Oakville Rock acquire Hayden Smith from Brampton Excelsiors

Hayden Smith (left) has been traded from Brampton to 

Oakville for Connor Daly, Justin Pychel and a draft pick. 

The Oakville Rock and Brampton Excelsiors have completed a trade involving a trio of defenders and a draft pick just over a month ahead of the start of the 2014 Major Series Lacrosse season. Oakville receives defender Hayden Smith, a graduate of the Orangeville Northmen and currently on the practice roster of the Buffalo Bandits, who took him 13th overall in the 2012 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft. The rugged Smith played in 13 games for Brampton last year, collecting three assists and 24 penalty minutes.

In return, the Excelsiors get Connor Daly, Justin Pychel and a first-round pick in the 2015 MSL junior draft. Daly is a graduate of the Burlington Chiefs Jr A program and has played two seasons for the Ajax/Oakville franchise, totalling 13 goals and 12 assists in 31 games played primarily as a defender/transition player, although he did spend occasional time at forward. Daly has also played two years in CLax, one with the Toronto Shooting Stars and this past season winning a Creators Cup championship with the Niagara Lock Monsters.

Pychel spent most of his junior career with with St. Catharines Athletics and finished up his final year with the Six Nations Arrows. He was selected 19th by the Washington (now Vancouver) Stealth in the 2012 NLL draft and got into 18 games last year with the Oakville Rock, for whom he totalled four assists and 29 penalty minutes.