There is no truth to the rumour
the New Westminster Salmonbellies have offered Liam Neeson a free walk-on spot in the lineup.
By the looks of the lineup-on-paper ’Bellies, the Hollywood action star – seen in the Royal City this week – would have to buy a ticket like the rest of us.
New Westminster general manager/president Dan Richardson said commitments and additions to the 2017 roster are in line with a serious Western Lacrosse Association competitor.
But before we plan a Mann Cup parade route, something called “a season” must be played.
“There’s lots of excitement with the coaching staff because we look real good on paper,” said Richardson as the club prepares for an exhibition game on Monday at Queen’s Park Arena against Burnaby. “It’s the coaches’ job to meld this into a good team, but we like what we’ve got.”
Head coach Steve Goodwin will oversee a fairly veteran squad, charged up to improve on last year’s finish, which saw the second-place ’Bellies bounced in the semifinals by eventual league champion Maple Ridge.
The list of commitments grew by six this past week, although the likes of Alex Buque, Ian Hawksbee, Curtis Hodgson, Mitch Jones and Brandon and Justin Goodwin were expected.
As is the state of senior A lacrosse, the club has been slogging through a camp with 14 players, due to a lengthy checklist of veterans plying the boards in the National Lacrosse League.
Monday’s exhibition test will likely be running time, as both clubs are battling to fill out practice rosters with college and pro lacrosse still the prime focus for many players.
“It’s become the status quo the last few years with the NLL creeping later into the spring,” said Richardson. “We’re not the only team, so we have to adapt and chase guys to come in.”
Two veterans who won’t be wearing the red fish are Ben Davies – retiring – and Jordan McBride.
McBride, who finished second in team scoring with 21 goals and 27 assists in 16 games, will take the year off due to his job with the fire department, so that creates a hole on the right side. But Richardson is confident that any offensive void has been addressed in the signing of NLL all-star Kevin Crowley and trade for Joel McCready. Crowley isn’t expected to join the team until June 27, however.
With trades and free-agent signings bringing in the likes of Brett Mydske, Nathan Stewart, Crowley, McCready and goalie Tye Belanger, depth shouldn’t be an issue once the pro players begin to show up.
The NLL playoffs will play havoc with the first month of WLA action, as Vancouver’s lineup includes Logan Schuss, Justin Goodwin, Hawksbee, Hodgson
and Belanger, and the highly-ranked Saskatchewan Rush features defenders Mike Messenger and Mydske.
In their absence, New West has a couple of Alberta players coming in on a tryout basis and still has an iron in the fire on acquiring the services of another shooter.
“On paper, we think we’ve improved the team and that we’re a strong team,” said Richardson. “It starts in goal, and I think in Belanger and Buque we have the best goaltending in the league. We added one of the best D-men in Canada in Mydske, and the fact he’s coming home to play is another big bonus.”
Although the season opener is three weeks away (May 25, 7 p.m. with Nanaimo visiting Queen’s Park Arena), Richardson said the pressure is on to compete for a Mann Cup and set that tone from camp onward.
“Last year we went 0-3 to start, and everyone was pushing the panic button,” noted Richardson. “Then we went like 14 games without a loss. We don’t want to start 0-3, but it’s important to stay focused on the big picture.”
