The Burnaby Lakers made numerous moves in anticipation of a new approach to things for the upcoming 2017 Western Lacrosse Association season.
The most recent move can be classified as perhaps the stealthiest. By hiring longtime Peterborough Lakers’ assistant coach Jim Milligan to take over the dual position of head coach and general manager, Burnaby can claim a gravitas to compete for a Mann Cup.
“I guess I went from eastern to western Laker,” Milligan said of his new role. “When I came out (to B.C. last fall) to watch my son play I caught a game between Burnaby and Victoria, and I liked (Burnaby), their players.”
That the Lakers also selected son Cam Milligan, who came west to help the Delta Islanders win its first B.C. provincial title, was an extra incentive.
Burnaby had been on a lengthy search to replace Paul Rowbotham, who had indicated an interest in stepping back. Milligan threw his hat into the ring with an eye on also being the coach.
Although team president Ed Safarik told the NOW the team was pleased with the progress made under four-year bench boss Rory McDade, the executive decided Milligan’s bench experience would be an asset.
“It wasn’t a difficult search,” said Safirik. “(Milligan) contacted us last month, said he was relocating to B.C. and wanted the job.
“We feel lucky that his circumstances and our position lined up because he brings a lot of different experiences to our team.”
Milligan has served as an assistant coach in the National Lacrosse League for the past 12 years, including this season with the Vancouver Stealth. He was the offensive coordinator and associate coach for the Peterborough Lakers for 10 seasons, as well as assistant GM for four. Milligan was also on the coaching staff with the men’s national team that won the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse championship.
Last week in his first deal with the club, Milligan acquired netminder Eric Penney from New Westminster in exchange for a second round draft pick in 2019.
“I believe you build from the goaltending on out,” he noted. “We have a real good foundation here with (Tyler) Richards, (Zak) Boychuk and Penney, and combined with a strong backend I consider it to be second-to-none.”
Milligan is hoping to finalize one of Rowbotham’s last deals, when the Lakers dealt a bevy of draft picks in February to acquire the rights to Burnaby native Nic Bilic and NLL star sniper Mark Matthews.
The final piece is getting Ontario’s Brooklin franchise to sign-off on Matthews’ playing in B.C.
“It’s a bigger task, getting (Matthews’ release from Brooklin),” said Milligan. “The trade was only half of the deal and we’re still working on the second half... I don’t anticipate it being a quick deal, but hopefully it’s done by June and we have him here in time for July..”
Milligan noted that the acquisition of Bilic will be a major boost to the team's defence and transition games.
His preferred style of play is contingent on an aggressive defence that forces teams to readjust and step back.
“I’d like to see an aggressive strategy on defence,” Milligan said. “We have a good mix of offence and defence, and if we can add some depth here and there I think that will help us be there to challenge for a Mann Cup.”
Although still commuting from Peterborough for his role with the Stealth, Milligan intends to move full-time to the Lower Mainland by May and roll up his sleeves for the task at hand.
“Taking on the coaching and managing jobs are a bigger task,” he remarked. “You handle stuff on the floor and off it. I wanted to have control of that situation, be able to make moves that suit the type of game we’ll play.”
While the club offered McDade an assistant’s role, for both coaching and managing, he chose to move on.
Rowbotham, who was among the men who moved the Richmond franchise to Burnaby in 1990, is committed to staying on as an advisor in helping the transition, Safarik said.
Milligan said he has had discussions with a couple of candidates for assistant coaches, and hopes to make an announcement in the near future.
Coming from a program in Peterborough that occasionally dug deep within its financial reserves and sponsorships to attract star players en route to a national championship, Milligan said Burnaby’s approach will focus on getting the right player for a specific role.
“I think it’s not how much money you spend as much as where you spend it,” he said. “I’ve been fortunate in Peterborough to win a number of Mann Cups and when we needed a certain type of player, we got them. We’re going to use our resources wisely here.”
Safarik agreed, saying while the Lakers won't bankroll a huge pay-for-play strategy like rivals in Ontario and Victoria, the club is working at expanding its sponsorship pool to address on a per-need basis.
"We've added some players and we have a nice mix of young players and some older players, so it's time to step up and see where we can go," said Safarik.
The Lakers launch the 2017 WLA season on May 26 in Victoria.
