The Wallaceburg Red Devils Junior ‘B’ Lacrosse team is excited for the upcoming season, and to kick things off the club has made a big splash in the trade market.
Four players were acquired from Six Nations for cash, including: Tyler Brown, Vern Hill, Madison General and Cole Dezainde.
“Tyler Brown is a big player we picked up in the trade from Six Nations,” Jamie Knight, co-coach of the team, told the Sydenham Current.
“This is his third year of junior. He played last season in Akwesasne and than finished the season in Guelph. He had 24 goals, 35 assists last year in 17 games for Akwe and 3 goals and 3 assists in two games for Guelph in the playoffs. He is a left-handed guy. We are really happy to get him in the trade.”
Knights said Hill is another left-handed player who played at Genesee College.
“Not very big, but really athletic. Just a really smart player.” Knight said.
General is a 21-year-old who missed last year with a broken bone in his hand.
“Another kid that I think needs a fair chance, a new shot outside of Six Nations. So we will give him that opportunity,” Knight said.
Dezainde, who played hockey for the Chatham Maroons this past season, is recovering from a hip flexor injury at the end of the season, and has yet to hit the floor.
“So he is kind of a dark horse in the trade to be honest with you but you never know,” Knight said.
The Red Devils have been pursuing Brown, Hill and General for quite some time and the trade has been in the works for about six months.
“It finally happened and we are really happy to have these guys here,” he said. “They seem really happy to be here. The boys like them and they are fitting in. So it’s a huge trade for us. We need some depth, we needed some strength on our left side and we definitely acquired that in this trade.”
Knight said the club played three exhibitions games over the weekend, against Clarington, Oakville and Guelph.
“I think that we are ready for the start of the year,” he said.
“We just know last year depth was an issue and we knew we needed to attack that in the off-season and make sure if injuries come, if kids decide they are going to head out of town or whatever that we wanted to cover our bases and make sure we were good.”
Knight added: “We wanted to start working more with the kids coming out of Junior and make sure it’s not just about this year. It’s a plan. We have a plan and we want to keep all of these kids invested and hope that they are buying in.”
Knight is helping out fellow co-coach Justin Durston behind the bench.
Also joining the coaching staff, once his season wraps up with the Vancouver Stealth of the National Lacrosse League, is Jordan Durston.
“Justin asked me to help and he kind of said we are co-coaches, but to be honest with you, this is Justin’s team,” Knight said.
“I kind of see myself as the old man kind of keeping the kids in line so that Justin and Jordan can just do their thing. They are both good at what they do. Our kids are really lucky to get Jordan when he is home from pro’s here in a couple weeks. It will be just huge for our offence, huge for our program and for all the kids that are getting his coaching knowledge.”
Knight added: “Justin, I think the world of Justin. He is very technical, he knows his *hit. Like I said, my job honestly is to keep the kids in line and let those guys coach. I am really excited that they asked me to help again this year and we are looking forward to a good summer.”
The team’s season gets under way on Thursday, April 20 in London. Their home opener is on Saturday, April 22 against Elora.
2017 Home Schedule #codered #whateverittakes pic.twitter.com/vgruCwl7lz
— W’Burg Red Devils (@WBurgRedDevils) 31 March 2017
The teams full schedule is available, here.
