By Travis Larner, Knighthawks.com --
The next crop of bright, young stars are preparing to hear their names called on the stage at the 2012 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft on Monday, October 1st at 7:00 p.m. 

Every year, one talented player is chosen with the coveted first overall pick. High expectations are placed on that individual, as the front office anticipates their prized draft pick will help lead their team to victory.

It is safe to say Cody Jamieson has met those expectations.

Jamieson, the Champion’s Cup MVP, was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2010 NLL Entry Draft, which took place on September 8th in Toronto.

“It was exciting. Twenty years of hard work and dreaming of that day and it seemed like it came up so fast and it was over and done with before I even realized it,” said the Six Nations native. 

It has already been made public that the Edmonton Rush will draft Mark Matthews with the first pick in the 2012 Draft. It had also been known throughout the summer of 2010 that Rochester would select Jamieson.

Knighthawks’ Owner and General Manager Curt Styres is also Jamieson’s uncle. The pieces fell in the right place for Styres to draft Jamieson. When the Knighthawks traded Ilija Gagic to the Colorado Mammoth, they received a first-round pick in the 2010 Draft. The Mammoth then finished the 2010 regular season with a league-worst 4-12 record, making the draft pick traded to Rochester the number one selection. Once the season ended, Jamieson knew he would be playing for the Knighthawks.

“It wasn’t the Knighthawks’ pick so I remember they had to wait to see who lost a game,” said Jamieson. “A minute after the regular season ended the year before I pretty much knew I was a Knighthawk.”

When draft day finally came, Jamieson and his family made the drive to the Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto from their home in Six Nations to watch “Jammer” take his place in league history.

“My mother, my father, my sister, my brother were all there; I had all my family there. It was just an hour up the road so we had a nice ride up. We all had a good time,” said Jamieson.

Following the draft, the then 23-year-old rookie forward signed a 10-year deal with the Knighthawks, the longest contract in league history. It was his way of showing how committed he was to Rochester.

“I went to many Rochester games even before I got drafted. I went to school in Syracuse, which isn’t too far away. I knew I wasn’t going to be going anywhere, so I didn’t want to have the hassle of dealing with the contract every one year or two years knowing that I wasn’t going to sign anywhere else,” said Jamieson.