Changing things up just for the sake of change isn’t Dan Richardson’s style.
But the New Westminster Salmonbellies president and general manager demonstrated once again that when there’s a good reason to shuffle the deck, he will do what it takes to improve his team.
With the Western Lacrosse Association’s annual junior draft a month away, the Bellies GM made a move to add to the club’s stockpile of picks, this time swapping transition player Jeff Cornwall to the defending champion Maple Ridge Burrards for a pair of first round draft selections.
Richardson said a big reason for the deal was that Cornwall didn’t seem committed to the team.
“(Cornwall) is a talented player and a character guy, but for the last couple of years it has been a challenge,” said Richardson. “His actions both on and off the floor with his teammates and the support staff indicated to us he didn’t want to be a Salmonbellie.
“It wasn’t an easy trade to make, because (Cornwall) is a great player. But the situation wasn’t working, and we got some (draft) picks we can use to address some needs.”
Cornwall said the swap came as a surprise, even though his focus athletically right now is with the National Lacrosse League’s Saskatchewan Rush.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for me,” said Cornwall, 25. “I didn’t see a trade coming, but looking at Maple Ridge it’s a good situation. They have a strong offence, ridiculously great goaltending and very good defence... I think I can fit in well on defence and help them get back to a Mann Cup.”
A year ago he investigated playing in Ontario for the 2016 season, but said he wasn’t unhappy playing in New West.
Richardson noted that Cornwall had not requested a trade, but just didn’t seem be in sync with the club’s coaches.
“(Head coach Steve Goodwin) has been around the game a long time, (assistant) Russ Heard is a Hall of Famer and he knows a lot about the game… When you have a player who isn’t buying in and isn’t as committed as his teammates, it wears on the players and the coaching staff,” remarked Richardson.
Selected with the third pick overall in the 2013 WLA draft, Cornwall established himself quickly as a strong player off the ball. He was named the WLA’s top defender in 2014 and a first team all-star in 2015. But since then, he has been supplanted by veteran Ian Hawksbee and Justin Goodwin, and was limited to four goals and two assists over 10 regular season games in 2016.
With the return, New West picks up Maple Ridge’s first pick, fifth overall, and re-acquires its own first round pick, at sixth, that it had shipped east in a deal that got them the third pick in last year’s draft.
Richardson admits he’s ready to max-out his cell phone plan to possibly convert some or all the picks into something more.
“It’s a good first round for talent, but it drops off after that,” said Richardson of the prospects available in this year’s draft. “We know we will get some quality players with the fifth and sixth choices, depending upon what other teams do.
“Right now we may keep the picks, unless we find a suitable trading partner and a deal that makes sense for both teams.”
He said the team’s main need comes on offence.
“I think we’re really happy with our goaltending and are solid on defence,” said Richardson. “What we’re looking to build on is our offence, mostly on the right side.”
Among those eligible are Coquitlam’s Tyler Pace, New Westminster’s Adam Dickson and Johnny Pearson, and Delta’s Chase Fraser and Evan Messenger.
