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Maple Ridge Burrards add elite local talent in WLA draft

Local boy and Vancouver Warrior Brayden Laity one of top new players
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Brayden Laity won defensive player of the year with the Grizzlies in the ALL West before being drafted by the Vancouver Warriors in the 2023 NLL Entry Draft. (Gary Ahuja – Langley Events Centre/Special to The News)

The Maple Ridge Burrards stocked up on local talent through the Western Lacrosse Association draft on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

"We had a good draft. We got what we wanted early," said Burrards GM Lance Andre.

He wasn't able to attend this year as he nursed a days-old knee replacement, and gave credit to his assistant GM Brian Borkowsky and head coach Rob Williams for their work running the draft and re-stocking the roster with talent.

The league allows teams to protect two players from their communities, and the Burrards were happy to secure six-foot-three defenceman Brayden Laity, and lefty forward Ethan M'Lot as their territorial protection players.

Andre said Laity has a chance to be one of the top defenders in the league. He plays for the Vancouver Warriors of the NLL, and was named to the league's all-rookie team for his work in the 2023-2024 season. He's six-foot-three, 200 pounds, and took on tough matchups as a rookie, playing in all 18 games.

Laity played junior for the Port Coquitlam Saints of the B.C. Junior ‘A’ Lacrosse League (BCJALL), and was a two-time winner of the Reginald “Pop” Phillips Memorial Award, given to the league’s best defensive player. The Warriors drafted him in the first round in their 2023 NLL draft.

Ethan M'Lot is a lefty offensive player who was huge big part of the Burnaby Lakers Junior A squad, and put up 90 points to lead the BCJALL in scoring.

With their first draft pick, the Burrards selected Ethan Quinn in the first round. He's a defensive player out of the Langley Thunder Junior A program, and Andre called him "a hard, grinding defender."

He's the brother-in-law to Burrards team captain Anthony Kalinich, and the GM said he wanted to be a Burrard.

Drafting Laity and Quinn "shores up our defence for years to come," said Andre, and he believes the addition of M'Lot gives them the best left side in the league.

In the second round they selected Dagan Calrson and Jordan Neary. In the third round they picked Callum Munro, fourth round goaltender Brayden Wandler, and with their final pick Ethan Kaban.

The next big date on the Burrards calendar will be the start of training camp on April 15.

 



Neil Corbett

About the Author: Neil Corbett

I have been a journalist for more than 30 years, the past decade with the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows News.
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