Doug Locker was one of the more active general managers in the NLL offseason, adding a bevy of quality role players, young talent and another body in the crease. There are still holes in the roster, albeit relatively minor in comparison to this point last year – the NLL draft will be an opportunity for the front office to upgrade the overall quality of the roster.
That process never stops for every team, but it’s especially important for the Stealth given the lack of high round picks they hold in the next few drafts. They have benefitted in other ways: recently re-signed Jeff Moleski netted the Stealth the No. 19 overall selection after leaving for Calgary for one season. They have another compensatory selection two picks later, which they received for losing Brett Bucktooth. Those two picks will be pivotal as Vancouver doesn’t hold a selection before then. With the 23rd, 33rd and 39th overall picks also in their back pocket, don’t be surprised if Locker pulls the trigger on a deal to move up, especially if a player like Dan Taylor falls down the board.
Despite making some sound additions to the right side of the offence in Colton Clark and Keegan Bal, Vancouver could stand to have another lefty in the mix, too. They signed Travis Cornwall from the Roughnecks and he can chip in offensively from time to time as a third lefty. But he would be firmly behind Schuss, Small and Cliff Smith and is a better option transitioning the ball up the floor. The flexibility of having those selections is that finding a offensively lefty isn’t as big of a priority as it would normally be.
Vancouver has stayed close to home with its draft picks in past years but it might be worthwhile to take a player from back east, let him develop over the summer and have an asset on your hands. In that case, the player would get some pro experience, join the team for an eastern road swing and work to push for a roster spot. An interesting option in this situation would be Michael McDonald, a former Minto Cup champion with the Whitby Warriors who can fill the net with 38 goals this season for Princeton University. A Rochester Rattlers MLL draft pick, he would be a perfect player for the Stealth to develop.
The Stealth would also be doing themselves a lot of favours if they can find players that make their team harder to play against. That isn’t to say the Stealth should be adding facepunchers and lumberjacks on defence, rather worker-bee type players that go to the proverbial greasy areas and are a pain in the opposition’s ass. Brad Gillies would fit that need to a tee; I mocked him to the Stealth in my first NLL mock draft at No. 21. He’d be 24 by the time the regular season rolls around and was a standout at RIT, garnering an honourable mention for the Division III All-American team.
Gillies already has two full years in the MSL with the Oakville Rock and another nine games previously with the Kitchener-Waterloo Braves. Gillies is already a guy you can plug-and-play in most situations and is a talented but heady lacrosse player. Imagine the competitiveness in training camp for those coveted roster spots, especially on the back-end.
It will be interesting to see if the Stealth add a veteran goalie to the mix, but there isn’t much currently on the market and Locker sounded confident in their current trio. Adam Shute is coming off a decent summer with the Coquitlam Adanacs in the WLA, finishing second behind Eric Penney in save percentage at .823. It’s always nice to have reliable in goal, as the Stealth will likely attest to given last season’s circumstances, and Shute will be given a fair shake to grab the back-up role. At this point the starting job is Penney’s to lose, but the crease will resemble a 1A-1B arrangement than a starter-backup combination.
After this summer, it’s doubtful Locker is too worried about his goalies. Penney won a share of the WLA rookie of the year, had the most wins of all goaltenders (9) and was number one in save percentage. Cynics will point to the recent New West-Victoria WLA finals in which both Penney and Alexis Buque struggled with the Shamrocks’ firepower and doubt Penney’s pedigree. But a vote of confidence from inside the locker room carries more weight than anything said from a casual fan. It’s inevitable all three goalies will struggle at points this season, but they won’t be relied upon to steal games.
Depending on who the Stealth draft, training camp is setting up to be an absolute battle in certain personnel groupings. The restructured defence is the biggest news of the offseason and the overall depth has been improved greatly. There aren’t many glaring weaknesses in this lineup, and that should (hopefully) have Stealth fans flocking to the LEC.
