The National Lacrosse League’s 2024 free agency period opened on Monday and the Seals made a major splash in the League’s free agent pool in just the first few days. The team signed a pair of top veteran free agents in forwards Rob Hellyer (Las Vegas) and former No. 1 pick Ben McIntosh (Philadelphia), while also completing a major trade, sending forward Jacob Dunbar to Ottawa (formerly the New York Riptide) for defenseman and former first-round pick Zach Deaken.
“We’re thrilled with what we’ve been able to do thus far in free agency, to sign experienced and talented guys like Rob Hellyer and Ben McIntosh,” said Seals GM and Head Coach Patrick Merrill. “And while it’s tough parting ways with a player like Jacob (Dunbar), it’s great to be able to bring in one of the League’s top young defensemen in Zach Deaken.”
Heading into his 12th NLL season, Hellyer brings an impressive resume to San Diego that includes 251 career goals and 445 assists for 696 career points. He’s also secured 638 loose balls while playing in 141 career regular-season games. Hellyer brings valuable playoff experience to San Diego as well having suited up in 14 career postseason games where he’s scored 18 goals and chalked up 39 assists for 57 additional points. The 30th overall pick in the 2010 NLL Draft by the Toronto Rock, Hellyer spent the 2023-24 season in Las Vegas after spending his first 10 NLL seasons in Toronto.
McIntosh, the number one overall pick in by Edmonton in the 2014 NLL Draft, also brings a wealth of offensive prowess to the Seals as he’s scored 282 goals and racked up 235 assists (517 career points) while scooping up 537 loose balls in just eight NLL regular seasons (133 career games). McIntosh’s playoff ledger is just as impressive as in 19 career postseason games, he’s scored 35 goals and recorded 31 assists (66 points) to go along with 72 loose balls secured. Originally drafted by Edmonton, his first eight NFL seasons were spent in Edmonton (2015), Saskatchewan (2016-20) and Philadelphia (2022-23).
Deaken meanwhile played in 13 games for the Riptide as a rookie during the 2023-24 season. New York’s first-round draft pick in the 2022 NLL Draft, Deaken returned to Jacksonville University for a grad student season before joining the Riptide for the 2023-24 campaign. In those 13 games for New York, he got his stick on 51 loose balls and forced eight turnovers while tallying three assists.
In addition to landing Hellyer, McIntosh and Deaken, the Seals also announced that they had re-signed defenseman Matt Sykes and forward Adam Noakes, signed former Panther City forward Ty Thompson and former Halifax forward Briley Maxwell, while also inking deals with free agent forward Jordan Durston and defenseman Hunter Jaronski.
Sykes appeared in 11 games for the Seals during the 2023-24 season (playoffs included) and he secured 18 loose balls while forcing two turnovers. Noakes did not appear in any games for the Seals. Thompson appeared in four games for Panther City during the 2023-24 season, logging three goals and three assists, while Maxwell appeared in just one game for the Thunderbirds.
And finally, the Seals also secured the rights to veteran forward Callum Crawford and transition player Justin Sykes from Panther City through the NLL’s Dispersal Draft after it was announced that Panther City would not be fielding a team for the 2024-25 season. Sykes is the younger brother of Seals defenseman Matt Sykes.
These are the latest moves in what’s been a busy offseason for the Seals. On July 13, the Seals announced that they acquired transition player Zach Currier from Calgary in a blockbuster trade and signed 2023 draft picks Matt Wright and JJ Sillstrop. On July 18, the team announced that it had re-signed forward and team captain Wes Berg to a new three-year contract. And on July 29, San Diego announced it had re-signed faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste to a brand-new three-year contract and defenseman Payton Rezanka to a one-year deal.
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