MSL 
Xander Derkatz
Xander Derkatz 
One Level at a Time — And Still Climbing
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
MSL Team: Owen Sound North Stars
College: Siena University
2026 NLL Draft: Eligible
There Are Different Ways to Climb
Some players arrive with enormous expectations.
They're identified early.
They dominate every level.
Their path toward professional lacrosse seems mapped out before they're old enough to drive.
Xander Derkatz has taken a different route.
Windsor.
Junior B.
Junior A.
Siena.
Major Series Lacrosse.
At virtually every stage, Derkatz has had to prove he was ready for the next one.
And every time the competition has increased, he's found another level.
Now, at 23 years old, the Owen Sound North Stars forward is approaching another opportunity.
The National Lacrosse League.
Windsor Roots
Derkatz grew up in Windsor, Ontario, and attended F.J. Brennan Catholic High School.
Lacrosse wasn't something he picked up late.
By the time Siena announced him as part of its incoming class, Derkatz had already been playing the game for 17 years.
He was also an honour roll student during his junior and senior years of high school.
But it was with his hometown Windsor Clippers that Derkatz really began attracting attention.
The Windsor Clippers
Derkatz first appeared with the Clippers in 2019.
He was still developing.
Then came 2022.
And everything changed.
In 17 Junior B regular-season games, Derkatz exploded for:
42 goals
38 assists
80 points
That's nearly five points per game.
And he wasn't finished.
During the playoffs, Derkatz added:
36 goals
28 assists
64 points
In 16 games.
Regular season and playoffs combined, that's 78 goals and 144 points in 33 games.
Siena's official biography confirms that Derkatz was named the Windsor Clippers' Offensive Player of the Year in 2022.
It wasn't difficult to understand why.
Moving Up to Junior A
Derkatz was also testing himself at the Junior A level.
He spent time with the Oakville Buzz, gradually earning a larger offensive role.
In 2023, he broke through.
Over 14 regular-season games with Oakville, Derkatz scored:
19 goals
17 assists
36 points
Now he was demonstrating that the huge Junior B numbers could translate to Junior A.
His final junior season brought another change.
And another opportunity.
Burlington
During the 2024 season, Derkatz moved from Oakville to the Burlington Blaze.
He only had six regular-season games with Burlington.
He made them count.
14 goals.
Six assists.
20 points.
One of his first performances with the Blaze provided a pretty good introduction.
Against Orangeville, Derkatz scored four goals, a career high at the Junior A level.
Then he added another 11 points in four playoff games.
His junior career was finished.
Senior lacrosse was next.
Siena University
While his box career was developing in Ontario, Derkatz was also pursuing field lacrosse at Siena University in New York.
The transition wasn't immediate.
He didn't appear in games during his first two seasons.
That's another point in his story I find interesting.
It's easy to keep working when everything is going well.
It's harder when you're waiting.
Derkatz stayed with it.
In 2025, he finally broke into Siena's lineup, appearing in nine games.
Against Hofstra, he scored his first NCAA goal.
Against Iona, he recorded his first collegiate assist.
Small numbers compared with what he'd produced in box lacrosse.
But important ones.
Because he'd earned them.
Owen Sound Calls His Name
With his junior career complete, Derkatz entered the 2025 Major Series Lacrosse Entry Draft.
The Owen Sound North Stars selected him 16th overall in the third round.
Now came a significant test.
Major Series Lacrosse.
No more junior defenders.
No more gradual introduction to senior lacrosse.
Now you're looking across the floor at NLL players.
Bigger defenders.
Smarter defenders.
Less room.
Less time.
Better goaltenders.
For a young offensive player, it's quite a jump.
Derkatz didn't look overwhelmed.
An Impressive Rookie Season
In 2025, Derkatz played 16 regular-season games for Owen Sound.
His numbers:
9 goals
31 assists
40 points
Then he added another three goals and four assists in four playoff games.
Twenty MSL games.
47 points.
But there's one number that stands out to me.
35 assists.
That tells you something about the player.
Derkatz wasn't simply trying to prove he belonged by shooting every time the ball reached his stick.
He was creating.
Seeing teammates.
Moving the defense.
Finding openings.
That's impressive for a rookie playing against experienced MSL defenses.
A Different Xander in 2026
Then something interesting happened this summer.
The assists were still there.
But Derkatz started putting the ball in the net more often himself.
In 13 regular-season games in 2026, he scored:
15 goals
19 assists
34 points
Remember, he scored nine goals during the entire 2025 regular season.
This year?
Fifteen.
In three fewer games.
That's development.
The feeder was becoming more dangerous as a finisher.
And once defenders have to respect both possibilities, everything becomes more difficult.
Don't Give Him the Opening
That's what makes Derkatz intriguing offensively.
He can distribute.
But if the defense starts leaning toward the pass, he has the shot to punish them.
He can shoot on the run.
He can create from different release points.
He has good hands around the net.
