BCJALL Season Preview

Another season of Junior lacrosse is here, and the landscape has changed significantly. Gone is the divide between Intermediate and Junior and replacing it is the new five-year program that will operate under a tiered structure. The move was voted in by BCLA directors at the AGM in Whistler last fall. 

The BCJALL remains the lone Junior A league in the province, but will now be supplemented with three tiers of Junior B. The goal is to provide more opportunities for player development and create a more competitive atmosphere through ages 17-21. It will also allow teams that may previously have never thought about creating a team the chance to do so by retaining players who may otherwise have quit or moved away after minor lacrosse. 

The Tier 1 league replaces the BC Intermediate A League with 10 teams - 8 on the Mainland and 2 on the Island in Nanaimo and Victoria. The Thompson-Okanagan Junior League has also declared a Junior B Tier 1 league with four teams. Both Tier 2 and Tier 3 will see separate leagues on the Mainland and Vancouver Island. The growth also means new teams are coming into the fold.

Junior A will also undoubtedly be another exciting year as well. All 8 clubs have looked to strengthen their rosters over the offseason and several have done so with the aim of knocking off the Coquitlam Adanacs.

The biggest move was arguably New Westminster's acquisition of 2015 BCJALL Rookie of the Youth Tre Leclaire, who is currently having another standout campaign in NCAA Division 1 field lacrosse with the Ohio State Buckeyes. Others went the route of Victoria, who is bringing in Orangeville Northmen goaltender Cameron Dunkerley to try and find every advantage possible. 

It all sets up for another busy Summer packed with quality lacrosse and gets started on Sunday, April 29th when the Port Coquitlam Saints host the Victoria Shamrocks at the Poco Rec Centre at 4:00 p.m.

Burnaby Lakers

Last Year: 4-16-1

Burnaby stayed competitive in almost every game it played in last season, and now with some welcomed additions and another year of growth, they can expect to take more positive steps this season.

The Lakers will look at players like Dylan Kaminski to keep the offense going after scoring 2 GPG in 10 games. Patrick Shoemay will be a player to watch coming out of the defensive gate. Teams peppered the Lakers goalies, so limiting teams to less shots or lower quality shots will make things easier for projected starter Elijah Uema-Martin. Burnaby has also invested previous draft picks on goalies who may be ready to take the leap and challenge for starts in the crease.

They will also rely on rookies to help fill out the roster. BurnabyNow's Dan Olson reports the Lakers have big plans for a pair of players: Milos Sukunda and 2018 fourth-round BCJALL draft pick Nicholas Dos Santos from Surrey. 

Coquitlam Adanacs

Last Year: 20-1; Won BCJALL Finals; Lost in Minto Cup Final to Six Nations

It's never easy sitting at the top of the food chain in a kill-or-be-killed-world, but it sure looks like it to the purple and yellow. The Adanacs cruised into the BCJALL Finals, where they fought off a game Salmonbellies team, but never found a second-gear in its Minto Cup Finals series against Six Nations. Supporters of the team will point out that last year's team was a young one and will be able to compete over the long-term, especially with the new five-year program. 

Players like Dennon Armstrong, Thomas Semple, and John Hofseth will pace the team offensively, but the A's always have a tough backend, and it starts Christian Del Bianco. Del Bianco is coming off another fantastic season with Coquitlam and has now had the added benefit of having an extended run of starts in the NLL with Calgary. He arguably kept the Adanacs in a lot of its Minto series against the Arrows, and had several great performances in the lead-up to it. 

Don't be surprised when players like Will Clayton return from school that the Adanacs return to the powerhouse that's now expected. 

Delta Islanders

Last Year: 4-17

Last year wasn't an easy one for the Islanders, who felt the pains of the rebuilding process after a successful run at making a Minto in Langley two seasons ago. That run also left them bare when it came to draft picks, so the team will look largely within its former Intermediate A team to supply some immediate depth to what is a promising core. 

Ryan Jones had an outstanding year and will be complemented by a solid core including Liam Macdonald and Dawson Trimble. It's unclear if the Islanders will also make room to bring in American Austin Mello once again. Mello provided some spark as he developed into a bit of a sharpshooter down the stretch for the Black and Red. 

Brody Harris and Roman Rose largely shared the reigns between the pipes last season, and Harris could prove to be the team's starter going forward. Despite sporting a 2-7 record in 563 minutes of play, Harris had a respectable .760 Save %. New General Manager Matt Disher had his own great run as a goaltender in both the NLL and WLA and will surely want to shore up this position either way. 

The Islanders will no doubt be tougher to play against this year thanks to the addition of Hall of Famer Andy Ogilvie behind the bench. His approach to the game will rub off on his players; don't be surprised if Delta quickly becomes a team others just don't want to play against. Kyle Goundrey returns for a second season behind the bench and will look to build off a solid start to his tenure. 

Langley Thunder

Last Year: 12-9; Lost in BCJALL Play-in Game

Despite a bitter ending to last season, the Thunder are stacked across the board and could become a prime championship contender this year. They have the necessary blend of top-end talent, quality depth and proper goaltending to get them far in the BCJALL playoffs.

