Timbermen Excited by Midget Draft

By Chris Clarke

Sunday’s British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League’s inaugural midget draft was more than just sitting around drinking bad coffee and trying to figure which of the sixteen year old kids on the pages of names might grow enough to make some GM look smart in three years.

For some in attendance, like Forbes Mitchell, Governor of the Nanaimo Timbermen, this day was a long time coming in their short existence.

“We’re extremely excited, we have been able to secure the rights of premier players,” Mitchell professed on Sunday morning in that windowless room, “they’ve been premier players throughout their minor careers and we fully expect them to be premier players through their junior careers.”

The Timbermen, the BCJALL’s youngest franchise, have been trying to tap into the rich pool of Vancouver Island talent since they entered the league two years ago (this is their third season).

But the Victoria Junior Shamrocks, with their history and strong program made it incredibly difficult for the Timbermen to convince any of those young men to come and play for an organization that hasn’t won many games in its short history.

And Mitchell hopes that island monopoly, “This draft gives us depth in the short term, in two years this adds a lot of depth to our team and really accelerates the caliber of play.” along with their win total, is about to change.

The Timbermen might not be in New West playing for the Minto Cup this year, but this draft could be the beginning to an even playing surface between them and the Junior Shamrocks. And maybe, the start of a real Vancouver Island rivalry.