All’s quiet on the Western Lacrosse Association front, but it’s not because there isn’t anything happening.
While the league's website has been frozen on last year's Mann Cup outcome for the past four months, the league's teams have been scoping out the landscape to see what is the fastest route to getting into the Mann Cup picture in 2019.
For a team like the Burnaby Lakers, the questions out-number the answers as the calendar flips to February.
One thing is confirmed: the Lakers management believes that last year's fall from grace, which saw Burnaby sink to sixth spot just one-year after claiming the franchise's first regular season title, was more a cumulative result of injuries and players choosing to play elsewhere, than those of bad planning or mistakes made.
You can't subtract the likes of Josh Byrnes and Matt Beers and not feel the pinch, general manager Kevin Hill said.
That's why the club is making a big push to recruit Byrnes and Beers back into the fold. And a main boost in getting players committed, for every WLA team, is the fact that 2019 is the west's turn to host the Mann Cup.
With a base that includes the likes of Eli McLaughlin, Robert Church, Dane Stevens, Justin Salt and Eric Penney, you have to like their chances of at least being in the playoff picture come July.
"I think our window of (opportunity) is still there, and that it's a Mann Cup year (as B.C. as host) mean's everyone is saying they're in," remarked Hill, entering his second full season as general manager. "Players are saying they're coming back, so in hindsight it may just work out that we got a good first round pick this year."
The junior draft, which goes Feb. 7 in Langley, presents another chance to bolster the team's talent base. Having the second pick overall is the only reward for a 6-11-1 season, but Hill says whether he uses that pick on a player, like two-way powerhouse Ryland Rees or Victoria sniper Marshal King, or deals it for specific needs remains to be determined.
"There are so many factors we have to consider, like will the player commit. We have to do what's best for our club, and we have teams calling about the pick."
Burnaby also holds its own second round pick, ninth overall, but doesn't own a selection in either the third or fourth rounds.
Hill confirmed that Peter Tellis is returning as coach, and that they are courting Byrne to see if he's interested in returning. The young sniper, who tallied four goals and 12 assists over four games in 2017, spent 2018 in the Major League Lacrosse, an outdoor field pro circuit where the New Westminster native earned its Rookie of the Year award while playing for Chesapeake.
Beers, who is captaining the Vancouver Warriors of the National Lacrosse League, would be a major boon to the team's defence, as would the return of Nick Bilic, who plays in the NLL with Saskatchewan.
"We hope Nick comes back and right now we're in discussions with him. He's a Burnaby boy and his veteran presence is something we really benefit from," said Hill.
Laker captain Robert Church is also a member of the Rush, and is a crucial piece to any hopes of rebounding back to the playoffs. One Saskatchewan player, however, who doesn't appear to be an option is lanky sniper Mark Matthews, for whose rights the team paid a hefty price for prior to the 2017 draft. The deal with Langley, which also brought Bilic into the fold, cost the Lakers a handful of draft picks, including two first round selections.
"(Getting Matthews) isn't something we've spent much time on, frankly," said Hill. "First of all, we can't approach him; it has to come from (Matthews) and Brooklin (who hold his Ontario rights). ... We haven't had any contact with him. Our focus now is getting (Byrne) to return."
One decision that the league's board of governors made at its annual general meeting recently could come into play sooner than later.
The WLA board voted to allow 'trade and return' deals, an option that is permitted in B.C. junior A but has been banned at the senior level. Now, teams who fall out of the playoff picture can move a player but recoup his rights after the season. For those in the hunt for a league title, it means you can stock up. The also-rans on the other hand can acquire talent or draft picks while sending their players to experience a possible Mann Cup drive.
"The board of governors felt it would help level the playing field because we just can't compete at the same level as the deep pocketed teams back east," noted Hill.
The team is also confident in returning netminders Eric Penney and Zak Boychuk, and feel the foundation from a defensive standpoint is solid.
"We need to get some more goal scoring for sure, and if some of the guys (missing last year) return and through the draft we feel confident that we will," he added.
