Matt Beers, checking Edmonton’s Mark Matthews here, is closing in on a job with the Burnaby Fire Department, which would put him out of the Stealth line-up this coming NLL season. (Province Files.)
What did we learn from the Vancouver Stealth’s 14-11 scrimmage loss to the Colorado Mammoth Sunday morning at their Langley Events Centre practice rink?
Mitch McMichael, who missed last season with a knee injury, looks like he could be a catalyst in a transition role by the time Vancouver opens the National Lacrosse League regular season Jan. 3 in Calgary. As well, Joel McCready merits more mentions than he’s receiving after coming over with much ballyhooed Johnny Powless from the Rochester Knighthawks in the off-season blockbuster trade.
And the Stealth, who went with six offensive players and 10 defenders on most nights last season, look to be contemplating a 7-9 breakdown for this coming campaign.
Last things first.
Vancouver listed 37 runners on their roster Sunday and gave most guys two periods of action apiece. Coach Dan Perreault’s club went with their projected first unit power play, with lefty Powless quarterbacking it from the top, in the opening two periods.
He was joined most often on the unit by Rhys Duch and Lewis Ratcliff at the shooters and McCready and fellow newcomer Dane Stevens on the crease.
That leaves out Tyler Digby and Cliff Smith, who were arguably Vancouver’s most consistent offensive players last season. Digby, a righty, saw substantial time on the crease last season, while Smith, a lefty, only got a few spot shifts with the man advantage in 2014, despite his play.
Neither Powless nor Ratcliff makes sense on the crease. If you don’t go with Smith there and opt instead for Stevens or even someone else (Stevens has excelled in the Western Lacrosse Association, but has yet to produce big numbers in the NLL and Vancouver also has the likes of Chris Wardle and Caleb Wiles in camp), then it certainly suggests you’re going with seven offensive players nightly.
It’s an interesting dilemma. You’ve invested heavily in Powless by sending several draft picks to Rochester. You’ve invested heavily in the veteran Ratcliff, since he’s your highest-paid guy due to his franchise player status. Smith was one of the few bright spots in last year’s 4-14 debut out of the LEC and is a grinder who should excel opening up space for the others.
Bring in a fourth lefty, and you’re taking playing time and continuity away from those three guys.
That is unless, of course, you’re going with Smith in a transition role, which he’s certainly athletic enough and rugged enough to succeed at. In that thinking, he starts out the backdoor, and moves up on offence when he sees fit, and does his best to complement the likes of Powless and Ratcliff then.
And Vancouver could use help out the back overall, especially with veteran defender Matt Beers admitting Sunday that he’s closing in on a job with the Burnaby Firefighters Department and is likely going to sit out the season, due to the probationary period.
Beers says that he’s passed the interview process and is awaiting a medical. That usually is a rubber stamp situation.
Vancouver already has lost veteran defenders Kyle Sorensen (knee surgery), Mike Grimes (traded to Minnesota) and Jeff Moleski (signed with Calgary as a free agent).
Vancouver needed a change in its line-up after last year. That is a lot of change to its defence, considering Beers, Sorensen, Grimes and Moleski have 326 man games in Stealth colours.
Regardless of where Smith plays, the Stealth should be better in transition, in part because of McMichael. He seemed to be around the ball continually in the second half on Sunday against the Mammoth. And he dominated the face-off circle, too, despite being matched up against Colorado draw ace Bob Snider, a former Stealth stalwart.
McMichael, a left-hander, got into 14 games as a rookie in 2013 after signing with the Stealth as a free agent. He had five goals and nine assists that year.
Meanwhile, McCready, who played in the first half Sunday, was dangerous every time he touched the ball. The right-hander had two goals. McCready had 14 goals and 15 assists in 10 regular season games last year with Rochester, helping them win their third straight NLL crown.
For the regular season, teams will need to get down to 20 players on the active roster and another four on the practice roster. On game night, they dress 16 runners and two goalies.
The Stealth are looking at more guys that most teams. On Sunday, Colorado listed 32 players overall. The Edmonton Rush, who dumped the Stealth by a 13-6 count in a scrimmage on Saturday at the LEC, are listing 29 players, although five have practice roster designation already.
Those were Vancouver’s only two exhibition games prior to the season opener in Calgary. The Stealth’s home opener is versus Toronto on Jan. 10.
