For the first time since 2005, the Victoria Shamrocks will raise the Mann Cup banner tonight at The Q Centre.
The national Senior A champions then hopes to carry the excitement and electricity of the program over into the launch of their 2016 Western Lacrosse Association season against Island rivals, the Nanaimo Timbermen, at 7:45 p.m.
Victoria will be looking for a fourth straight league crown, inching closer to matching the feat of five consecutive titles the team achieved from 2002-06. It will not be easy with a much different looking team that takes to the floor tonight.
Veteran Cory Conway, for one, is already tired of reading and hearing about the changes, but without the likes of Dan Dawson, Aaron Bold, Daryl Veltman, Scott Ranger, Steve Priolo, Rory Smith, Ryan Dilks, Dan MacRae, Mitch Jones and Karsen Leung, it鈥檚 hard to ignore the transformation.
But Conway still makes his point.
鈥淓verybody alludes to the fact that we鈥檙e not bringing back this guy and that guy, but if you look at the roster, we鈥檙e pretty well rounded and pretty well equipped to face any challenge that鈥檚 out there,鈥� Conway said.
鈥淥nce the fans see the lineup the fans are going to be impressed with the product that鈥檚 out there. Yeah, we still have some guys playing NLL in Calgary, who will ultimately add a lot of depth, but we鈥檝e got our MVP from the Mann Cup, Corey Small, who is going to lead the charge offensively and everybody is going to be pulling the same way.
鈥淭here are capable players, in every aspect, to show leadership qualities,鈥� Conway added.
Small, the new captain, Rhys Duch, Jesse King and Conway are all back, as are the Harnett brothers (Jon and Greg), Tyler Burton, Ben McCullough, Ethan Garland and Chris Wardle. Go-to guys Ben McCullough and Matt Yager also return, along with goaltender Cody Hagedorn and Matt Roik.
The Shamrocks will, however, be short-staffed as they await the return of the Harnetts, Burton and Jeff Shattler (who rejoins the team) from their National Lacrosse League duties with the Calgary Roughnecks.
Tyler Hass is also recuperating and not expected back for a while. An even bigger blow is the absence of King, who is wrapping up a final course at Ohio State University, to start the season.
So it will be a work in progress at the start, especially on defence, no matter what Conway or anyone else says. But therein lies the challenge.
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be a fun night,鈥� head coach Bob Heyes said of the special evening. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 have all the guys from last year to savour it, but it鈥檚 going to be special for the guys that are here and the fans and the organization as a whole.
鈥淵ou couldn鈥檛 ask for anything better than us playing against Nanaimo and it鈥檒l be a special night for those kids, too, to be on the floor watching that,鈥� he said of the newcomers and the likelihood of adding a trio of juniors to round out his roster for now.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to have to gut this one out, but it鈥檚 no different than we鈥檝e had the last few years. Last year, we lost the first two games [against Nanaimo] because we didn鈥檛 have full lineups. Nanaimo has had a couple of guys away at pros or school, too. I know they鈥檝e had this game circled on their calendar for a while, but for sure, they will be better,鈥� he added of the opponent.
鈥淚t鈥檚 about time they are, to be honest,鈥� said Heyes, tossing a jab. 鈥淭hey鈥檝e been able to put a team together through drafts and able to get some key players so it鈥檚 their time to compete for a playoff spot.鈥�
Among the talented Timbermen are Brody Eastwood, Cody Bremner and Colton Clark. Add in Conrad Chapman, Brett Hawrys, Jake Emms, Kyle Hofer, Brandan Smith, Tyson Roe, Doug Langlois, top picks Jordan Gillies and Chase Mcintyre, along with locals Jordan Cunningham, Mason Pynn and Jake Cullen and there鈥檚 some future up Island. Peter Dubenski replaces Zack Boychuk as the starting goalie.
But tonight is about the Shamrocks, their 2015 Mann Cup win and what their future holds as they add newcomers Taylor Northway, Thomas Moffat, Steve Higgs, Ian McShane and Josh Fagan. They also welcome former Timbermen Paul Brebber and Myles Kenny (acquired in trades) and former Shamrock, Kory Kowalyk, is also training with the team.
鈥淲e鈥檒l still have some good offence with Duchy and Smallsy and Wardle. And Kenny and Brebber will be pumped up playing against their old team. There are a lot of little stories surrounding this game besides us putting another banner up,鈥� said Heyes. 鈥淩emember, we lost as many games to Nanaimo as we did to Peterborough last year.鈥�
And Heyes knows Timbermen coach Kaleb Toth will have his team ready, although they will be short some bodies as well.
鈥淚鈥檓 sure they鈥檙e excited, too, but we were able to, in our opinion, steal their best player in Myles Kenny, so hopefully that adds a jump in our step and takes a little steam out of their sails as well,鈥� said Conway.
One thing is clear, the shots will officially start firing on the floor tonight.
