The Vancouver Stealth are a little more than halfway through their first season in British Columbia. We caught up with their general manager Doug Locker to discuss their season so far.
1. How do you evaluate the season so far?
a. Obviously it’s been a disappointment thus far. We have been inconsistent in many parts of our game and just have not played a full 60 minutes on a regular basis. There are a number of reasons for it (injuries, inordinate number of back to back weekends, some key players having off seasons) but frankly those are things that everyone in our league is battling. Bottom line is we just need to be better than we have been and guys that we rely on to step up need to step up. We can’t waste time worrying about what has happened with the first 10 games and need to focus all of our energy on the next 8.
2. What can you say about Rhys Duch this season?
a. I’m honestly not convinced that there is anyone better in our league right now – all Rhys does night after night is go out and score goals and give us a chance to win lacrosse games. He is frankly the best and we are very happy with what he has done and what we think he will continue to do.
3. Vancouver has allowed by far the most shots in the league. Why do you think that is?
a. We need to cut down our turnovers and penalty minutes and that alone would cut down on the shots that Tyler and Matt are facing – We have a great deal of confidence in our defense from goaltending out, but we have allowed teams to put too much heat on them so far this year. The simple answer is too many penalties and far too many turnovers.
4. What do you think can improve in the second half?
Hopefully we will see more scoring from our left side with the addition of Jamie Lincoln to our offense. I believe our turnovers and PIM’s will decrease which will allow our defense to be more steady
5. Do you see this break from the action as a positive for the Stealth?
a. Huge positive – It has given us time to evaluate what we have done thus far and look at possible solutions for the remaining 8 games. Additionally, it has given our guys a chance to pull back a bit and simply take a break from what has been a very grueling start to the season.
6. Do you anticipate any moves at the deadline?
a. As we announced today we have signed Jamie Lincoln, Brad Richardson and Bradley Kri and feel each of those guys makes us better and certainly gives us additional depth defensively. I’d like to be as aggressive at the deadline as possible without changing the overall dynamic of our lacrosse team which we like very much. Bottom line is want to position ourselves to make a second half run and continue that momentum and we will do whatever we need to do at the deadline to make that happen.
