Acquired to bring youth and one-on-one ability to the Bandits’ offense, Kevin Buchanan struggled in his first year, missing the target at an alarming rate and not producing enough to warrant a spot on the active roster. Now, just 11 months after he was taken in the Boston Blazers’ dispersal draft, Buchanan is a Bandit no more.

New Buffalo GM Steve Dietrich announced Monday that the Bandits have traded Buchanan and a third round pick in the 2013 NLL Draft to the Philadelphia Wings for lefty attacker Mike Hominuck and physical transition player David Brock.

Expectations were high for Buchanan when he was selected by the Bandits as the sixth pick of the dispersal draft, as head coach and then GM Darris Kilgour showered the newcomer with preseason praise. After he notched 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 15 games—and firing only 81 of his 135 shots on goal (60%)—the Buchanan experiment came to a close.

Hominuck, 31, began his career in Buffalo in 2004, spending three seasons with the Bandits before playing in Portland, Minnesota, Edmonton, Toronto and Philadelphia. He tied his career-high for regular season points with 53 last season, including a three-goal, nine-assist explosion against NLL runner-up Edmonton. Hominuck joins John Tavares, Shawn Williams and Chad Culp to form a strong corps of lefties in the lineup.

“Mike is a very unselfish player who has steadily improved his all-around offensive game throughout his career, finishing fifth in Wings scoring last year,” Dietrich said in the Bandits’ press release.

Brock, who turned 26 yesterday, is a defense-first transition player who brings size to the lineup with his 6’3, 215 pound frame. Given the late season struggles of Daryl Gibson, Ian Llord, Jon Harasym and Travis Irving, it’s positive to see Dietrich adding new bodies like Brock and recent acquisition Brendon Doran to compete for a roster spot. We can’t imagine it’s fun to be traded on your birthday, but it could be a positive change of scenery for Brock.

Dietrich also announced the signing of Williams to a one-year contract, pending league approval. The Bandits also announced the return of 43-year-old John Tavares at the close of last week.

(Featured photo courtesy of Dave Marino from the Buffalo vs. Rochester gallery from 2012—see it here).