Delta Islanders solidified their future in the goal crease as an active team again in Saturday’s B.C. Junior “A” Lacrosse League Midget Draft at the Langley Events Centre.
The Islanders used the seventh overall pick to select goaltender Trace Recsky. The Mission Minor Lacrosse product has been a fixture with the Team B.C.program the last few years — representing his province at the Pee Wee, Bantam and Midget levels. He also played on the Fraser Valley Zone team at the 2018 B.C. Summer Games and helped his hometown Mission squad win bronze at the Provincial Midget A2 Championships.
Delta used its second round pick (15th overall) to take Semiahmoo’s Peyton Hooper. He was a tournament all-star at the 2018 A2 provincials.
The Islanders GM Matt Disher then moved up in the draft to select Cowichan’s Devyn Zunti in the third round — 19th overall. He was Recsky’s teammate on the B.C. squad that attended the 2018 Midget Nationals and also won gold with his Vancouver Island team at the B.C. Summer Games.
Delta closed out the draft by taking Surrey’s Zander Gould in the sixth and final round.
It’s expected the draft picks will be suiting up for the Islanders Junior “B” tier one team for the 2019 season.
The midget draft is for players from associations not affiliated with junior “A” clubs. Delta has not had a first round pick the past couple of years after making a flurry of trades that led to the club’s first-ever league championship and Minto Cup berth in 2016.
The Islanders received a first round pick for this year’s draft from the New West Salmonbellies as compensation for signing holdout Tre LeClaire. The second rounder also came from New West in a deal last June that sent leading scorer Ryan Jones to the Royal City for the balance of the 2018 season. The third-year sniper is now back with Delta for his final year of eligibility.
