Sure, the Coquitlam Adanacs addressed their need for a righthanded shot at Monday's Western Lacrosse Association draft.
Just not with the first overall pick.
The Adanacs grabbed whom many considered the best athlete available at the Burnaby Firefighters Club in Coquitlam's own Travis Cornwall, whose natural skill and size over-rode his southpaw status on the already lefty-heavy squad.
Port Moody product Jackson Decker, who, like Cornwall, graduated from the Jr. Adanacs, is a high-scoring righty who went second to the Burnaby Lakers.
"We tried to get that [second] pick, too," said Adanacs first-year general manager Randy Delmonico. "We offered up some good talent but Burnaby wouldn't go for it.
"Travis was the best athlete out there [in the draft]. He's big and fast and he's not finished growing."
After Cornwall, the A's saw to it they balanced out their attack, selecting seven right-handers with the remainder of their picks.
And besides the six-foot-two, 210-pound Cornwall, the A's added plenty of size and toughness to their team, specifically with their second choice (eighth overall) in six-foot-four, 200-pound New Westminster Jr. Salmonbellies grad Travis Irving, who was second on his squad in penalty minutes last season with 66 in 15 outings.
"We got some big guys and that was something we were looking for too," Delmonico said. "We pretty much got all we wanted -- size, speed and skill."
After Cornwall and Irving, the A's collared Ryan Johnson (15th overall, Coquitlam), Daniel McQuade (22nd, New West), Jordan Catton (29th, New West), Jaxson Lee (36th, Burnaby), Clay Miller (43rd, Coquitlam) and Patrick Spencer (50th, New West).
"We were picking into the sixth round guys we didn't think would be around," Delmonico said. "We were very pleased with how the draft went for us."
Jr. Adanac grads were the most coveted in the draft, with six of the first nine selections coming from the Coquitlam player factory that produced back-to-back provincial-champion teams.
Casey Jackson went third overall to Burnaby, followed in order by fellow Jr. A's products David Joyce to the Maple Ridge Burrards and Mark Matthews -- who played on the 2010 Minto Cup-champion Jr. A's before transferring to win another national title last summer with Ontario's Whitby Warriors -- to the Langley Thunder.
Tor Reinholdt, another ex-Jr. Adanac, went ninth to Langley.
The Adanacs open their regular season May 20 in Maple Ridge.
