Mammoth loses, reacquires Langtry

Paul Willis, Special to the Rocky

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

For a few agonizing hours, one of the Colorado Mammoth’s most recognizable players no longer was a part of the team.

Brian Langtry, a forward who has been with the National Lacrosse League team since it moved to Denver in 2003, was selected in the expansion draft Tuesday by the yet-to-be-named Boston franchise.

Late Tuesday afternoon, Langtry was shipped back to Colorado for Sean Morris and Casey Cittando. Morris and Cittando each were selected by Colorado in the 2006 entry draft but neither played for the Mammoth last season.

"When I first saw I was unprotected, I didn’t think it was a big deal because I didn’t think (Boston) would select me," said Langtry, who has amassed 123 goals and 133 assists in five seasons. "If the trade wouldn’t have worked out, my indoor lacrosse career would have been over."

Langtry, who became an immediate crowd favorite in his rookie-of-the-year season of 2003 -- partially because he was one of the few Mammoth players who lived in Denver at the time, is a school teacher and coach in the area and plays outdoor lacrosse for the Denver Outlaws of Major League Lacrosse. He also has two young children, so leaving Colorado wasn’t an option.

Nonetheless, Langtry, 31, interpreted being left off of Colorado’s 14-player protected list as a possible hint that he better improve his play if he is to remain with the Mammoth for the long term.

"It’s nothing that Steve or the organization said to me, just how I’m evaluating myself," said Langtry, who was told Tuesday morning that a deal likely was in place with Boston to bring him back to Colorado. "I had a hot-and-cold season last year. When I was bad, I was really bad and when I was good I was as good as I’ve ever been. But there were times when I tried to do too much."

Also Tuesday, the Mammoth traded its second-round pick in September’s entry draft to the Edmonton Rush for 12-year veteran Jason Wulder, a forward who scored tallied 10 goals and 35 assists last season.