The Western Lacrosse Association recently announced its 2023 all-star teams and award winners – and some New Westminster Salmonbellies made the cut.
The first-team all stars include defensemen Drew Belgrave of the Salmonbellies, along with Adam Wiedemann of the Nanaimo Timbermen.
“Belgrave brought an abundance of poise, experience and athleticism to the Salmonbellies’ defence, tallying eight points in 16 games,” said a WLA news release.
The WLA’s first all-star team also includes Langley Thunder goaltender, Frank Scigliano, who finished the regular season with 497 saves and a .858 save percentage.
On offence, the first team included Haiden Dickson of the Salmonbellies (who topped the league in goals, with 53), Zach Manns of the Nanaimo Timbermen (who led all WLA players in scoring in the regular season, with 89 points) and Curtis Dickson of the Langley Thunder (who finished with 66 points in 12 games.)
New Westminster defender Brett Mydske was named to the second all-star team, joining goalie Cam Dunkerley from the Victoria Shamrocks and defenders Bennett Smith from the Victoria Shamrocks and Bobby Kidd from the Langley Thunder. Robert Church and Dane Dobbie from the Langley Thunder, along with Jacob Dunbar from the Burnaby Lakers, were named to the second all-star team on offence.
The Western Lacrosse Association has also announced the winners of its 2023 season awards.
A year after being named the league’s Rookie of the Year, New West’s Haiden Dickson was named Most Valuable Player – sharing the award with Zach Manns of the Nanaimo Timbermen.
Rory McDade, head coach of the New Westminster Salmonbellies, shared 2023 Coach of the Year honours with two Nanaimo Timbermen coaches, Brian Nikula and Jon Nicholson.
Following the 2017 season, the New Westminster Senior A Salmonbellies announced that McDade, a former Junior A player in New West, would be taking on the role as the team’s head coach. McDade, who had coached the Burnaby Lakers in Senior A Lacrosse from 2013 to 2016, was previously named the WLA’s top coach in 2013.
Nikula is no stranger to New West, having grown up in the city and played junior lacrosse in New Westminster from 1983 to 1986. In 1986, he was a call-up on the New Westminster Senior A Salmonbellies’ Mann Cup-winning team and had nine points in 10 games.
Other WLA awards included: Outstanding Goalie – Frank Scigliano of the Langley Thunder; Rookie of the Year – Jacob Dunbar of Burnaby Lakers; Value and Sportsmanship Award – Gordie Phillips of the Burnaby Lakers; Top Defensive Player – Adam Wiedemann of the Nanaimo Timbermen; and Unsung Hero Award – Vinny Ricci of the Coquitlam Adanacs. Zach Manns of Nanaimo took the Scoring Leader and 3 Stars awards.
Playoff action starts Wednesday
The New Westminster Salmonbellies and the Langley Thunder will vie for the WLA championship – and the opportunity to play in the 2023 Mann Cup – starting on Wednesday.
The best-of-seven WLA finals begin on Wednesday, Aug. 16 at Queen’s Park Arena. Game 2 is on Friday, Aug. 18 at the Langley Events Centre, Game 3 is on Sunday, Aug. 20 at Queen’s Park Arena and Game 4 is on Tuesday, Aug. 22 in Langley. Other games, as needed, are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 24 in New West, Saturday, Aug. 26 in Langley and Tuesday, Aug. 29 at Queen’s Park Arena.
All games begin at 7:30 p.m.
The winner of the WLA finals will host the Major Series Lacrosse champion and compete for the Mann Cup in September.
Back east, the Peterborough Century 21 Lakers will face the Major Series Lacrosse regular season champion Six Nations Chiefs in the best-of-seven MSL championship series starting on Tuesday, Aug. 15.
The Lakers have won the past four Mann Cups, defeating New Westminster four games to two in 2017, blanking the Maple Ridge Burrards in four games in 2018, beating the Victoria Shamrocks four games to one in 2019 and taking out the Langley Thunder four games to three in the 2022 – the first series after a two-year break due to COVID.
Victoria was the last B.C. team to hoist the Mann Cup, winning the national lacrosse championship in 2005. New Westminster, which last won a Mann Cup in 1991, is looking to win its 25th Mann Cup.
