Surrey’s Jacob Dunbar was the first overall pick in the 2023 Western Lacrosse Association Graduating Junior Player Draft with the Burnaby Lakers selecting the right-handed offensive player.
Dunbar – who played his Junior lacrosse with the Port Coquitlam Saints – was chosen by the Burnaby Lakers at the draft which was held virtually Tuesday night (January 31) at Langley Events Centre.
The Lakers traded up to draft Dunbar, sending their own first round pick (second overall) as well as a 2024 draft pick to the Victoria Shamrocks, with the Shamrocks then selecting Arthur Miller (Nanaimo Junior Timbermen).
Victoria also had the fourth overall pick, using it on Denton McDonald (Victoria Junior Shamrocks) while the Nanaimo Timbermen had picks three and five, selecting Evan Soucy (Nanaimo Junior Timbermen) and Griffin Hall (Victoria Junior Shamrocks). The Maple Ridge Burrards chose Kaden Doughty (Langley Junior Thunder) at pick six, while the final choice of the round went to the defending Western Lacrosse Association champion Langley Thunder, who chose Nikhal Dhandwar (New Westminster Junior Salmonbellies).
“Congratulations to the players who heard their names called at the 2023 WLA Junior Draft. We are looking forward to welcoming them to the WLA when the 2023 season gets underway this May,” said WLA Commissioner Paul Dal Monte.
Dal Monte also announced that the 2023 season will begin after the May long weekend with the schedule expected to be released in late February.
Each team was permitted to use two Territorial Protection picks ahead of the draft: Matteo Tack and Nic Dos Santos (Burnaby Lakers); Adam Noakes and Nick Musso (Coquitlam Adanacs); Matt Abbott and Kyle Brunsch (Langley Thunder); Drew Andre and Isaac Ngyou (Maple Ridge Burrards); Justin Geddie and Ryan Sheridan (Nanaimo Timbermen); Noah Armitage and Ben Stewart (New Westminster Salmonbellies); and Patrick Dodds and Casey Wilson (Victoria Shamrocks).
For full draft results, please visit https://draft.wlalacrosse.com/live
Photo courtesy of Nanaimo Timbermen Facebook
