2018 BCJALL Midget Draft Recap

It was a packed house at the Langley Events Centre, where dozens of BC's graduating midget descended to have a chance to hear their name be called by a Junior A organization. 

In the end, 48 names were called, and they are part of a special class. With the vote to shift from an Intermediate-Junior set up to a five-year junior program, many players are in a unique position of establishing a career in a changing landscape. WIth more options to play either a more competitive brand of lacrosse in Jr. B Tier 1 or a slower pace at Jr. B Tier 3, more junior players than ever will have a chance to play high-level lacrosse. 

The Vancouver Island teams dominated the first half of the first round. The Nanaimo Timbermen and Victoria Shamrocks started the day 1-2 in the draft order and held three of the first five picks. That turned out to be a blessing as many Saanich Tigers were taken in the top rounds - seven to be exact. The Shamrocks actually ended up moving the No. 2 selection to Langley, but still held the No. 4 and 5 picks.

Saanich's Arthur Miller ended up being the first overall pick and Nanaimo will be ecstatic to get a dynamic talent. Miller is the type of player who can turn a franchise's fortunes around and will be a critical piece of the organization going forward. He led the Saanich team to a bronze medal in the Midget A1 provincial championships and was named an all-star at the tournament. 

In total, 12 players were drafted from Saanich; ten from Maple Ridge; six from Semiahmoo; five from Peninsula; and three from both MIssion and Surrey. 

Here is a look at what teams across the league did on draft day and how they set up going forward.  

Burnaby Lakers - 19. Justin Morishita; 31. Nicholas Dos Santos; 40. Liam Jackson-Weeks; 43. Jake Hothi - It was a small haul for the Lakers this year, as they moved a couple of early selections as part of previous trades. They picked up Justin Morishita out of Richmond with the No. 19 overall pick and will likely try to get him into the Jr. A rotation as soon as possible. 

Burnaby also announced a new general manager before the draft in Brad Parker, who will be taking over for Jamie Scott. Scott brought stability to the organization and was unlucky not to see his teams produce a few more wins. He has built a good base of young talent the last few years. They got some excellent individual contributions last year, notably from guys like Mason Pomeroy, Kyle Durec and Elijah Uema-Martin in goal. WIth a few trades also made to bring in some more younger talent earlier in the offseason, the Lakers are trending upwards in 2018. 

Coquitlam Adanacs - 3. Ryan Sheridan; 8. Trevor Funk; 9. Jake Molander; 16. Addison Greffard; 32. Braeden Sprague - It's rare to see the Coquitlam Adanacs so far up the draft board, but the team was smart to unload some assets in previous years in order to be set up well for the 2018 draft and beyond. It was also rare to see the A's go a little off the board and go with an Island kid in Saanich's Ryan Sheridan with that pick. Clearly they see something in Sheridan, and provided they can bring him over as a full-time player, should eventually see the dividends. 

They followed that up with back-to-back picks in the first and second rounds, again dipping into the Saanich well to grab Jake Molander with the 9th overall pick. 

Coquitlam will have heavy expectations on them again this year, but good organizations find a way to pull through by continually churning talent and make smart acquisitions whether it's from BC or Ontario teams. There's not much there to say the purple and gold will be the team to beat for a few more years to come. 

Delta Islanders - 25. Ivan Rojas Jr.; 33. Kevin Sobey; 39. Jacob Podgornik - The Islanders were another team that seemed to choose to sit on the sidelines than get involved in the crazy action of trading and swapping picks. They were finally up with the opening pick of the fourth round and took goaltender Ivan Rojas Jr. out of Semiahmoo. Rojas had a lot of experience playing Intermediate lacrosse as a midget callup last season and may be able to play from day one for the Islanders, possibly in a backup role.

Coming off a disappointing 4-17 season, the Islanders will likely still be rebuilding and instead look to stay competitive then push for a title this season. But the players they added are local players that will likely be able to be groomed into something at the Jr. B levels before making the jump. They also added a pair of Port Coquitlam Saints in Dylan Nishiyama and Brayden Zunti. The Islanders still have a great talent base and with Kyle Goundrey expected to return behind the bench, they will have some consistency going into the new season. 

