Time to take a closer look on the draft day trade that sent Nick Weiss, and the 9th overall selection from the Vancouver Stealth to the Buffalo Bandits. In return the Stealth received lefty shooter Rory Smith, and goaltender Eric Penney.
With the left side of the offense being somewhat of an issue for Vancouver, it came as no surprise that GM Doug Locker was looking to rebuild their offense for the season. What he gave away to what they received in return on paper seems to be a fair trade. Add in the goaltender in Penney, and you may have just hit the jackpot, as Tyler Richards seems to thrive on competition.
Last season fans saw the first healthy scratch for Lewis Ratcliff in his tenured career in the NLL. Lewis has been a constant contributor on the scoring end each year he has been with the Stealth. His turnovers, off field antics, and slump last season could be a contributing factor in the Stealth building this side of the field. Whether it is meant to give him additional weapons, or to give the left side leader a wake up call, we will all have to wait and see. With training camp a little over a month away it won’t be long.
Camp will be a great time to see the tough, left handed shooter in Smith and what he brings to the Stealth’s once intimidating offense. The 6’0” tall 200lb Smith comes to the Stealth being ranked #47 by IL , as does his reputation to be a stand in guy. Not afraid to drop the gloves when necessary, he brings an attitude and fight the Stealth may desperately need. In 7 seasons Rory has played in 103 games, tallying 12 assists and 363 penalty minutes.
You can catch a glimpse of Rory Smith and the rest of the Vancouver Stealth as they fight to make the final roster for the 2015 season at training camp. Camp will be held in late November, look for updates on this and the rest of the season at www.stealthlax.com Season tickets can also be purchased by calling the LEC box office or going to the website as well.
