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[Photo: Victoria Shamrocks Social Media] Since Stephen Stamp is giving tight coverage of the Eastern playoffs, I made a point to catch all of the WLA finals to report my findings from out West as the Mann Cup approaches. The momentum the Victoria Shamrocks were able to build in each and every outing of their best-of-seven WLA finals with Maple Ridge enabled them to hang on for three overtime victories to clinch the series in a surprising 5 games. Victoria out lasted Maple Ridge for a tight 7-6 0T victory at home in Game 1, which became a theme throughout...

[ Photo: Coquitlam Adanacs Facebook] The Coquitlam Adanacs winning the B.C. Junior A championship again is an example of their dedication to excellence, but is this dominance in B.C. and other provinces good for the overall health of lacrosse?  Another summer of Canadian lacrosse has come down to the nitty-gritty as we get closer to crowning our champions. Again we saw the flurry of activity just before the playoffs by teams with hierarchy shuffling their decks by raiding the rosters of their lesser competitors. At its highest levels, this is what Canadian lacrosse has become and the smoking gun is...

[ Photo: Sara Schmidle] The Calgary defense made life miserable for any Buffalo Bandit that ventured into the middle.  From start to finish, the 2019 National Lacrosse League finals were a humdinger. Heading into the championship series, both teams brimmed with talent at every position, which asked the question where would one might falter. Initially, I looked for Buffalo’s transition to make or break its chances of getting a leg up on the competition. This group had the green light all year and was lethal.  In Game 1, except for a five-minute stretch late in the first half, transition was...

[ Photo: Bill Wippert] Both Buffalo and Calgary have built strong rosters through trades and Mitch de Snoo (12) is one of a few examples of trades that have worked for Buffalo.  There is no doubt that the two teams in this year's NLL final were constructed with thought and patience. As a former general manager, I closely watch all teams and the patterns they seek to build out their on-floor product. Many teams are attracted to high stakes trades for expensive veteran players to deliver in the now. Other teams bide their time while developing draft picks and building...

[ Photo: Bill Wippert] There wasn't much real estate during Game 1 of the NLL finals, which is pretty much what was expected given the way Calgary and Buffalo match up.  The regular season was kind to Buffalo's Bandits as they cruised along in high gear from beginning to end. The Bandits have sandwiched two trips to the championship around a couple of seasons were they didn't even qualify for the playoffs. Credit has to go to the front office that drafted wisely and went with a young group for the last three years to build what we have in...