It was a banner 2019 campaign for the Ridge Meadows Burrards’ midget program and the Delta Islanders were certainly paying attention.
The Burrards captured silver and gold respectively at last summer’s provincial A1 and A2 championships. That set the stage for Sunday’s B.C. Junior “A” Lacrosse League Entry Draft at the Langley Events Centre.
Ridge Meadows players dominated the draft board — representing seven of the eight selections in the first round. Leading the way was Delta taking Team BC player Calum Munro with the first overall pick.
The Islanders then used their 15th and 16th overall picks to take two more Burrard products — Conner Bouma and Chase Miller. They concluded their day with Luke Davidson (Chilliwack) and Aman Bubra (Abbotsford) in the sixth and final round.
The BCJALL Entry Draft is designed to disperse players located in either the Lower Mainland or Vancouver Island for their Junior eligible playing years (17-21). It’s only for players that don’t have a Junior “A" franchise in their catchment.
The draft has greatly benefitted the Islanders over the years with the additions of such players as Eli McLaughlin (Surrey) and Mike Mallory (Maple Ridge).
The Islanders will head into the 2020 campaign looking to qualify for the post-season for the first time since winning their first-ever league championship in 2016.
They finished with a 3-18-0 record a year ago but do have some promising returning talent including sniper Haiden Dickson who is now playing for the National Lacrosse League’s Calgary Roughnecks at just 19. He had four goals in his NLL debut.
