With the worst division record, barely holding the tiebreaker over Minnesota for the worst record in the league the Vancouver Stealth were in dire need of an overhaul this offseason.
With franchise, free agency, unrestricted free agents, and the trade deadline looming the Stealth made some moves to keep the heart and soul of their defense. Statistically they struggled in their 2014 campaign, but as we all know numbers do not always tell the true story. In late July the Stealth resigned two key contributors in Curtis Hodgson and Justin Salt. Hodgson who was originally drafted by the Vancouver Ravens has since spent his entire career with the Stealth, giving their defense some consistency and exceptional play year after year. In his debut Salt got the Stealth going offensively; for any defenseman this is huge. He has spent some time being moved on the roster entering his fourth looking for a breakout year from Salt this season.
Two of the biggest moves so far this season, on the defensive side was the Qualifying offer extended to Mike Grimes, and the pickup of Tyler Burton. Grimes’ career speaks for itself—a solid player, leader, and award winning defender, he brings the intangibles to the Stealth defense that take a very special player to replace. Burton coming in to the organization after winning two Champion’s Cups with the Rochester Knighthawks. Burton is an in-your-face, physical defender that will receive a warm welcome to the squad.
Struggling last year for identity, ball sharing, and some hustle the Stealth addressed the issue under new coach Dan Perreault. Extending a Qualifying offer to star forward Rhys Duch was key, as you never want to lose your leading scorer, and a guy that is sure to draw a double or triple every time he touches the ball. Signing Caleb Wiles to the team this past week, was another sign of the Stealth youth movement. Wiles is coming off a great career in CLAX playing for the Barrie Blizzard and is looking forward to contributing in his NLL debut season.
The largest concern still needing to be addressed is the left side of the ball. Coming off his first career healthy scratch, how will the leader of the left side Lewis Ratcliff respond. Can the absence of summer play in the WLA be overcome, as touches are key even at the level of play in the NLL? If/when he gets the ball if the shot is not there, can he move it fast enough to his teammates to find the open man, or work off ball to create opportunities for himself/teammates? These questions will most likely be addressed by the coaching staff in training camp, one thing is for sure Lewis will bring his all, as he is a stiff competitor always doing what needs to be done in preparation to be the best he can be.
With most of their shortcomings in the 2014 season already being addressed by GM Doug Locker, there is still some work to be done to get the Stealth back on track to competing. You can keep tabs on their moves via nll.com and at stealthlax.com. Remember you can also reserve your 2015 season tickets by calling the Stealth office at (604) 882-8800 or online at [email protected] year in a Stealth jersey. Many are
