The Nanaimo Timbermen traded away one of their leaders, but still consider themselves in contention for playoffs.
The senior A lacrosse team dealt veteran transition defender Doug Langlois to the Victoria Shamrocks on Thursday in exchange for a fifth-round draft pick.
“Doug’s a veteran guy, he’s done a great job for the team, he’s been great in the community for us,” said Chris Bowman, Timbermen president. “But Victoria was looking for a D-man and when the opportunity came up, we asked him if he wanted to go and it was actually a really tough decision for him. It probably took him two or three hours to decide.”
Langlois was an alternate captain on the T-men and Nanaimo’s highest-scoring defender this season with 10 points in 10 games.
“Langlois is a gritty veteran who adds depth to our back end, but can also play up front if needed,” said Chris Welch, Shamrocks general manager, in a press release.
The deal wasn’t so much about return on value, since the T-men already have a wealth of draft picks in 2017 – two first-round picks, two seconds, two thirds and two fourths.
“[It gives Langlois] an opportunity to play in the playoffs this year and maybe play in a Mann Cup this year, too,” Bowman said.
That said, the Timbermen don’t feel as though they’re out of the Western Lacrosse Association playoff race by any means. Bowman said the 3-7 club could very well be 7-3 and said guys talked about that at Thursday’s practice.
“There’ll be one team that’s .500 that makes it into the playoffs this year,” Bowman said. “The way we’ve played, we can easily go on a 6-2 run and if we do that, we’re in the playoffs.”
He said the T-men still have enough guys who can lead that charge.
“They might not have been as vocal as Doug, but definitely a strong leadership group, a core group of guys that are there,” Bowman said. “We wouldn’t have made that move if we didn’t think they could fill that gap.”
GAME ON … The T-men visit the Burnaby Lakers on Tuesday (July 5), then host a rematch against the Lakers on Sunday at 7 p.m. at Frank Crane Arena. The Shamrocks visit the Langley Thunder on Wednesday and host the Coquitlam Adanacs on Friday at 7:45 p.m.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
