The Minto Cup is on the door step and the field is almost set. With the league finals heading down the home stretch, it’s time to take one last look at how it all stacks up nationwide.
A developing story in recent days has been the pair of finals in the West that have been much tighter than many would have predicted. Also being thrown into the equation now is the U20 World Field Lacrosse tournament in South Korea, with Minto hopeful teams losing players. Nevertheless, we move forward with one final instalment of the national power rankings.Â
#1. Orangeville Northmen
Continuing to win close moderate scoring games Orangeville is now up 2-1 on Whitby in the OJLL final. Both teams are playing admirably despite missing foundational pieces (Liam Matthews injured, Lucas Littlejohn and Jack Oldman field world’s). Despite that, both teams are putting their talent on display and getting solid goaltending from their respective work horses. Trey Deere and that power play have really stepped up when needed.Â
#2. Coquitlam Adanacs
The offence has hit some speed bumps of late but when thing get tough they can rely on a deadly duo of lefties in Ryan Colsey and Cody Malawsky. Both have such terrific hands and reach and are threats to do damage from everywhere on the floor. Defensively as sound as ever, the Adanacs are once again only one win away from another Minto Cup. One of the biggest differences in this series with Victoria? Discipline.Â
#3. Whitby Warriors
Much can be applied from the paragraph above. Whitby is now playing short handed but refusing to go away. I really enjoy watching this offence and how they share the ball. If it weren’t for a fluke goal in OT of Game One we could even be talking about Whitby going home for Game Four with a 2-1 series lead. As always, Game Four will be the most important of a seven game set and act as that vital swing game.
#4. Toronto Beaches
They traded punches with what I think is the best offense in the country in the Warriors. After falling in seven to Whitby the Beaches saw their long time superstar and all-time great Willem Firth have his junior career come to an end but it didn’t finish quietly. Beaches would go down 7-2 at home in the deciding game before rallying and coming up just short. It will be interesting to see how Beaches fills the void next season on a team that was really driven by its stars, many of whom graduate.Â
#5. Victoria Shamrocks
Their defensive play along with the play of Grayson Manning between the pipes has been impressive. However they continue to take terrible penalties and which often set them behind the eight ball, especially given how efficient Coquitlam’s power play has been. Now they lose Manning to the Field World’s and the need for more discipline exponentially grows. Ryan Lowe has a great first step and a great outside shot, something the Shamrocks offence does well as a whole is fire the ball. It all comes down to Saturday afternoon to see if this extends to game seven.Â
#6. Calgary Mountaineers
They are playing like their lives depend on it. Out the back gate, this team is knocking down and picking off passes all over the place. Tommy St. Louis has given them a calming presence in net and even though they didn’t play very well and dropped game five, they still lead the RMLL final 3-2. Moving forward they need the front gate to step up and get the ball deeper into the zone much earlier in the shot clock. If the Mountaineers are to finish this series off at home in game six, a pair of lefties in particular will need to step up. Watch for Dexter Hannigan and Arley Wasson to perhaps light a fuse on Saturday afternoon.Â
#7. Peterborough Lakers
They fell short once again in the OJLL semis for the second consecutive year but this appears to be a team just a couple pieces away. I really liked the balance their offence provided and they have athleticism all over their roster. Figuring out how to make the Memorial more of a home floor advantage would be a big boost for a team trying to break into the elite group.Â
#8. Raiders Lacrosse Club
They responded with a gritty win in game five to stay alive in their RMLL final with the Mountaineers, in large part due to their commitment and ability to match Calgary’s aggressive defence. The Raiders were often picking up guys and matching up defensively just over center, throwing the Mountaineers out of rhythm and creating turnovers. In game five, the Raiders were repeatedly gathering up loose balls in the offensive zone and getting three or four consecutive possessions at a time. If you’re a Raider fan, it was a good sign to see guys like Carson Bowley and Russell Bollinger start to generate more opportunities offensively.Â
#9. St. Catharines Athletics
They won’t have played for a month by the time the Minto starts and that comes with its pros and cons. One thing you know about this squad though is their propensity to play with the best. Consider that over the course of the season they went 2-0 against Orangeville, 1-1 against Six Nations, and took Whitby to a deciding fifth game in the opening round of the playoffs. Perhaps the extra rest and prep time for the Athletics will be of extra importance with the handful of additions they made at the deadline. We will find out August 16th .
#10. Nanaimo Timbermen
They were all in and rightfully so before losing a tight battle with their island rivals. Some very good players will now be lost to graduation and the rebuild will commence. This was a team over the last few seasons that was on the verge of breaking through and unfortunately never quite did. With that said the organization has made tremendous strides post-COVID and has set itself up nicely moving forward.Â
By this time next week we will be on the eve of the 2025 Minto Cup from the garden city. Keep it locked here for team breakdowns and previews as we approach opening night. Of course all the games will be streamed live on the OJLL YouTube page and there will be plenty of tournament coverage throughout. Keep it dialed on these final games to find out who punches their tickets into these remaining three spots and we will talk to you next week!