these rosters, you just kind of just laugh a little bit. You're like, ‘Man, there's so many good players,’” he said. “Then, if you look at the player pool, it's like, ‘Holy cow. There's just as many good players that are just nipping at the heels of guys who are playing.’ Every year there's a draft class that's coming in that's incredibly hungry that has just come off a full season of playing and are doing everything they can to make a name for themselves in this league and want to keep playing the sport of lacrosse.

“You have to recognize that, ultimately, sometimes coaches make decisions to go certain ways,” he added. “But at the same time, you just need to be on your A-game. You can't just expect to just drop on your cleats and walk out there and be handed the spot.”