New Westminster survived a Lower Mainland purge at the Western Lacrosse Association junior entry draft.
The senior A Salmonbellies picked up three solid ball players and garnered two other potentially useful pieces after a draft that was shaken by the Nanaimo Timbermen’s raiding of mainland talent at the Langley Events Centre on Wednesday.
After Coquitlam surprised nobody, taking junior Adanac Wes Berg with the first overall pick; Nanaimo gave notice of its intentions, making Delta’s Eli McLaughlin the No. 2 pick and choosing junior T-Men goalie Pete Dubenski at No. 7.
The Salmonbellies picked up all-rounder Luke Gillespie with their fourth overall pick, when the Langley Thunder stepped in and nabbed ’Bellie righthander Anthony Malcom at three.
Connor Goodwin was taken next by Maple Ridge, allowing New Westminster to snap up Justin Goodwin with its second selection in the first round.
But what happened in the later rounds caught at least one WLA club a bit off guard.
Nanaimo, which held eight picks in the next three rounds, took six more mainland players, including right-hand sniper Brett Dobray and defender Ray Bannister with the eighth and ninth picks, respectively.
The T-Men also gobbled up Quinn Mackay and Reese Robinson from New West, Randy Jones from Burnaby, and Coquitlam defender Eric Klein with its later picks.
That, in part, allowed New West to claim current Vancouver Stealth backup keeper Eric Penney with its third pick of the draft.
“We didn’t have all that pegged,” admitted New Westminster general manager and president Dan Richardson. “We honestly didn’t think Penney was going to be available at 11. We have three goalies now, and at every position we have to bring in guys to compete.”
New Westminster also picked up sparkplub Cory Takahara from Port Coquitlam and Nanaimo tough guy Alex McDougall in the fourth and fifth rounds, respectively
Calling the acquisition of Penney a “real steal,” Richardson said a team can never have enough good backstoppers.
“We’re pretty happy,” he said.
New West transition runner Jakob Doucet was drafted 10th overall and goalie Ross Bowman was taken in the fourth round both by the Thunder.
Former junior A ’Bellies captain Steve Ferdinandi was made a third-round choice of the Maple Ridge Burrards.
The Burnaby Lakers selected New Westminster product Peyton Lupul, the junior Lakers captain, with their first pick of the draft in the third round.
“I’m really happy to be back in Burnaby,” said Lupul.
“I’m excited to be playing on a strong team and hoping I can contribute to their success. … I’m ready to play and happy to play wherever they put me.
