It鈥檚 hard to argue with that assessment.
The three-time defending league-champion Shamrocks have been the dominant Western Lacrosse Association team of recent seasons and are ranked No. 1 in sa国际传媒. The New Westminster Salmonbellies, meanwhile, are to lacrosse history what the Montreal Canadiens are to hockey and the New York Yankees to baseball and have won the Mann Cup national championship 24 times since 1913.
The clubs also have a recent history, with the Shamrocks sweeping the Salmonbellies 4-0 in last year鈥檚 WLA playoff final en route to the 2015 Mann Cup title. The teams also met in the first round of the 2014 playoffs with Victoria also sweeping.
鈥淲e are certainly familiar with each other,鈥� noted Heyes.
鈥淣ew Westminster is a good team that has not lost many players while we have shuffled our deck a bit. [The Salmonbellies] are going to be a top-end team and [tonight] will be a challenging game for us.鈥�
But the Shamrocks of this era don鈥檛 so much rebuild as they bring in yet another tsunami wave of talent to wear the green, both home-grown and recruited, as all roads to the WLA title probably lead through The Q Centre once again.
Victoria welcomes back to the roster tonight defensive walls Tyler Burton and brothers Greg and Jon Harnett, who have completed their pro duties with the Calgary Roughnecks of National Lacrosse League.
鈥淭hat solidifies our back end,鈥� said Heyes.
The Victoria front end is led by the kinetic first line of Corey Small, Rhys Duch and Cory Conway, with the lacrosse world still buzzing about Conway鈥檚 league-record 17-point night on two goals and 15 assists last week in the season-opening 18-6 victory at home to the Nanaimo Timbermen in the Island derby. I
鈥淲e hope that chemistry continues among our offensive guys,鈥� said Heyes.
鈥淎 guy like [Conway] sees the big picture.鈥�
Both long-term, as in another Mann Cup appearance, and on the floor watching the play unfold and deftly hitting the open man.
鈥淐ory is loving being the set-up man,鈥� added Heyes.
But don鈥檛 forget those two goals Conway scored along with those WLA-record 15 assists.
鈥淸Conway] is like the point-guard in basketball. He can set people up with assists, but he can also hit the outside shot when needed,鈥� said Heyes.
That shot is a weapon that keeps opposing defenders honest and is something they may see more of from Conway as the season progresses, predicted Heyes. But right now, the Shamrocks are relishing all the talk of the sublime ball-distributor Conway being described as the Steve Nash of the lacrosse floor.
The Salmonbellies, meanwhile, dropped their opener 7-5 in Coquitlam to the Adanacs, which probably accounts for the 鈥橞ellies only being an honourable mention in the national poll.
鈥淭hey are going to come out with something to prove,鈥� said Heyes.
Both the Shamrocks and Salmonbellies face back-to-back games. Victoria is in Nanaimo on Saturday night, while New Westminster was hosting the Timbermen in a late-finishing game Thursday night at Queens Park Arena.
Twitter.com/tc_vicsports
