This Saturday the WLA season kicks off as the Coquitlam Adanacs host the Langley Thunder. Last season the season series finished 2-0-1 in favour of Langley. This year will be a different year for both teams as both teams are missing key players that helped their respective teams to find success last season.
The Adanacs will be starting a new era without the likes of sniper Dane Dobbie, goalie Nick Rose and defensemen Damon Edwards and Jon Hartnett. Without Dobbie the Adanacs will look towards Brett Hickey to power the offense in 2014. Hickey finished 2013 with 32 goals and 25 assists for 60 points on the year. Hickey will not be alone as Jesse Guerin will look to build upon a successful first year in the WLA as he put up 41 points last season. Coquitlam will need to strike first against Langley and force them onto their back foot in order to slow the fast paced Langley offence. Coquitlam will want to take advantage of Langley’s weaker defense with the absence of Mike Grime who led the Langley defense last year. Coquitlam will also need Adam Shute to come up big in net as he will need to halt Langley’s high power offense. If Shute can limit Langley’s offense the Adanacs can win this game.
Added to the Adanacs roster this season was Jaeden Gastaldo, and head coach Bob Salt told us “He adds quickness and skill out of our defensive end. He is a young player who is coachable and willing to work hard day in and day out. We are excited his is an Adanac.”
Coming into this game there will no doubt be a bunch of questions about Langley’s roster and if they can make up for the fact that they will be without Garrett Billings, Mark Matthews, Shayne Jackson, Mike Grimes and Dane Dobbie. While the Thunder will struggle to replace the offense these player bring they have proven before that they find new ways to win every year. The Langley offense will once again be led by Athan Iannucci and this year more than any other he will have more pressure on to succeed with the absence of the aforementioned players. Ianucci and Alex Turner will want to spark the Langley offense and put pressure on the Coquitlam net.
Last season the Adanacs lost a large portion of their roster at the trade deadline. “The tough part was the timing of it.” Salt told us. “We ended up a better team and locker room with the new players as they all wanted to be a part of the Adanac family. Moving forward, we are very happy and excited about the team and upcoming season.”
“We had a very good draft, addressing some areas that my staff felt we needed to improve on.” said general manager Kevin Hill. “Tyler Garrison improves our transition game and is also a solid defender. Matt Delmoico is another goal scorer that we hope makes a smooth transition from junior to senior. We also acquired Jaeden Gastaldo from Maple Ridge. Jaeden is a steady defender who can pick up loose balls and transition them up the floor quickly. He had scoring touch in junior that we hope he can regain this season.”
The Thunder will want to control possession and use their passing game to spread the defense and open up clear shots for Iannucci and Turner. The Thunder will need to do their best to stop Hickey from sparking the Adanacs offense as he is the biggest threat on the Adanacs and if he falters the offence will crumble around him.
This should be a high scoring affair between two teams who have had their identities rearranged during the off season. Both these teams will be trying to make a statement with a victory but in the end the edge has to go to Langley due to their experience and ability to control the tempo of the game.