Langley Thunder - 2. Braeden Washington; 11. Reece Hansford; 12. Isaac Ngyou; 18. Matthew Abbott; 21. Josh Coupal; 23. Drew Kask; 29. Kaidin Sheehan-Davies 34. Josh Bramley; 37. Luke Evans; 45. Ben Spare - The Thunder collected a massive amount of picks, with ten overall and six in the top 25 alone. They made a couple huge trades to move up and get their guys, swapping picks with Victoria to grab cornerstone goaltender Braeden Washington out of Maple Ridge. This group has a lot of talent all throughout and will definitely push the Jr. A club for spots under the new structure. 

Langley has an experienced group at the Jr. A level and will be looking to push their club into a consistent top-four performer in the league. If Washington eventually develops into the goalie the Thunder clearly think he can, it gives Langley's typically good group of athletes a much better chance to win night in and night out. 

Nanaimo Timbermen - 1. Arthur Miller; 11. Reid Matthews; 14. Kyle Drouin; 17. Luke Warmenhoven; 24. Justin Geddie; 35. Denver Maloney; 38. Will Powley; 41. Brayden Flynn; 48. Chris Combiadakis - The T-Men were another team that got a solid haul of prospects for the future. With nine kids, a majority coming from strong programs like Saanich and Midget A2 gold medal winners Peninsula. The focus now turns on taking that talent and turning into wins, as Nanaimo looks to avoid another disappointing season. 

The organization has many of the right pieces in place and with additions in guys like Miller and Matthews, they will be a tough out on most nights. 

New Westminster Salmonbellies - 7. Drew Andre; 47. Liam Birch - It was the tiniest haul this draft season, but the Salmonbellies likely don't care as they got one of their top targets on draft day in Maple Ridge's Drew Andre. Andre has had a decorated midget career and will be a great addition for the Fish as they continue to chase down the Adanacs for BCJALL glory. 

The 'Bellies will have to transition a bit after losing some key members of their team, including last season's MVP Connor Robinson and standout defender Drew Belgrave, who is having a breakout rookie year with the NLL's Toronto Rock. They also picked up some experience in landing Keegan Bell from the Port Coquitlam Saints in exchange for the rights to Jacob Patterson and Ethan Symons. But previous good drafts and a feeder system that's still amongst the best in the province means the cupboard is anything but bare in the Royal City. 

Port Coquitlam Saints - 6. Jacob Dunbar; 15. Francis LaRoue; 22. Kyle Hooper; 26. Kyle Brandon; 27. Jude McAdie; 30. Ryan Suzukovich; 42. Lochlan Munro; 46. Brodie Plowright - You can tell the Saints scouting staff was at a few Semiahmoo Midget A2 games this year. The club invested their first three picks in Semiahmoo players, and that may not be a bad idea. Semiahmoo were one of the strongest teams in the A2 division last year, and they were often led by this trio. Some may be surprised at Jacob Dunbar being the first mainland runner off the board, but those who have watched him know he can become the complete package offensively. 

The Saints were busy with eight total picks, and some of that may be necessitated by not wanting to repeat last year's start to the season. Poco was missing more than 15 regulars from their team at one point due to school commitments, and while the Saints rounded into form as one of the toughest outs in last season's playoffs, getting a cohesive team together is also important. The Saints may end up leaning on some of these players to help them avoid getting into another early season funk. 

Victoria Shamrocks - 4. Patrick Dobbs; 5. Nolan Dalep; 13. Travis Pullan; 20. Denton MacDonald; 28. Angus Connorton; 36. Ryan Tomer; 44. Owen Russell - The Shamrocks were the other benefactors of having one of the province's strongest Midget teams be on the Island. As we saw with Coquitlam, some teams will take the chance if the prospect seems right, but it's rare and it gave the Rocks a great draft. Dobbs and Dalep could be day one players, and all seven players they selected came from strong programs. 

Victoria has a wealth of talent but also has a number of strong players moving up from the Intermediate ranks. That injection of youth may be what the 'Rocks need to give the consistency and depth required to go on a deep playoff run, and challenge the big dogs in the league.