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The Langley Thunder went through a rough season in 2009, only capturing one win in 21 B.C. Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse League (BCJALL) games.

Formerly located in Surrey, the Thunder made the move to the new Langley Events Centre in ‘09 and will enjoy its excellent facilities moving forward. The move is more important for its connections, however, as the Thunder are now tied to minor A1 Langley teams. The franchise hopes to be able to build through that minor system and the new Midget Draft.

“We desperately needed to have a catchment … that played A1 in all the divisions, to put us close to the level playing field Coquitlam, New West and Victoria enjoy,” said Thunder GM Brock Rose. “This is our future talent and coupled with careful drafting we will be able to reach for our goal, which should be the same as all Junior ‘A’ clubs – a Minto Cup.”

The Midget Draft was introduced to the BCJALL in 2007. It is a free agent draft, where players who reside outside of a city that has a Junior ‘A’ program can be drafted. For those not familiar with the Canadian Lacrosse Association (CLA) system, in B.C., the league brackets go up from Midget (15, 16 year olds) to Intermediate (17, 18) and Junior (19, 20, 21).

The Midget Draft was supported by Junior ‘A’ governors over an Intermediate Draft, so the Junior programs could incorporate and train their drafted Midget players at the Intermediate level, before they hit the more high-profile Junior ‘A’ circuit. Just as there are eight teams in the BCJALL, there are eight Intermediate ‘A’ teams. Close to 100 Midget teams exist in B.C.

“The midget draft will be crucial to the program’s future,” added Rose. “The draft can be utilized to move a program forward by developing players together at the Intermediate ‘A’ level from your town’s minor program along with draft picks from the Midget Draft.”

The Thunder had the first overall pick in the inaugural Midget draft and selected goalie Devon Winter who the club hopes can develop into a starter. Colton Porter was also was selected by Langley in 2007 and impressed the club with his skill-set and leadership qualities.

“When we determined that the playoffs were lost to our club this season, we then shifted gears to move our most marketable players to other clubs,” explained Rose of the franchise’s move to secure additional draft picks. Langley now holds four of the first nine selections in the up-coming 2010 Midget Draft.

Langley moved goalie Ray Hodgkinson, top scorer Mitch Dibblee and Mike King – all third-year players – to Burnaby for two first-round picks in 2010 and Andrew Copeland, a first-year goalie. The Thunder also moved team captain Scott Davidson to Port Coquitlam for a 2010 draft pick and third-year Sean Messenger to Delta for another future selection.

Colton Porter, Greg Mahony and Colten Hayes are all expected to play larger roles with Langley next season, along with a handful of graduating players from Langley’s Intermediate ‘A’ South Fraser Stickmen program, including top ‘08 Midget Draft pick Jordon Schulstad. The Thunder are also looking for talent outside of B.C.

“Since the CLA made changes to how players can move across provincial boundaries, it has become increasingly difficult to bring players West from Ontario,” said Rose. “So GM’s must look in new areas to recruit talent to our respective programs. Manitoba and Saskatchewan are not restricted like Alberta and Ontario so many teams have scoured these provinces trying to secure talent.”

Four U.S. born players also competed with the Thunder this year, including Yale’s Brendan Gibson. Gibson really increased his stock in ‘09, was named a late captain with the Thunder and showed well at the Prospects Game.

Fans and GM’s will get an opportunity to see the next crop of future Junior ‘A’ stars when Langley hosts the Midget Provincial Championships, July 22-26.

Reegan Comeault (South Fraser), Jimmy Delany (PoCo) and Eddy Patron (Coquitlam) currently lead the Intermediate ‘A’ scoring race. Comeault is likely to be aged-up with Langley next season. Last year’s Intermediate ‘A’ scoring leader, Robert Church, was aged-up to Junior ‘A’ this year and is expected to win the ‘09 BCJALL scoring title.

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