Shaun Springett's greatest off-season objective wasn't to get a high-scoring lefty or a game changing goalie, it was to provide structure and long term vision to a franchise that wants to keep going in the right direction in the B.C. Junior "A" Lacrosse League.
The Islanders are coming off their best season ever that featured a third place finish in league play and a quarter-final series win over Langley, before bowing out to the New West Salmonbellies.
All this was accomplished after the team's coach and general manager resigned soon after the season started, leaving now departed assistant Dave Pirog to gamely fill in behind the bench for the balance of the campaign.
Now, Springett has become the club's third head coach in less than two years and the former Western Lacrosse Association standout has so far shown he means business.
He has put together an impressive coaching staff that includes Sean Robinson, AJ Smith and Yul Baker, who thrived at the senior and junior levels, as players, winning Minto and Mann Cups.
He has also established a team dress code and a pre-cise time schedule players must follow for each practice and game. All of this is to help take the Islanders to the next level and that's challenging for their first ever league championship and Minto Cup berth.
Delta opens the regular season on Saturday in Victoria.
"We want to build something here where people want to come and be part of it," explained Springett, following Monday night's practice at the Ladner Leisure Centre. "The players need to see this is the place they want to be. We want to help them get to the next level and we are all ex-players who have gone through the ranks and know what it takes to get there."
Springett previously worked as an assistant coach in Coquitlam and New West. He then moved onto the WLA's Langley Thunder before leaving when the head coach was replaced.
He had other options in the senior 'A' ranks but chose to take the job in Delta after helping out during the second half of last season.
"There are two reasons I came here," he continued. "I knew there were some great offensive players coming back but I also spent some time watching the intermediate team too. I saw there was talent coming up. If I was coming in, I didn't want it to be a one year thing. A lot of these guys I now know will be here with me for the next three years."
The Islanders will have plenty of firepower up front, led by two of the most dynamic offensive players in franchise history.
Third-year snipers Mike Mallory and Logan Schuss have the ability to take over games on their own. Mallory finished seventh in league scoring, while Schuss managed 60 points in just nine games after returning from Ohio State University. He will be rejoining the team in early June once he has completed his junior season with the Buckeyes.
The next tier of scoring is expected to come from an impressive crop of 12 rookies that have cracked the opening day roster. The group includes Eli McLaughlin and Tyler Nett who were among the top scorers at the intermediate "A" level last season.
It all adds up to lofty expectations for Springett's first season behind the bench.
"If we are not getting the bye for the first round of the playoffs (finishing first or second) then it would be dissapointment for me," added Springett. "We have gone through our preliminary goals of where we want to be and I would like to be around the 15-6 mark."
The Islanders also travel to Burnaby on Sunday and play their regular season home opener May 5 against Nanaimo at 7: 30 p.m.
