PLAYER PROFILE:
Jules Heningburg
College: Rutgers
Position: Attack
Height: 6'2"
Weight: 205 lbs
In the inaugural PLL season there was bound to be plenty of firsts. The league caught many by suprise however when they announced on June 19, 2019, the first ever trade between Whipsnakes Lacrosse Club and Redwoods Lacrosse club. The Whipsnakes, who were undefeated at the time of the trade, gave up Jules in return for a not to shabby player in Alec Tullet who attended Brown University who showed valuable in transition and defense with his 60" stick, along with a 4th round 2020 draft pick.
One minor story line at the start of games the following week was how Heningburg was the winningest player in PLL history, a joke thrown around buy his new teammates and coaches. The main headline people were interested in was how Jules would fit in to a Redwoods LC offense that already seemed to stacked with a variety of different threats. The leagues main writers and contributors glamorized Heningburg's swiss army knife ability to be a threat with and with out the ball on pick and rolls plays with a outstanding crease presence in Clark Peterson. Jules also has the great ability to take a shot at the midfield position giving opposing defenses a hard match up out of the substitution box.
Jules outstanding week 4 highlights on his first game with his new club can be found by a simple search online of "Redwoods Week 4 Highlights" as I was unable to add the video on this blog itself.
As the season went on and both Whipsnakes and Redwoods fell into there groove over the regular season, each team met each other in the first ever Championship game in Philadelphia on September 21st. While the Whipsnakes got the better of the 'Woods, it was not by a big margin. The game ended in overtime with a final score of 12-11. Looking back at how each team got to where they did, I do not believe the Redwoods would have gone all the way to the Final if they did NOT have Jules Heningburg on their side. Each team evened out over the course of the season after the trade was finalized and I myself cannot imagine a Whipsnakes offense with that much lopsidedness on one end of the field.
Nevertheless, the first ever PLL trade has shown us to assume nothing when it come to what is up the sleeve of the front office. They know how to persistently make the league as exciting as ever and bring the fans the most action they have seen yet. With the first inaugural season having just concluded it will be interesting to keep an eye on what the league announces in the coming offseason and how it will affect the draft and each of the 6 teams rosters. There is no doubt that Jules Heningburg is one of the best players on the planet and the PLL gave him a platform to prove it to the world. He has his stock very high right now and is a top threat when any team's defense comes across this lethal player.