The off-season chatter of building a team capable of taking a run at a Mann Cup has become very real for the Victoria Shamrocks.
The Western Lacrosse Association club officially announced its latest addition on Wednesday as the Shamrocks bring Cory Conway back home in a trade for draft picks with the Nanaimo Timbermen.
The six-foot-two, 205-pounder follows Scott Ranger back to the fold as the Shamrocks have emphasized a local recruiting angle. They are also soon expected to announce the homecoming of transition player Nolan Heavenor and also have to confirm the addition of Mitch Jones from Orangeville, Ont.
That would make 14 National Lacrosse Leaguers on the local, and stacked, WLA team.
鈥淭hey keep popping up like Whack-A-Mole,鈥� Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch said of all the big-name additions. 鈥淪ome days I feel like we鈥檝e won the lottery or something.
鈥淚n a year when the Mann Cup is being hosted in the West, guys like Scott Ranger and Cory Conway appear on the market. What鈥檚 a guy to do?鈥�
Gobble them up, of course, and Welch wasted little time.
鈥淐onway addresses two goals the organization has. One is to do everything we can to put more banners in Bear Mountain Arena, and the other is to be a more 鈥榣ocal鈥� team, to the greatest extent possible, while remaining competitive,鈥� added Welch.
鈥淐onway is one of the local boys who got away and it鈥檚 nice to bring him home in our quest to move forward.鈥�
He and Ranger add great scoring and play-making abilities.
Conway is a Brentwood Bay native and former Victoria Junior Shamrock who has played four WLA seasons, three in Coquitlam and last season in Nanaimo. The 25-year-old sniper has finished in the top five in WLA scoring and led the league in assists for the last three years in a row.
Twice named a second-team all-star, Conway has 100 goals and 254 assists in 81 career regular- season and playoff games.
鈥淚t鈥檚 tough to put into words,鈥� Conway, who is currently a member of the Edmonton Rush of the NLL, said in a Shamrocks鈥� release. 鈥淚鈥檓 thrilled to have the opportunity to play for the team I grew up cheering for 鈥� It鈥檚 a dream come true.
鈥淢y family is excited. I鈥檓 excited to wear the green and white again, plus this team is 鈥榮cary deep.鈥� I think this group has the potential to accomplish something truly special.鈥�
In 82 regular-season and playoff games played in the NLL, Conway has scored 67 goals and added 164 assists for 231 points.
Victoria sends the Timbermen their first and third round picks in the 2015 WLA Draft. In addition, the Shamrocks announced that the conditional draft pick included as part of the Ranger deal 鈥� back in February 鈥� is Victoria鈥檚 second round selection in 2015.
鈥淏it by bit we鈥檝e addressed areas where we were maybe short and also have had a couple of golden opportunities to add premier guys n our league,鈥� Welch added. 鈥淎nd they鈥檙e both Island guys. I like the way it鈥檚 shaping up. There鈥檚 a long way to go and games haven鈥檛 started yet, but at this point, I like the way we鈥檙e looking.鈥�
Not returning to the club are Matt Lyons and Brock Armour as both their partners are in the family way, expecting their first children. Ryan Benesch is also choosing to remain in Minnesota for the summer and Chet Koneczny will not be back.
Training camp starts Monday and also goes Wednesdays from 6-8 p.m.
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