With training camp fast approaching, it’s time to see what the Calgary Roughnecks were up to over the off season.
In September transition Nolan Heavenor called it quits after eight years in the NLL, seven with Calgary. His decision to retire leaves an opening in the transition game for the Roughnecks.
The team made a couple of moves on the day of the annual draft. Jackson Decker was traded to the Colorado Mammoth for a second round pick in the 2014 draft just prior to this year’s draft and Joe Resetarits and the 15th overall pick were traded early in this year’s draft, going to the Buffalo Bandits for the 10th overall pick as well as a second round pick in the 2015 draft.
Since then the head office has been slowly resigning new draft choices and returning free agents, most recently locking reigning NLL MVP Shawn Evans to a two-year deal.
A number of Roughnecks were also busy playing in the summer leagues. Seven Riggers helped take the Victoria Shamrocks to the Mann Cup where they eventually fell to the Six Nations Chiefs. Scott Ranger, Jeff Shattler, Jon and Greg Harnett as well as Dan McRae, Scott Carnegie and the aforementioned Heavenor all contributed to the Shamrocks’ success in winning the WLA and moving on to the national championship.
Elsewhere in the WLA, forward Curtis Dickson led the league in scoring with a whopping 58 goals and 45 assists for 103 points while playing for the Maple Ridge Burrards while Matthew Dinsdale, Travis Cornwall and Daryl Veltman were key contributors to the Coquitlam Adanacs.
In Ontario, Evans scored 99 points for the Peterborough Lakers while goalie Mike Poulinwon six games while posting an 8.79 goals against average for the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks.
Backup goalie Frankie Scigliano was still young enough over the summer to be in junior lacrosse. He had an excellent season with the New Westminster Salmonbellies, posting a 7.60 GAA and .768 save percentage to help the squad make a trip to the Minto Cup, although they weren’t quite able to win the junior championship.
Still, his excellent performance means he’ll probably give Poulin a run for his money for the top spot on the Roughnecks roster when training camp begins later this month.
