It will be a transition year for the Wallaceburg Red Devils Junior ‘B’ lacrosse squad.
After graduating a large number of players, the team will be younger. The Red Devils will also call Dresden’s Ken Houston Memorial Agricultural Centre their home this season as the 70-year old Wallaceburg Memorial Arena undergoes lobby and dressing room renovations.
Red Devils head coach Jamie Knight said it will be different playing on the bigger surface in Dresden.
“As I told the boys it will be like playing 20 road games this summer,” Knight said about the adjustment.
This is not the first time the Red Devils have had to abandon Wallaceburg Memorial Arena. The 2004 team had to play out of the Walpole Island Sports Complex because the Wallaceburg arena was getting a new floor installed.
Knight said as a positive, the Red Devils will be able to expand and grow their fan base in the Dresden area. Due to a conflict, the Red Devils will also play a home game at Bothwell Arena, something that Knight is excited about.
“It’s a change but honestly it will good for growth of lacrosse in general.”
The Red Devils begin their season in Dresden on Saturday. Game time is 7 p.m. They will then have some time off, as their next game isn’t until April 23 at home versus Windsor.
Last year the Red Devils had a successful 16-4 regular season. They won a playoff series against Hamilton before they were eliminated in the second round by Elora.
The Red Devils graduated a number of key players, including Cory Lucier, Blain Adams, Cory Burr, Jordan Goddard, Vern Hill, Brock Daugherty, Bronson Bea and Brendan Johnston.
Leading scorer Kyle Dawson is eligible to come back but is looking to go to British Columbia this summer for lacrosse and work at a student co-op position.
“We go from being a veteran team to where I would say our average age is 18 this year, which is good, we’re optimistic about that,” Knight said.
Even with a youthful roster, Knight said he is optimistic and has set a goal of earning a playoff berth this season.
“Yeah, we’re in a rebuild but I honestly think that because everyone else is kind of is ( in a rebuild) I think the (Far West) division is up for grabs,” Knight said.
Helping Knight behind the bench will be Joel Shepley, Jordan Durston and Bronson Bea.
With a few more open spots this year, the roster is still in flux leading up to the season opener. It could include a few players—like Brody Genyn and Jeff Barclay—who haven’t played organized lacrosse before but are outstanding athletes. Knight said training camp has also included a number of players who have taken the past couple of years off and he has reached out to them to come back and play again.
“We just want to teach and coach and this is season is going to be a lot of green kids,” Knight said.
“We’re going to make mistakes this year and we’re cool with that. It’s going to be a learning season but saying that I’m optimistic about this summer and optimistic if these kids all buy into it.”
The offence will have Tanner Cole, Riley Roe and Carter Hastings back.
The Red Devils have had a Six Nations pipeline for the past few years. Knight said he’s working on a trade with Six Nations, with some Six Nations players who have played for the Red Devils the past few years going back and getting a few new players in return from Six Nations.
One area where the Red Devils will remain strong is in goal, with the veteran trio of Brayden Bell, Cecil Jacobs and C.J. Gibson
from Chatham Daily News http://bit.ly/2Itq0Sh
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