Critics point to the fact Langley is top-heavy offensively; while that's probably true, they have a number of players ready to step up coming through the ranks from both Intermediate and minor. Langley is consistently a contender in minor and that's beginning to translate into long-term success for the club. Ryan Martel and Nathaniel Kozevnikov are great, but it's supplemented by Nathan Mckeigan, Dawson Rodin, and Bobby Kidd III. 

A year after finishing fourth, Langley will not only want to improve upon that but also pick up a few wins in the postseason as well. One of the storylines to watch at the Langley Events Centre this year is how much of an impact playing NLL ball has had on Anthony Kalinich and Ryan Martel. If they can translate what they're already learning at the pro game to the LEC carpet, things can turn special in a hurry for the Thunder. 

Nanaimo Timbermen

Last Year: 2-19 

The new five-year program may not seem like it's paying dividends this season for the T-Men, but it should make a massive difference in the ability to develop the team from the top down. 

Individually the T-Men got some excellent performances, both in certain games and over the entire season. The focus this year should be turning those individual performances into tangible results, and there's no reason they can't do that. A young team that will return the likes of Pascal Coombs and Will Johansen as well as No. 1 draft pick Arthur Miller out of Saanich. 

Miller is a solid player that was probably at the top of several teams draft boards. If Nanaimo can get a season out of the Saanich product, they will be on their way to becoming competitive on a consistent basis. They were a much better team than their 2-19 record indicated last season and will start to reverse that trend. 

New Westminster Salmonbellies 

Last Year: 15-4; Lost in BCJALL Finals 

The talk of the town will be about Tre Leclaire after the 'Bellies landed the proverbial big fish of the offseason. Leclaire is having another great season with Ohio State where he leads the Buckeyes in points in his Sophomore season. Leclaire sat last season out and was a restricted free agent, costing New West a 2019 first-round selection. 

The Bellies weren't busy in this year's draft, but they were surely ecstatic at landing Maple Ridge's Drew Andre with the No. 7 overall selection. Andre had a strong year with a good Burrards Midget A1 team and has had previous experience in the Team BC box program. He could be a factor right away for the 'Bellies. 

They did end up making one of the bigger trades of the day at the draft, picking up Keegan Bell from the Port Coquitlam Saints. Bell is worth taking a gamble on given his experience in the league and ability to contribute in a number of ways. He's the type of savvy pickup that keeps the Salmonbellies near the top of the standings on an annual basis.

Port Coquitlam Saints

Last Year: 13-8; Lost in BCJALL Semifinals to New West

A veteran Poco team ended up finishing falling just short of defeating New West in last year's semifinals. They lose a lot of third-year talent which may weaken them a bit, but the team will rely on its depth that was tested during those playoffs to help them get through any potentially rough stretches. Losing a guy like Vancouver Stealth draft pick Sam Degroot will undoubtedly be one of the tougher losses to overcome for the Saints. 

The team was busy during the draft and got a pair of quality players out of Semiahmoo in Jacob Dunbar and Francis LaRoue, who will join a stable of young prospects that includes 2017 first-round pick Garret Winter and Dayton Vidovich, who both had strong seasons with Intermediate A Maple Ridge. The Saints starting shorthanded due to the number of players away at NCAA schools also tested some of the organization's younger players, who may be asked to play a much larger role this year. 

The Saints may drop a few spots in the standings but still figure to be a team right in the thick of things for a playoff spot. Returning for another season is Tewaaraton Award watchlist nominee Ryland Rees, who's having another solid campaign with the Stony Brook Seawolves. He will bring stability and experience to Poco's defense and transition game. 

Victoria Shamrocks

Last Year: 12-9; Lost in BCJALL Semifinals to Coquitlam

The Shamrocks used a late-season run of momentum to turn the tide on what was increasingly looking like a disappointing season. This year we can expect Victoria to build on that successful campaign while integrating one of the most well-run Intermediate programs. Victoria stands to be one of the teams that sees immediate short-term benefits to the move to a five-year program. They will be able to bring along players at Junior B Tier 1 that need more development while the group that can step in right away at Junior A will be asked to do so. 

One of the more underrated additions may prove to be the one mentioned earlier, with Victoria tabbing Orangeville netminder Cameron Dunkerley as their new starter. Goaltending was a tough go for Victoria last season and may have held the team back from its true potential. Dunkerley will make the move from out East where he played 206 minutes and had a .878 GAA. 

The 'Rocks lose some integral pieces to both their O and D but return one of the more deeper squads in the league. 

Prediction: Coquitlam over Langley

The Adanacs look to have the deepest and most talented team again this season, and that's before they've added anyone from back East or from south of the border. Many may be surprised to see New Westminster not continuing the rivalry, but the vibe around the Thunder seems to be one that this team can beat any other club this season. Whether they can go out and prove it will be a story to keep an eye on throughout the season.

For more information about the new five-year program, visit our website: www.bcjall.com, where You can also find our full 2018 Regular Season BCJALL Schedule, Stats, Articles and more.