BCJALL Season Preview: Coquitlam Adanacs

COQUITLAM ADANACS

2018 RECORD: 18-2-1; Won BCJALL Title, Won Minto Cup

2018 GOAL DIFFERENTIAL: +117

PROJECTED 2019 RECORD: 17-4, 1st Place

Going from previewing Burnaby to Coquitlam is like going from one extreme to another. The A’s have extended their dominance on the league for more than a decade now. Each season they add players to an already strong team at the trade deadline, and making deep runs at the Minto has simply become expected. The management team has done a good job scouting and turning over every rock to find the best players possible. It also helps that Coquitlam has by far one of the deepest and most talented pool of minor players to develop, and their feeder system is second-to-none, evidenced by their Bronze Medal showing at the 2018 Founders Cup. 

That raises the expectations higher every season as teams look to knock the Adanacs off the BCJALL throne. That will be compounded this season by the loss of Del Bianco, who made so many big saves through his career. You could argue that without CDB, the Salmonbellies may very well have been the team to unseat Coquitlam last season. 

However, this is where the rich get richer; replacing him will be Nate Faccin, a goalie they’ve carefully developed as a backup. He’s gotten valuable experience in both the league and at a national level, not looking out of place while doing so. Faccin is touted as one of the next big goaltending prospects, and it’s easy to see why. His movement is exceptional and he has a big frame that can cover parts of the net even if he is caught out of position. His statistics back up the eye test: he had a .812 save percentage in just under 400 minutes of regular season action and allowed seven goals per game. If that’s the kind of production Coquitlam can expect on a consistent basis, maybe they won’t miss Del Bianco at all, although that’s a tall task for Faccin to meet. The A’s have just signed goaltending prospect Reed Watson out of Kamloops, only adding to the competition in the crease.

Another new signing to keep an eye on is former US BOXLA and current Adelphi University Junior Justin Napolitano. The New York native was recently named as a Division II pre-season second-team All American as a defenseman and could add a different dimension to what is already a well-coached unit. 

You can also expect newcomer Luca Antongiovanni to continue his ascent to stardom. He stepped right into the Adanacs lineup as a Midget call up and didn’t look out of place during the Minto. Expect him to add a different dimension to Coquitlam’s transition game. If the team is able to bring back Chase Scanlan to what’s an already stacked offensive club, Coquitlam may not fall off far from a dream 2018 campaign.