The senior A Timbermen shuffled their roster as they look ahead to the draft and the coming lacrosse season.
Nanaimo’s Western Lacrosse Association club made two moves last week, including the acquisition of veteran Kyle Belton from the Langley Thunder.
Belton was a former top-five draft pick and has scored 69 goals and 158 points in 89 career games. He has also played stints in the National Lacrosse League.
Chris Bowman, Timbermen president, said in a press release that Belton is versatile addition.
“We picked up a veteran player in Kyle that has excelled on both ends of the floor in his career,” Bowman said. “We are excited to be able to add a player of his abilities to our program.”
In exchange for Belton, the Thunder receive the playing rights to goaltender Davide DiRuscio. Bowman said the Timbermen felt comfortable trading away a goalie “because we have the best young goalie tandem in the league” with Pete Dubenski and Mike DeGirolamo.
In a separate transaction, the Timbermen traded away the rights of scorer Casey Jackson in exchange for a draft choice.
The city’s senior A lacrosse club sent Jackson to the Victoria Shamrocks for a second-round selection in 2018. Jackson was acquired last off-season but never played for the Timbermen. Bowman said the T-men still have lots of depth on the left side.
The 2017 WLA Draft will be held Feb. 16. The senior A Timbermen have two picks in each of the first five rounds, including the No. 2 and No. 3 selections overall.