The only surprise at this year’s Western Lacrosse Association draft would be if Coquitlam does not select junior Adanacs Wesley Berg with its No. 1 overall pick.
The consensus first overall choice was made a certainty following a multi-player trade with Nanaimo late last year that sent Brett Hickey and other considerations to the Timbermen in exchange for the top pick in this year’s junior entry draft.
Slightly less than a surety is whether Nanaimo goes off the Island and takes talented lefthander Eli McLaughlin with the second overall pick or stays at home and keeps 6-3 lefty Corey Shires in the T-Men fold.
There is also a rumour circulating that some Ontario Major Series Lacrosse clubs are ready to throw big money at B.C.’s top two draft picks, and others, in the hopes of luring them to play back east this season.
In any event, McLaughlin’s stock will not fall far. If by some miracle Langley passes up on the 100-point-per-season Delta product, New Westminster would willingly gobble him up.
“Nanaimo controls the draft,” said Salmonbellies president and general manager Dan Richardson. “I don’t think we’ll get a crack at McLaughlin. He has too much skill.”
But in what is generally considered by most to be a modest draft year, there are some rich pickings for teams that have done their homework, Richardson said.
At No. 4, 6 and 11, Richardson believes the ’Bellies can come out of the draft feeling better than most teams.
New West could conceivably take 6-2 all-rounder Luke Gillespie at four, rather than see the Maple Ridge product return home to the Burrards.
That might leave nifty righthander Anthony Malcom or 6-1 PoCo Saint Connor Goodwin, a New Westminster product, free at six.
Malcom accumulated 90 goals and more than 250 points in three junior A seasons, while Goodwin was a goal-per-game sniper in his career.
Brett Dobray, a 6-0 righty with 100 goals behind him while with Langley and New West juniors, is also in the first-round mix.
Nanaimo, with six of the top-14 picks, including the No. 2 and 7 selections, will be a popular dance partner for any of those clubs willing to wheel and deal on draft day.
Peter Dubenski from Nanaimo and Ontario product Eric Penny, who has remained out west as a backup for the Vancouver Stealth in the NLL, might be the best of a handful of goalies graduating, including New West’s Ross Bowman, David Mathers from the Burnaby Lakers and Coquitlam’s Riley Camazzola.
Possible second-rounders include New Westminster transition defenders Justin Goodwin, Reese Robinson, Steve Ferdinandi and Jakob Doucette, who scored 12 goals, including three shorties, on 46 shots during the regular season last year.
Other considerations, in no particular order, are: Lakers’ Randy Jones, Langley’s Brendan Mykle-Winkler, Mitchell Parker from Nanaimo, New West’s 6-3 righty Quinn MacKay, PoCo lefty Tanner Fisher, and perhaps the dark horse of the entire draft, Peyton Lupul, a New West cast-off who went on to captain the Lakers through arguably their toughest past few seasons and finished his Jr. A career as a three-point-per-game guy, including a second-best 48 assists in league play last season.
Burnaby does not draft until the third round with the 20th overall pick.
It will all unfold next Wednesday, Feb. 11 at the Langley Events Centre. Doors open on the WLA graduating junior entry draft at 6 p.m., with the first draft selection expected to be made at 6:45 p.m.
