A pair of homegrown standouts topped the list of Delta Junior "A" Islanders selected in last week's Western Lacrosse Association draft.
The Nanaimo Timbermen added some scoring and size to their line-up by taking Ryan Keith with the 14th overall pick. The 6-foot-2 and 215-pound right-hander from Ladner finished last season with 57 points in 19 games, including 27 goals. That was a 15-point improvement on his sophomore campaign. Keith also added 15 points, including nine goals, in six playoff games.
Meanwhile, Keith's longtime teammate Michael Berekoff was the first player selected by the New Westminster Salmonbellies, 21st overall. The 6-foot-1 and 195-pound left-hounder was another key cog in the Islanders attack. He had an outstanding 2011 campaign, producing 77 points, including 38 goals, to finish second in team scoring.
Berekoff added 15 points in the playoffs and is among the club's all-time leading scorers with 167 points over 60 regular season games.
Other Islanders to be selected included goaltender Blake Duncan who was a three-year starter with the team.
He went 32nd overall to the Maple Ridge Burrards. The 6-foot-2 and 230pounder had a 8.69 goals against average and a 80.38 save percentage in 16 games last season.
Victoria native Brandon McLean was also picked by Nanaimo, 30th overall, while Graeme Stewart went 64th to the Langley Thunder and Alex Farrell 65th to the Burnaby Lakers.
"On behalf of the board of directors, general manager and coaching staff, we would like to congratulate the following graduating players for being selected in the WLA draft," said Islanders GM Jamie Scott. "We are extremely excited and wish them well in the next stage of their lacrosse careers."
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The club has also announced its main training camp for the Junior "A" and Intermediate "A" teams will open March 24-25 at Sportstown in Richmond. A number of informal workouts are also scheduled at Sportstown leading up to the opening day of camp.
