Season Preview: Delta Islanders

A dream season capped off with a BCJALL provincial championship is only the beginning of what the Delta Islanders want to be as a lacrosse club. 

What could have been a magical Minto Cup run was cut short after losing the opening two games to the Calgary Mountaineers and the Orangeville Northmen. Nonetheless, the team is quickly building a reputable lacrosse club and is becoming a destination team for players looking to compete year in and year out for titles. 

While they may take a step back by losing so many key members from last year’s squad, Delta will still be competitive and a tough out each night for any team in the league. 

By the numbers

303 - That’s the amount of regular season points scored by four of Delta’s five now-graduated players. Evan Messenger, Chase Fraser, Jon Phillips and Spencer Bromley were all high draft picks in the 2017 WLA Junior Draft but were huge all season for the Islanders. Of those 303 points, Delta needs to find a way to address the 129 goals they also lose with those four leaving. 

62 - Some of those points may be replaced by Tre Leclaire, if he comes back. He left the team on their Minto run last year to reportedly focus on school and last year's U19 World Field Lacrosse Championships. It’s still unknown whether Leclaire will be in the Islanders’ line-up this year, but the push will be on to bring him back into the fold and build the O around him. The Ohio State product 156 points in 35 total regular season games, with 68 of those being goals. 

46% - Delta was absolutely lethal with the man advantage last year, scoring on just under half of their power play opportunities. But almost all of their goals were scored by players who won’t be in the line-up this season. It speaks to the need to get Leclaire back, and for the younger players to step up. 

115 - There are still reinforcements coming from trades, draft picks and Intermediate A. Two of those players likely to see immediate playing time are Dawson Trimble (38 goals, 30 assists in 17 games) and Liam MacDonald (21 goals, 26 assists in 14 games). A couple of big-time scorers might be what Delta needs to keep the engine going. 

CHECK OUT ALL 8 BCJALL SEASON PREVIEWS

Goundrey takes over as bench boss

Former NLL and WLA player Kyle Goundrey takes over from Greg Rennie, who moves into the general manager role. He’ll be joined by Vancouver Stealth players Logan Schuss and Peter McFetridge, who will work with the offence and defence, respectively. Goundrey has coached several of the Intermediate players coming into Junior A ball and that will provide some familiarity as they enter the season. 

Having a guy who has learned from some of the best coaches in recent memory will be key in keeping Delta competitive, especially if they’re waiting for players to return from school. Goundrey stressed that they have to be ready to go right from the first game.

“The rest of the team will be young and will have to learn to contribute quickly,” he said. 

A Leclaire-led attack

Goundrey seems confident Leclaire will play and be an impact player this season. He’ll need to be, because the numbers he was able to put in his short BCJALL career suggest he can be the go-to scorer for a competitive Delta team. 

The Ohio State Buckeye has 28 goals and 39 points in 13 games so far and will only be in his 2nd Jr. A season when he returns to Delta. 

Alongside him, a couple of other experienced players such as Shawn Richardson and Mitch Winter will be expected to step and contribute on a more nightly basis. Those two got the feeling of what top-level lacrosse was like at last year’s Minto and will be key with the status of their goaltending relatively unknown at this point. 

With additions last year like Tyler Vogrig and Nick Jensen, there is the feeling Delta will begin right where they left off by winning last year's BCJALL finals. 

This year may be trying times for the Islanders if they don’t get off to a great start, but they play some beatable teams in the early going and they will certainly be a team to watch either way this season. 

Prediction: 12-9, 5th place 

Tomorrow: New Westminster Salmonbellies