And he's willing to try something creative if that's what the situation demands.
Behind the back.
Between the legs.
Jump shot.
Whatever creates the opening.
It isn't creativity simply for the sake of looking good.
The objective remains the same.
Put pressure on the defense.
Growing With Owen Sound
Owen Sound has provided an interesting environment for Derkatz.
The North Stars have one of the younger groups in Major Series Lacrosse.
That creates challenges.
But it also creates opportunities.
Young players get touches.
They get important possessions.
They get opportunities against some of the best box lacrosse players in the world.
There's nowhere to hide.
For Derkatz, those repetitions are invaluable.
Every possession against Six Nations.
Peterborough.
Oakville.
Brooklin.
Cobourg.
Brampton.
It's another lesson.
And he's getting those lessons while being asked to contribute offensively.
The Next Opportunity
Now comes another step.
The 2026 NLL Draft.
Derkatz enters the draft with something many prospects don't have.
Two seasons of Major Series Lacrosse experience.
He's already played against NLL defenders.
He's already shot on NLL goaltenders.
He's already experienced what happens when the space disappears and the physicality increases.
In two MSL regular seasons, Derkatz has produced:
24 goals
50 assists
74 points
In only 29 games.
That's a pretty substantial body of work for a young player trying to convince an NLL team he's ready for another level.
By the Numbers
Hometown: Windsor, Ontario
Born: August 19, 2003
Position: Forward
Shoots: Right
High School: F.J. Brennan Catholic
College: Siena University
Junior B: Windsor Clippers
2022 Windsor: 42 goals, 38 assists, 80 points — 17 regular-season games
2022 Windsor Playoffs: 36 goals, 28 assists, 64 points — 16 games
2022: Windsor Clippers Offensive Player of the Year
Junior A: Oakville Buzz / Burlington Blaze
2023 Oakville: 19 goals, 17 assists, 36 points — 14 games
2024 Burlington: 14 goals, 6 assists, 20 points — 6 games
2025 MSL Draft: 16th Overall — Owen Sound North Stars
2025 Owen Sound: 9 goals, 31 assists, 40 points — 16 regular-season games
2025 Including Playoffs: 12 goals, 35 assists, 47 points — 20 games
2026 Owen Sound: 15 goals, 19 assists, 34 points — 13 regular-season games
MSL Regular-Season Career Through 2026: 24 goals, 50 assists, 74 points — 29 games
2026 NLL Draft: Eligible
Gary Groob's Take
The first thing I noticed when I started looking deeper into Xander Derkatz was the progression.
Nothing has been handed to him.
He's just kept moving up.
Windsor Junior B.
Oakville Junior A.
Burlington.
Siena.
Owen Sound.
And now he's trying to take the next step into the NLL.
I like that.
But when I watch Xander, there's something else that gets my attention.
He sees the floor.
Thirty-five assists during his first MSL season tells you quite a bit.
Remember, this was a rookie.
He's suddenly playing against experienced Major Series Lacrosse defenses, many filled with NLL players, and instead of trying to force everything himself, he's finding teammates.
That's maturity.
But this summer I've noticed another development.
Now he's shooting it more.
And scoring.
Nine regular-season goals last year.
Fifteen this year in fewer games.
That's exactly what you want to see from a young offensive player.
Because if I'm defending Xander and I'm thinking pass, suddenly he shoots.
If I start respecting the shot, that passing lane opens again.
Now I've got a problem.
That's how offensive players become increasingly difficult to defend.
There's also creativity in his game.
Xander isn't afraid to try something.
Different release.
Jump shot.
Behind the back if it's available.
Something unexpected.
I enjoy players like that.
Not because I need a highlight-reel play every possession—I don't.
But creativity tells me a player is seeing possibilities.
He's processing what's happening and looking for a solution.
And sometimes the solution isn't the conventional one.
I also think Owen Sound has been a great place for his development.
The North Stars are young.
That means players like Xander aren't sitting around waiting five years for somebody to hand them an important possession.
They're getting them now.
Against NLL defenders.
Against NLL goaltenders.
Against Six Nations and Peterborough and the rest of Major Series Lacrosse.
That's one heck of a classroom.
Now the NLL Draft is approaching.
Will Xander be drafted?
We'll find out.
But here's what I know.
Whoever evaluates him isn't looking at a player coming straight out of junior lacrosse wondering whether he can handle playing against men.
We've already seen that.
Two MSL seasons.
Seventy-four regular-season points in 29 games.
And improvement from Year One to Year Two.
He's climbing.
Just like he's been doing his entire career.
Windsor gave him the foundation.
Junior A gave him the next challenge.
Siena made him wait for his opportunity.
Owen Sound gave him a chance against the best.
Now there's another level above him.
And based on everything we've seen so far, I wouldn't bet against Xander Derkatz finding a way to climb that one too.
That's why Xander Derkatz belongs among the Stars of MSL.
— Gary Groob