Mark Matthews is finally coming to the Langley Thunder. (Edmonton Journal.)
Mark Matthews, boxla’s next great thing, will play in the Western Lacrosse Association this summer afterall. Langley Thunder exec Rob Buchan confirmed late Wednesday that his club had come to an agreement with the Brooklin Redmen for Matthews’ release and the 23-year-old Oshawa native should join the Senior A club in the “next week.”
Buchan wasn’t going into details after that. There have been reports that the Redmen were asking for $100,000 to release Matthews to the Thunder.
For his part, Matthews, who put up 38 goals for the Edmonton Rush this past National Lacrosse League season, added: “I’m grateful Brooklin gave me the opportunity to play some lacrosse this summer and made it a little easier on my weekly schedule living in Denver. I can’t wait to get on the floor with the Thunder.”
The Thunder gained Matthews’ B.C. rights by picking him fifth overall in the 2012 entry draft. He had played the 2010 junior season for the Coquitlam Adanacs.
Matthews is a former NCAA star at Denver.
Buchan says that the Thunder also acquired the releases for former Orangeville Jr. stars Adam Jones and Jeremy Noble.
The Thunder, the two-time reigning B.C. champions, are short a lefty, what with Lewis Ratcliff missing the season due to a drug suspension/shoulder surgery. The Victoria Shamrocks, among others, loaded up for a run this season, picking up eastern goalie Matt Vinc, bringing back Rhys Duch from a season in Ontario and adding Scott Ranger and Cory Conway via trade.
