It’s provincial final time as we fly through the playoffs and it’s all usual suspects that remain. Consider this, in British Columbia the two teams left standing, Coquitlam and Victoria have won the last 15 BCJALL titles.
In Alberta the Raiders and Mountaineers have combined for 11 of the last 13 RMLL titles.
While in Ontario, Orangeville and Whitby, winners of a combined seven Minto Cups in recent history are back into the OJLL final. The time is now as the Minto Cup begins to make its long walk down the aisle. With that in mind, let’s take a look at who has put themselves firmly in the conversation to put their stamp on Canadian Lacrosse supremacy.
Welcome back to the National Jr. A Power Rankings!
#1. Orangeville Northmen
When you’re watching a Northmen game it feels like they are tied when actually down by two and up by five when leading by two. The patience and poise this team plays with is admirable and it always appears as though they believe they will ultimately win the game. That type of belief comes from a strong history and culture as well a terrific coaching staff that led them to a Minto appearance a season ago.
Everyone knows about Liam Matthews and Trey Deere but Max Kruger and Dylan Sanderson have been standouts offensively. I will continue to say that the identity of this team, as it often is, is their back gate where they pressure relentlessly and very rarely get beat in the two man game. Of course it helps having a giant between the pipes with Constantopoulos to back all that up. Having just held a strong Peterborough group to 36 goals over six games (6.0 per game) this is your favourite to raise the Minto Cup as we enter the month of August.
#2. Coquitlam Adanacs
Yes they had the hiccup in Game One against a scalding Victoria team but one of the strengths of this side is they almost never panic when some adversity hits. Jaxon Dillon continues to flourish and that offence remains incredibly balanced. Almost completing a furious comeback late put that explosiveness on display turning an 11-7 deficit into a 11-11 tie in the final eight minutes of game one. Many say they are better than a season ago when they claimed the Minto Cup at home. They are going to need to be in order to go out East and repeat as champions. The West has not won a Minto Cup in the East since 1978!
#3. Whitby Warriors
Capable of going on a three or four goal run in a blink, the Warriors offence has a very high ceiling. Defensively they’ve played better for the most part but still can break down in the two man game and off ball. Goaltender Tyden Redlick has been very good on high danger chances and breakaways which has really helped the Warriors gather themselves in a lot of these tightly congested playoff games. Nothing has come easy for Whitby as they went the distance in each of the first two rounds. The good news for them is they have some high end skill with the likes of Littlejohn, Sorrichetti, Byrne and Oldman to show up in the high leverage moments. A game one loss to Orangeville was almost a given considering Whitby’s schedule, but taking the Northmen to OT should instill some confidence.
#4. Toronto Beaches
It really is ridiculous how prolific and potent Willem Firth has been throughout his Junior career. While the Beaches did add a couple of key pieces at the deadline, this guy was everything for blue and yellow. His Game Four performance of 11 points in an 11-9 win is something his grand kids probably won’t even believe. Liam Aston and Josh Mills running shot gun made for a team that could produce and a dangerous power play. I thought the defense came along, locking in during the playoffs. Eventually it was the Whitby offensive depth that delivered too many blows in what was a back and forth boxing match throughout.
#5. Victoria Shamrocks
As far as the playoffs go, this might be the most impressive team right now. Their series with Nanaimo was a classic; a physical, intense series played with pace. The goaltending provided by Grayson Manning has given the Shamrocks a real chance to win on any given night alongside some really dangerous shooting from the likes of Owen OFarrell, Ryan Lowe and Carter Quested. In watching the Shamrocks in their BCJALL semi final series with the Timbermen it appeared as though they became much more willing to push the ball up the floor in transition than they have in the past. That added dynamic of playing a bit faster has jolted them into serious contention now having defeated the Timbermen in six and currently up 1-0 on the heavily favoured Adanacs in the BC finals.
#6. Peterborough Lakers
They fought and didn’t relent in their OJLL semi-final series with the Northmen. Accomplishing something almost nobody does (winning multiple games in Orangeville) wasn’t enough to get through last year’s Minto finalists. Believe it or not there were large stretches in that series where the Lakers actually looked like the better team but really struggled to finish on top of the crease and on breakaways. Meanwhile the Northmen would capitalize on a high percentage of their looks and that was the difference. It will be interesting to see what type of Peterborough squad we see next summer after they graduate about ten players off the current roster. Even though it was a season they were well set up to contend, 2025 has to be considered an overall success.
#7. Calgary Mountaineers
Game two was an absolute defensive clinic by both teams that the Mountaineers had slip away late. Tommy St. Louis is playing well between the pipes but the bigger story is how little Calgary is giving up in terms of quality chances. They have been physically imposing their will and switching really well so far in this series. The Mountaineers with a 3-2 lead early in the third of Game Two had three completely naked chances on top of the crease and couldn’t cash and that was the turning point in the eventual 4-3 loss. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention defender Carter Linkletter. Guy has been all over the floor not only vacuuming up loose balls but creating scoring opportunities as well. Playing on another level is the veteran Mountaineer as he leads a tenacious defence alongside Reis Bower.
#8. Raiders Lacrosse Club
It looks as though we have another cross town classic on our hands as the pretty heavily favoured Raiders got all they could handle and more in Game One of the RMLL finals. Now down 3-1 to the Mountaineers in the best-of-seven this will be the first time the boys in red have faced much adversity. How they respond will be fascinating, the physical ability is there and the coaching is there. However as we know, sports are far more mental than physical and these are Junior aged players. The task is far from easy which is what makes the rest of this series so fascinating. Also something to watch for is what type of plan offensive coach Brett Hickey has in store to help his players get to the inside of the floor. They will need to free up more space for Wyatt Viste to utilize that lethal outside shot as well to find success.
#9. Nanaimo Timbermen
You have to feel for that core as they gave everything they had only to fall a little short against their island rivals. Andrew Bowman, Matt Boas, Jordan Vincent among others all had terrific Jr A lacrosse careers that came to a sudden halt last Saturday afternoon. The Timbermen definitely went for it this year in bringing in some big names and the rebuild will begin in 2026. Even though they didn’t get to their desired destination this organization has certainly taken some real strides over the past four seasons and deserve recognition for that. Above all else it awesome to see such a great series of lacrosse played between two geographic rivals.
#10. St. Catharines Athletics
It will be intriguing to see if all the rest serves the A’s well come Minto time having not played since exiting Round One in five against Whitby. It’s been a very long time since the Minto host was out in the first round and I cannot even remember the last time a team was in this situation. So that unique situation alone should be worth watching. I definitely think this is a team that can compete with the best, they’ve done it for the majority of the season, but do they have a consistent enough offence to keep up in games that open up? In many ways they will enter the dance in an ideal state, rested and playing with house money.
League titles are on the line and we are on the verge of naming the field for this year’s Minto Cup. Keep it locked here for more articles and breakdowns as we approach one of the best national championships in the world. As always you can reach me at m.jomha on instagram and Mj_9 on twitter. Thanks for checking in and enjoy the stretch drive