NLL Insider

There has been some discussion on the NLL Forums about the draft process in the Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) and the league itself. So here’s a quick overview, and then in the post below, how the draft is finally paying dividends for the Langley Thunder.

Levels: In the B.C. Lacrosse Association (BCLA), a member of the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA), players start playing box lacrosse as early as five year’s old in mini-tyke and work their way up through the minor system eventually playing at the Intermediate, Junior and Senior levels.

In B.C., Intermediate is for players aged 17 to 18 years old, and Junior is for players aged 19 to 21. There are two tiers, ‘A’ and ‘B’, with the top talent suiting up in the ‘A’ division. At the age of 22, you’re pushed to the Senior rank.

Sometimes an elite player will also ‘play-up’ above their age category. For instance, last summer during the Mann Cup championships, Coquitlam and Peterborough had respectively called-up Tyler Codron and Josh Gillam.

Championships: Junior aged players in the ‘A’ division compete for the Minto Cup. It’s a tough title to win because you only get three cracks at it. This year’s Minto Cup championship will be hosted by the Calgary Mountaineers. As host, they’ll receive an automatic bid to the round robin tourney, joining the B.C., Ontario and Alberta Champions. The championship is moved between competing Provinces each year.

Senior ‘A’ players battle for a Mann Cup that pits the WLA Western Champion versus the Major Series League (MSL) Eastern Champion. When interviewed for a preview last summer, John Grant Jr. called the Mann Cup one the most difficult titles to win in all of lacrosse because of its grueling nature – a best of seven format. The Mann Cup championship alternates coasts every year, and is back East in 2008.

It is extremely difficult to win the Mann Cup on the road. 2007 marked the first time in 12 years that a visiting team won the Mann Cup, as the Peterborough Lakers repeated as champions.

Junior ‘B’ players compete for the Founders’ Cup and Senior ‘B’ has a Presidents’ Cup – both National championships.

Draft Eligibility: All graduating Junior players, or players who turn 22 year’s old in the draft year and have played at least one of their last three years in B.C., are available to be drafted by any of the seven Senior ‘A’ WLA teams.

The WLA Entry Draft is open. That means the best players often go in order, although teams are smart about drafting players who have solid jobs a considerable distance away. Victoria and Nanaimo are both a ferry or plane ride away from mainland, while the other five WLA teams are located within 25 minutes of each other in the greater Vancouver area.

(Due to their unique situation on the island, the Victoria Shamrocks used to be able to protect their graduating Juniors. Mainland teams could only select Victoria Junior ‘A’ players with a signed letter of intent, and the opposite was true if Victoria wanted to draft a graduting Junior from the lower mainland – a ruling that changed about five years ago.)

The open draft out West is a little different than the East, where MSL Senior clubs can protect a handful of their best graduting Junior players. Sohen Gill, BCLA President and WLA Assistant Governor, said the topic raises discussion every year, but he noted the WLA will likely stick with their current open draft format for the foreseeable future.

Draft Order: Draft order in the WLA is based on a team’s performance in the prior year, like the National Hockey League (NHL). So the last place finisher gets the first pick and so on. For the Langley Thunder, that has meant the ability to grab some strong picks after a finishing at the bottom of the standings over the past few seasons.

The Thunder are now looking for their top draft picks to deliver in 2008.

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