Season Preview: Port Coquitlam Saints

There are finally reasons for optimism for the Port Coquitlam Saints has the team looks set to take the next step in the BCJALL. 

The Saints have done a good job accumulating a lot of young talent, and last year’s fourth-place finish was no fluke. They get it done with a team approach, evident by the fact Poco had no runners with over 50 points, they had six who tallied 30 points or more. 

It also comes with its downfalls early in the season, as a lot of those talented players are still away or returning home from school. It’ll may take some time to gel as a team, especially with a new coaching staff coming in. 

By the numbers

6 - The Saints were all about balance on offence, with six players scoring over 30 points. Only Ty Klarner will be missing from that group this year if the other five return. They were led by Greg Lunde, who had 22 goals behind 47 points and 20 per cent shooting. 

4 - The Saints were the only other BCJALL team to take one from the Adanacs over the entire season. A great result like that may be put some added expectations on this group, but with so many returning players, you can expect they will be up to the task. 

+7 - A low goal differential can suggest a number of different things, but for the Saints, it represents how many close games they were in last season. They played to close games with Delta and New Westminster throughout the year and lost close games to Langley and Coquitlam as well.

Finding a scoring touch

We’ve talked about Port Coquitlam’s balance, but what they really could use this year is a guy who they can turn to consistently put the ball in the cage. 

Keegan Bell almost eclipsed the 30 goal mark after playing only four games in the 2015 season. You can count on his ascent to provide a bit of that help. He’s had a strong career with the Tusculum College (PA) Pioneers field lacrosse program, almost scoring a goal per game over 20+ contests. 

There’s also some snipers coming through the pipeline, and players like Nick Agnoletto and Graydon Bradley have shown a lot of potential so far during the exhibition schedule. 

Gallant stands tall in goal

Andrew Gallant had quality numbers across the board, with an .806 save percentage on over 700 shots. He also managed to improve that number despite playing four games against Coquitlam’s stable of talented offensive players. 

If he can provide that same steadiness throughout this year, then Port Coquitlam could develop into a real threat. With so many good players in this league, it’s imperative to trust your tendy between the pipes, and the Saints can with Gallant.

Port Coquitlam has an intriguing group this season and there’s no reason why this team can push for a spot in the BCJALL finals. They start off with a bit of a rough schedule which coincides with the return of many field players, but they play last year’s bottom-feeders Nanaimo and Burnaby a combined five times in their final six games. 

Prediction: 12-9, 4th place