To the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Coquitlam Adanacs made goaltender Christian Del Bianco the top pick of the 2019 Western Lacrosse Association junior draft Thursday.
Last year, Del Bianco led the Coquitlam Jr. Adanacs to their second Minto Cup national junior lacrosse championship in three years after being the most valuable player in his team’s 4-2 series victory over the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the BC Junior A Lacrosse League championship. He was also instrumental in the Adanacs’ 2016 national title when he stopped 59 shots in a 6-5 overtime win over the Orangeville Northmen in the decisive game of that year’s Minto Cup.
Del Bianco, who's 21, also tends goal for the Calgary Roughnecks of the National Lacrosse League.
In a post to Twitter later in the evening, Del Bianco said he was “humbled” to be selected by the team he grew up watching as a kid.
He said he was “excited to turn the ship around and get back to that blue collar culture that made those 2000’s teams great.”
Del Bianco’s championship teammate, Ryland Rees, was selected second by the Burnaby Lakers in Thursday’s draft, that was conducted in Langley.
In the second round, the Adanacs selected Carter Dickson from the New Westminster Salmonbellies eighth overall. Dickson had 77 points in 21 games in the BCJALL last season. He’s also a teammate of Del Bianco’s in Calgary.
The Adanacs selected another player from the Jr. Adanacs, John Hofseth, in the third round, 15th overall, and two picks later they took Ty Goff from the PoCo Saints where he was named the BCJALL’s most sportsmanlike player.
With their pick in the fourth round, the Adanacs selected former Delta Islanders’ star Riley Phillips, who was traded to the Okotoks Raiders of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League at the trade deadline last July 1. Before he was dealt, Phillips led the Islanders in scoring with 31 goals and 60 points in 18 games.
Another Jr. Adanac, Angelo Pontellini, was the Adanacs’ pick in the fifth round, 29th overall, and in the sixth round they selected Parker Kump from the PoCo Saints.
The Adanacs rounded out their night by taking Damon Prince from the Burnaby Lakers in the seventh round and Connor McNeil of the New Westminster Salmonbellies in the eighth, and final, round.
