The Vancouver Stealth open their preseason schedule with a home scrimmage against the defending NLL champions the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday, Nov. 29, where fans will get their first look at a team that has been largely revamped in order to compete for a Champion’s Cup title in their third year playing out of the Langley Events Centre.
The Stealth were at the forefront of several major signings and trades in the offseason with an eye on improving upon a 5-13 record. Amongst the major acquisitions are Langley native Garrett Billings and Colton Clark on offence, and Matt Beers, Jeff Moleski and Ian Hawksbee on the backend.
Despite a disappointing first two years in Vancouver, this edition of the Stealth figures to be their deepest and most competitive squad since their last Champion’s Cup appearance in 2013.
Another interesting storyline to watch for this year is how Eric Penney will fare in his first season as a full-time NLL starter. He replaces the retired Tyler Richards and is coming off a stellar year in the WLA, where he was named the Leo Nicholson Award winner as top goaltender, as well as being named to the first team all-star squad. He also shared the Ed Bailey Award as rookie of the year with Buffalo Bandits draft pick Anthony Malcom. How Penney performs between the pipes this season will be telling of just how far this team can go.
Penney will have the luxury of having a defence in place that is much stronger and deeper than Richards had in Vancouver. With the return of Matt Beers from work commitments and the aforementioned signings of Moleski and Hawksbee, the Stealth have a quality unit that is capable of giving NLL offences several different looks.
The transition group has been upgraded as well with the signings of Coquitlam native Travis Cornwall and a healthy Tyler Garrison. The unit is young and will be looked at to push the ball up the floor quicker than last season. Cornwall could also spend some time up front, but will have to fight for playing time with the stacked set of lefties in Billings, Logan Schuss and Corey Small.
Offensively, the Stealth O now look like one of the most potent in the league, especially when factoring in a full season of Schuss and Small. Small was lights-out in the WLA season, leading the league in points with 79 behind 33 goals. Schuss was a goal-per-game player with the Stealth, scoring eight goals and 26 assists in seven games. He should be a strong breakout candidate for the Stealth, with a strong chance of eclipsing the 36 goals he scored in 2014 with the Minnesota (now Georgia) Swarm.
The new additions should also shore up space and time for Rhys Duch, who lead Vancouver in scoring with 103 points in 18 games last season. His shot is still one of the toughest for goalies to stop in the league, giving the Stealth credible threats all over the floor.
In the draft, the Stealth went away from drafting a heavy hometown presence, and now have several Eastern-based players. Vancouver has 12 rookies on their training camp roster, including newly-signed Finnish import Joakim Miller. Vancouver’s first two picks, Jordan Durston and Shayne Adams, bring more of an offensive game to the table while Keegan Letourneau could be a dark horse to make the team based on his great year with the Minto Cup champions Six Nations Arrows.
Langley Events Centre fieldhouse will host two scrimmages, with the first against Saskatchewan this Saturday at 6 pm and Colorado visiting on Dec. 6 for a 10 am faceoff. They then travel to Calgary to play the Roughnecks at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Dec. 20 at 1 pm.
