Season Preview: Langley Thunder

Is a young Langley Thunder team ready to compete for a BCJALL title? Stockpiling one of the best groups of offensive talent in the league, they are certainly in a position to surprise teams throughout the season. If they can harness all that potential and build throughout the year, the Thunder will be in one of the best positions to finish in the top three. 

They have one of their strongest groups in years coming up from Intermediate A, a team that is fresh off winning the BCILL provincial championships after dispatching the Coquitlam Adanacs in the gold medal game. It’s a group that’s very diverse - they have game breakers coming up in all phases of the game in addition to a junior group that has been trending upward for a few years now.

The big question will be whether or not they can put it all together and execute over a 21-game regular season. 

By the numbers

62 - Nathan Mckeigan led the team in scoring in the regular season and was the only player to crack 30 goals. He also did it was an underaged player who played only one of Intermediate lacrosse with the Maple Ridge Burrards. He’ll have some more help this year and that, combined with a player still coming into his own, will give Langley a bona fide No. 1 option. 

-34 - A 9-12 record and a -34 goal differential aren’t great numbers, but you can expect Langley to improve upon both this season. They get stronger in goal and in the offensive end, while the defence has another year to gel together. Putting together cohesive defensive takes time, so expect to see some better results. 

12 - Ryan Martel was a marvel for Langley despite only being a callup for two games last season. But man did he do so damage in those pair of contests. He had a pair of four goal games and ended up with 12 points overall. He was also dominant in the faceoff circle, losing only 6 draws of the 36 he took (83 per cent). 

6-0 - A sparkling record for Torin Vanrheenen as a callup, who looks to be a real gem between the pipes. He made eight appearances in 10 games, posting a .835 save percentage in 336 minutes of game action. In the playoffs, he lost twice, but still had a .813 save percentage as he made 65 saves on 80 total shots. 

LANGLEY THUNDER INTER 'A' STATS

Impressive intermediates

We touched on Langley’s Inter A provincial title, but a lot of those players are going to be big players for the Thunder this season, so it bears repeating. 

Guys like Ryan Martel, Bobby Kidd III and Nathaniel Kozevnikov will be full-time players this season after putting up monster numbers. There was 100 goals scored between the 3 of them and they combined for a total of 184 points. Kidd led the Thunder with three goals in their brief playoff series with Port Coquitlam as well. 

Kidd and Martel will immediately be pivotal cogs for faceoffs and transition. Kidd will be one of the best transition players right away as he has an active stick to breakup passes, has the get-up to push the ball or run the fastbreak and is apt at setting players up. Martel is a smooth scorer while Kozevnikov is a big body who can crash and bang, almost scoring 50 goals last year in the BCILL.

Add Vanrheenan in goal, as well as role players like Ryan Alcos, Dawson Rodin and Anthony Kalinich, there is a promising group to work with. 

Exceeding the expectations

Don’t be surprised if Langley really surprises people with the brand of lacrosse they play. They can really swing the ball on offense and will have a strong transition game. 

They will be right in the middle of the pack of teams jockeying for position in the standings, but they could be the club who succeeds when the games get tough. The benchmark is probably how they compare to teams like Port Coquitlam and Victoria, who they were sandwiched between in the standings last season. 

Prediction: 12-9, 3rd place