BCJALL Draft Preview: Strong Year for A2 Talent

Yesterday we took a look at the top of the draft and some of the strengths of players coming out of Ridge Meadows and Vancouver Island, two traditional hot beds of talent in the Draft. 

The 2021 Draft projects to have a strong crop of players from the Midget A1 and A2 levels. Although we did not see a box lacrosse season played last Summer, a number of players have kept busy with travel teams and field. From Chilliwack to North Vancouver there is a ton of talent to sift through and teams that have done their homework will be rewarded. And the talent seems to be spread evenly. While there are a lot of offensive players with high ceilings, there are also a lot of players that have shown grit and leadership and could be good options as defensive or transition players in the BCJALL. 

It can be easy for guys who play for smaller associations to stand out, which can lead to questions as to whether they can accept a smaller role when they aren't the go-to on their Junior teams. While Nathaniel Leroux out of Chilliwack has shown the ability to take over and dominate games, he also has the athleticism and lacrosse IQ to make it work without the ball in his stick. He should be a seamless fit wherever he goes. And Chilliwack players have recently had a good track record. Dawson Rodin comes to mind. 

Vancouver's Cameron Balewicz may only stand at 5'9" but he plays above his stature while not being phased by physical defenses. He was a standout on some scrappy Vancouver teams that often punched above their weight. He also has the speed where he could become a transition threat in the future. Very good stick skills. Joel Mullen has been a leader of those Vancouver teams in prior seasons as well. 

North Shore has a couple of intriguing prospects with Rowan Birrell leading the way. The lefty already has great size at 6'3" 185 lbs. and has experience with Burnaby Lakers Jr. B Tier 1 club as a callup, putting up three points in two games in 2019. Goalie Owen Joseph also played a handful of games for the Lakers and is following in the footsteps of his grandfather, Stan "Bunny" Joseph Sr., a Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame member, three-time Mann Cup winner, and considered one of the most outstanding goalies in BC lacrosse history.

Richmond has three players consistently named in pre-draft discussions: Scott Lorden, Andrew Cowan and Henry Smith. Lorden projects to be a defensive player and is a former captain. Cowan has a history with Team BC and as a 6'1" lefty could get some looks from teams in the early rounds. Smith was a highly productive player on the left side for the Roadrunners and was actually drafted 34th overall in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft to the Medicine Hat Tigers. 

Semiahmoo has become a force at the A2 level and this team was actually tiered up to A1 in Bantam two seasons ago. They have several players who could also be drafted higher than anticipated. A similar trend last year when Burnaby targeted a number of Rock players, notably Sam La Roue at No. 1 overall in 2019. But the pipeline keeps churning out talent. Caelan Mander is yet another lefty who joined the Rock in 2019 and is a former Team BC standout. Aidan McFarlane was invited to the Indigenous Team BC main camp before the pandemic hit. CJ Fahlke made the Bantam A1 provincial all-star team with the Rock in 2018 and is also a standout with Vancouver College's football program.