National Junior Rankings: Week 9
During the 2022 Canadian junior seasons, The Lax Mag will publish our National Junior Rankings, a weekly rundown of all 23 A-level teams across the country. Week 1 will begin on June 1 with future editions published in the middle of every 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 or lose.
We’ve lost four more teams with the Nanaimo Timbermen, Coquitlam Adanacs, Okotoks Raiders and Saskatchewan SWAT all officially eliminated from their province’s playoffs in recent days. Here’s who’s left…
Ontario: Toronto, Whitby, Orangeville and Burlington
British Columbia: Victoria and Langley
Alberta: Calgary and Miners
Four of those teams will be competing in Brampton for the 2022 Minto Cup, half of them from Ontario with the national finals being played in their province. The Toronto Beaches, Whitby Warriors and Orangeville Northmen are all a win away from moving onto the Minto. See where all of Canada’s Junior A series stand here.
Christian Del Bianco & Doug Jamieson, 2017 Minto Cup (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Earlier this week, we reviewed how crazy critical elevated post-season play from a player like Zed Williams, who saw a significant statistical spike once the playoffs hit for the NLL Cup-winning Colorado Mammoth, and who during this year’s Junior A playoffs was doing similar. Spoiler alert, it’s either Toronto’s David Anderson or Victoria’s Trent DiCicco, who’ve both been statistically sensational for their sides so far.
The other thing almost every Cup winner of all time, including this year’s Mammoth, needed in order to net a national title? Goaltending.
Over the last dozen Minto competitions, the Cup-winning stopper has been:
2019 Rylan Hartley, Orangeville Northmen
2018 Christian Del Bianco, Coquitlam Adanacs
2017 Doug Jamieson, Six Nations Arrows
2016 Chrisian Del Bianco, Coquitlam Adanacs
2015 Doug Jamieson, Six Nations Arrows
2014 Doug Jamieson, Six Nations Arrows
2013 Alex Buque, Whitby Warriors
2012 Dillon Ward, Orangeville Northmen
2011 Zach Higgins, Whitby Warriors
2010 Dan Lewis, Coquitlam Adanacs
2009 Nick Rose, Orangeville Northmen
2008 Nick Rose, Orangeville Northmen
That’s elite company. All outstanding during their Cup-winning seasons. All even better once the Minto hit. All future NLLers. All, well, elite.
So, who will it be this year?
There are three tremendously talented tendies, all of which are already in the NLL, whose early resumes, reputations and reflexes reflect other notable netminders who’ve led their club to a Minto Cup.
Chris Origlieri, Orangeville Northmen (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Chris Origlieri, Orangeville Northmen
There are three Northmen names above (Rose, Ward, and Hartley), and with the way Origlieri has been playing, a fourth isn’t far from being added to that list of recent Minto greats. The San Diego Seals stopper has been simply outstanding for Orangeville, the young side clawing their way back to a series-deciding Game 5 against Whitby after last night’s thrilling W. He’s big, athletic, his reflexes are ridiculous, and as we’ve seen several times during this year’s playoffs, his most spectacular stops usually happen when there are just seconds left to be played. The kid is as clutch as they come.
Will Johnston, Toronto Beaches
We wondered a few rankings ago if the Orangeville (Origlieri) vs. Oakville (Aden Walsh) series was putting a spotlight on Canada’s Top 2 junior-aged goalies, but Johnston clearly has to be part of that conversation too. While Toronto’s talented scorers have received much of the deserved media attention, you could also easily argue Johnston as the team’s MVP in 2022. “He’s the backbone of the team; he has been all year,” Beaches Head Coach Reilly O’Connor said earlier this season (Peterborough Examiner). “We put a lot of faith, trust and confidence in him and he’s delivered.” Johnston was taken in the third round of last year’s NLL Entry Draft by the New York Riptide.
Adam Bland, Victoria Shamrocks
Being out West, Bland doesn’t garner the same buzz as the backstops back East, but the Calgary Roughnecks’ prospect has been equally outstanding for our still #1 ranked Victoria Shamrocks. His play during Victoria’s Game 5 win against Coquitlam earlier this week was one of his best starts of the summer and a big reason why the Shamrocks were able to seal the deal. A strong field goalie too, Bland his athletic, alert and may have the slickest outlet bullet of any junior stopper in the country right now. He’s anything but a bland backstop, and if you sleep on him like some seemingly have this summer, he’ll silence you pretty quickly.
When we see you next week, we’ll be down to six teams still alive, plus we’ll know the first two teams that will book their spots in Brampton for the 2022 Minto Cup.
Here’s this week’s updated Top 23…
National Junior Rankings: Week 9
TW. (LW) Team (League) Regular Season (Playoffs)
*Eliminated
1. (1) Victoria Shamrocks (BCJALL) 11-3 (3-2)
2. (2) Toronto Beaches (OJLL) 15-5 (5-2)
3. (4) Orangeville Northmen (OJLL) 13-7 (5-4)
4. (3) Whitby Warriors (OJLL) 14-6
5. (5) Burlington Chiefs (OJLL) 10-10 (4-2)
6. (6) Langley Thunder (BCJALL) 10-4 (5-1)
7. (7) Mimico Mountaineers (OJLL) 16-4 (0-3)*
8. (10) Miners Lacrosse Club (RMLL) 12-3 (4-0)
9. (11) Coquitlam Adanacs (BCJALL) 9-5 (4-4)*
10. (8) Nanaimo Timbermen (BCJALL) 10-4 (1-3)*
11. (9) Oakville Buzz (OJLL) 13-7 (2-3)*
12. (12) Calgary Mountaineers (RMLL) 12-3 (4-1)
13. (12) Peterborough Lakers (OJLL) 10-10 (1-3)*
14. (14) St. Catharines Athletics (OJLL) 10-10 (0-3)*
15. (15) Burnaby Lakers (BCJALL) 7-7 (1-2)*
16. (17) Okotoks Raiders (RMLL) 5-10 (1-2)
17. (16) Six Nations Arrows (OJLL) 5-15*
18. (18) Delta Islanders (BCJALL) 4-10*
19. (19) Brampton Excelsiors (OJLL) 3-17*
20. (20) KW Lacrosse Club (BCJALL) 1-19*
21. (21) Port Coquitlam Saints (BCJALL) 1-13*
22. (22) Saskatchewan SWAT (RMLL) 1-14 (0-2)
23. (23) New Westminster Salmonbellies (BCJALL) 4-10 (0-2)*