Season Preview: Nanaimo Timbermen

These are trying times for the Nanaimo Timbermen, who are a little bit like the Edmonton Oilers, just maybe without the whole Connor McDavid thing. They are rebuilding the rebuild after getting the ingredients for a two-year run in 2014 and 2015 almost right. Nanaimo is hoping to use that strong 2-3 run stretch to bring in fresh talent that wants to be Timbermen while looking to add wholesome talent through the draft. 

Nanaimo is a notoriously tough place to put together consistently contending teams, but this version could turn out to be a good, given the depth and talent they have coming up in the next few years. It'll be tough night in and night out, but this is a team that could surprise some and scraps out a few victories along the way. 

By the numbers

16 - The number of wins in the last three seasons for the T-Men, of which only two came from last year. There are positives to take out of that, believe it or not. Players play more, gain more confidence and you hope that pays off down the road.

6.7 - You aren't winning many games scoring around seven goals per game. The team had no scorers above 50 points, and lose three of their top five scorers from last year in Darrin Wilson, McLean Chicquen and Jake Latin. 

10 - There are reinforcements coming, with ten draft picks pumping new blood into the system. A few were already players with the T-Men's minor program, but many came from other associations who have proven they develop strong talent. You look at a guy like Tyson Black from Cowichan Valley, who developed through Intermediate and will be a strong player this year for them. They also landed one of the better goalies in the draft, who fell to them in the second round because of he played for Cowichan. 

41 - Cody Clark had a strong season with 16 goals and 41 points overall. He scored 13 of those at 5 on 5 play and can be expected to be one of the key anchors on O. 

Excitement for the future

There is reason to be excited for the future, as Nanaimo looks to have a few real top-notch players coming through their minor and Intermediate systems. 

The name that pops up right away is Will Johansen. He was the 30th overall pick in the 2016 BCJALL Draft from the Saanich Tigers Midget program. He's had an unreal start to the year playing for the T-Men's BCILL and BCJALL clubs. After scoring 11 goals and 20 points in 8 games as a first-year Intermediate player last season, Johansen already has five points and 15 shots in two games in this campaign.

He's also had a big hand for the Inter club, with 12 points in two games, although much of that came in a 26-11 drubbing of the expansion Okanagan Wild.

There's also guys such as Colton Lidstone, Will Cookman, Landon Underwood and Adam Fulton who the team hopes can provide both depth and structure in the future. 

Growing pains for now

Nanaimo is probably realistic in where the team is at this point, and there will be growing pains for the foreseeable future as these kids get acclimated to playing big-time lacrosse.

If there's anything to glean from the first three games, it's the play of Darian Claxton in net. While he, Kain Stewart and draft pick Colin Jeffries have all seen time, Claxton has already stopped 91 of 117 shots in just 120 minutes of game action. If not for him, that opener against Coquitlam could've looked a whole lot worse.

With guys like Daryl DeFreitas and Nolan Morrison able to hold down the fort in the short-term, the influx of talent already playing for Nanaimo will get a chance to develop and compete as early as next year.

PredictionL 2-19, 8th place