National Junior Rankings: August 10, 2023
During the 2023 Canadian junior seasons, The Lax Mag will publish our National Junior Rankings, a weekly rundown of all 23 A-level teams across the country. The opening edition will begin on June 7 with future rankings published in the middle of every week (date dependent on league schedule for that week) until the start of the Minto Cup.
The rankings will include the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League (OJLL), British Columbia Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL) and Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL).
The Lax Mag’s rankings will position teams based not only by overall record, but also the strength of their opposition and the quality of their results - win, lose or draw.
Nicholas Volkov, Burlington Blaze (Photo: Jeramie Baliey/OLA)
Even though the Coquitlam Adanacs ripped through the BCJALL playoffs with a wicked good 7-1 record, the level at which the Burlington Blaze are playing presently puts them in our second spot for the first time this summer. Burlington has gone toe-to-toe with our summer-long number one, the Orangeville Northmen, and are now just two wins away from going to the Minto Cup for the first time in club history.
Prior to 2019, Burlington had been eliminated from the OJLL playoffs in the quarterfinals for eight straight seasons. Even when they finished first during the regular season during that stretch, they got dumped early in the provincial playoffs.
That is clearly no longer the case, and the Blaze team we’re witnessing right now, might be their best yet.
Two of Ontario’s final-series games have been decided by just a single goal, a third result by a still-tiny two. The Northmen & Blaze are tied at two games apiece heading into tonight’s critical Game 5 at Tony Rose Arena (8pm ET).
Prior to the start of the Iroquois Trophy Finals, the Northmen were thought to be unbeatable by most. Again, that is clearly no longer the case.
The series between Orangeville & Burlington has been demanding, both clubs now playing in excess of 30 times since the start of the regular season. With British Columbia already done and the RMLL playing just a best-of-five finals, no one will come close to Ontario’s GP total when we’re down to just four team across the country.
If Ontario goes to a Game 7, which looks likely with the way this series has gone so far, Orangeville will have played 34 games before the Minto, and Burlington one more at 35 when counting up their regular season & playoff GPs. The Adanacs provincial play is done, and they sit at 29 games played. The Edmonton Miners could end the RMLL Finals with another W tonight (8pm MT, Max Bell Centre). If that happens, they’ll have played just 23 times prior to Day 1 of the national tournament on August 20.
Will that unbalanced schedule matter come Minto time? Probably not. While Ontario’s representative regularly plays more pre-Minto games each summer, over the last 15 tournament years, an OJLL team has won the national title twelve times.
Who won the Minto when it was last hosted in Alberta in 2018? Not Ontario. It was the Adanacs, who’ll look to do the same again shortly.
National Junior Rankings: August 10, 2023
1. (1) Orangeville Northmen (OJLL) 20-0 (9-2)
2. (3) Burlington Blaze (OJLL) 14-6 (9-3)
3. (2) Coquitlam Adanacs (BCJALL) 18-3 (7-1)
4. (4) Edmonton Miners (RMLL) 10-5 (6-1)
5. (8) Calgary Mountaineers (RMLL) 7-7-1 (5-5)
6. (5) Victoria Shamrock (BCJALL) 15-6 (4-4)*
7. (6) Mimico Mountaineers (OJLL) 13-7 (4-4)*
8. (7) Toronto Beaches (OJLL) 12-8 (3-5)*
9. (9) Raiders Lacrosse Club (RMLL) 10-5 (3-4)*
10. (10) Nanaimo Timbermen (BCJALL) 14-7 (0-3)*
11. (11) Oakville Buzz (OJLL) 13-7 (1-3)*
12. (12) Whitby Warriors (OJLL) 9-11 (0-3)*
13. (13) St. Catharines Athletics (OJLL) 8-13 (0-3)*
14. (14) Port Coquitlam Saints (BCJALL) 10-10-1 (0-3)*
15. (15) Six Nations Arrows (OJLL) 7-13 (0-3)*
16. (16) Brampton Excelsiors (OJLL) 7-13*
17. (17) Burnaby Lakers (BCJALL) 9-12*
18. (18) New Westminster Salmonbellies (BCJALL) 6-15*
19. (19) Delta Islanders (BCJALL) 6-15*
20. (20) Kitchener-Waterloo Lacrosse Club (OJLL) 3-17*
21. (21) Peterborough Lakers (OJLL) 4-16*
22. (22) Langley Thunder (BCJALL) 5-15-1*
23. (23) Saskatchewan SWAT (RMLL) 2-12-1 (0-4)*
*Eliminated