The Burnaby Lakers dealt righthander Jackson Decker to the Coquitlam Adanacs in a two-forone deal on the June 30 B.C. Junior Lacrosse League deadline.
Decker, who led the junior A Lakers with 21 goals and 42 points in just nine games this season, will fill the hole on the Adanacs's right side created when last year's Minto Cup MVP Robert Church went down with a season-ending leg injury last month.
In return for Decker, Burnaby received defender Kris Liset, who was dealt to Coquitlam earlier this season as compensation in the Reagan Harding deal, and Eliott Godman, a high-scoring forward in the intermediate A league last season.
Burnaby president and general manager Richard Appels also picked up Kevin Lemond from the Langley Thunder for a fourthround draft pick. Lemond had four goals and eight assists in eight games with the Thunder this season.
Appels was adamant the moves would make Burnaby a better team next season.
"Yes," Appels said. "The Godman kid is a goal scorer. We also have Tyler Buchan coming up next year and he is the leading scorer in the intermediate league."
New Westminster Salmonbellie GM Doug Zack was not able further strengthen his club with a deal prior to the deadline.
"We tried a lot of things, but what (the other GMs) offered was not in our best interests," said Zack. "Nobody was willing to move and at the end of the day, those GMs didn't want to make a deal. It's quite frustrating."
Zack, who was also looking to bolster New Westminster's right side owing to the possible loss of Tyler Digby because of early university commitments to the Robert Morris varsity football team again this year, was unable to make a deal for Decker, nor with Nanaimo for Cody Bremner, who was loaned to the Salmonbellies last season for a run at the Minto Cup.
"We tried right to the bitter end," Zack added.
That means that the current core of junior Salmonbellies will have to somehow find it within themselves to solve the socalled invincibility of the 19-0-0 Coquitlam Adanacs, said Zack.
"There's no cavalry coming, white knight, this is who we have to do it with, but it wasn't for a lack of trying," Zack said.
The B.C. junior league finishes up the regular season on Sunday.
tberridge@royalcityrecord.com
