Chilliwack’s Nathaniel Leroux is now a member of the famed Coquitlam Adanacs organization.
The B.C. Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL) held its entry draft last Thursday, in virtual format, and the local kid was the 24th player off the board. Leroux was picked with the last pick of the third round and joins a powerhouse box-lacrosse club. The last time the BCJALL played a full season, in 2019, the Adanacs led the league with a 17-4-0 record and advanced to the Minto Cup national championship tournament.
Leroux just turned 16 in December and most recently played with the Chilliwack Hawks U18 field lacrosse team. The talented midfielder was the Hawks’ Most Outstanding Offensive Player in 2019.
“He’s a great kid with a bright future ahead of him,” said Hawks president Tyler Crompton. “Nathaniel is one of the most gifted lacrosse players that has come out of Chilliwack since the Porter brothers (Colton and Zack) who now suit up for the (National Lacrosse League’s) Vancouver Warriors.”
Leroux has played box lacrosse with the Chilliwack Minor Lacrosse Association’s Mustangs for nine seasons. He was his team’s MVP from 2016-19 and was the Mustangs Player of the Year in 2017 and 2018.
Leroux has competed provincially with Team B.C. the last three seasons.
He was on the bantam box lacrosse roster in 2018, captained the U15 field lacrosse squad in 2019 and was named to the U18 field lacrosse roster in 2020.
He represented the Fraser Valley in field lacrosse at the 2018 B.C. Summer Games.
Finally, Leroux has been a key player for the fledgling Sardis secondary field lacrosse team and was named Rookie of the Year in 2019-20.
“Unfortunately, coming from a smaller market like Chilliwack, our players are often overlooked come draft time so it takes a very special player to catch the attention of the junior teams,” said Mustangs president Chris Charlton “We are very proud to say Nathaniel was a Mustang.”
COVID permitting, Leroux and his crew will begin the 2021 regular season in late April and continue through to the first week of July.
– Another member of Leroux’s U18 Hawks is making a next-level leap.
Liam Hoogstraten has committed to Wingate University, a private school in North Carolina.
“Although Liam has only been part of our program since the beginning of the year, his skill level and IQ has made an immediate impact to our U18 squad,” said a post on the Hawks Facebook page. “Not only that, but he has made a major impact in our Chilliwack lacrosse community by refereeing our young teams and helping mentor our new referees. We wish Liam the best of luck.”
Wingate’s Bulldogs play in the Div 2 South Atlantic Conference (SAC). In their last full season (2019), they finished first in the nine-team circuit with a 7-1 record.
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