Vancouver Warriors’ forward Marcus Klarich has been an impact player for the team this season. He’s had to be patient, but Klarich’s relentless work ethic and willingness to learn have been key to his growth.
The Burnaby-born forward has taken significant steps in his development, from dominating the BC Junior A Lacrosse League (BCJALL) to being selected first overall in the 2024 Western Lacrosse Association (WLA) Draft by the Maple Ridge Burrards. Now, in his third season with the Warriors, Klarich is proving he belongs in the National Lacrosse League.
Klarich has seen game action five times this season, which is the same number of games he played in his first two NLL seasons combined. He’s scored in every game he’s played, putting up 10 points (7-3-10) and two goals per game in the last two contests. He has even earned a spot on the NLL’s Top Plays of the Week.
Warriors’ GM and Head Coach Curt Malawsky has seen firsthand how Klarich’s game has evolved.
“The first thing is his willingness to get to the middle of the floor,” Malawsky said. “You’ve got to be able to take a hit to make a play, you’ve got to know when to go to the middle of the floor. If scoring outweighs the fact that you’re going to get hit, then you’ll have success, and he’s done that.”
One of the biggest realizations for Klarich has been the type of player he needs to be to have success at the professional level. He’s a good ball carrier, playmaker and also plays well off-ball, creating space and opportunities for his teammates.
Like many young players, Klarich has had to bide his time and prove himself. When he wasn’t in the lineup early in the season, he didn’t sulk—he stayed ready. Through the process, Klarich has been a supportive teammate.
“He looks for solutions to make himself better, to make the team better and that didn’t go unnoticed,” Malawsky said.
Klarich’s work ethic caught the eye of Warriors’ star forward Keegan Bal, who has taken the 22-year-old under his wing. After training camp last season, Klarich told Bal he wants to be a top lacrosse player, and Bal has become a mentor for Klarich on his journey to achieving that.
“He’s extremely committed, he works super hard and most Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 5:30 in the morning, we’re there working out together and shooting together,” Bal said. “I try to give him as much as I can because I think he’s going to be a star in this league for many years to come.”
Bal sees some of himself in Klarich, toiling on the turf to be good enough to get into NLL games as a young player. Bal started his NLL career with Vancouver in 2016, playing three games in 2017 before being cut and signing with Colorado. The following year, he was let go after the Mammoth’s training camp and played in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (Senior B) for two seasons before being picked up again by Vancouver in 2018, and the rest is history.
Bal says Klarich is dynamic and incredibly athletic, and his 6-foot-3, wiry-strong build gives him an advantage, especially with his reach around the crease.
“His skillset – change of direction, explosiveness, deception – is something that a lot of guys in this league don’t have and some of the elite guys do have, he has that skillset that we can build on” Malawsky said. “Getting familiar with his teammates is really big on the floor and understanding where they’re going to be and where he needs to be.”
Klarich has been putting in the work in the weight room and with his trainer Brian Gillis, who helps him with mobility. He’s also put a lot of time in the film room and has taken the opportunity to learn from Bal and other veteran players.
“Watching those two years helped me a lot. When you’re in the moment, all you’re thinking is ‘I want to play, I want to play, I want to play’, but you have to trust the process and that’s what I did,” Klarich said. “Watching the guys in front of me like Marty[Ryan Martel], Bidesy [Adam Charalambides], Riley Loewen, and Brad McCulley how it works for them and how they are so successful helped me a lot, it’s been a huge part of my maturity in lacrosse.”
Klarich also credits his summer in the WLA helping him prepare for the NLL season. He gained a lot of experience as a ball carrier and worked on areas of his game he and Malawsky had talked about. Klarich wasn’t particularly pleased with his point totals (65 points (26-39-65) through 18 games) and was figuring out how to be consistent at the next level, feeling like he hit his stride at the end of the season.
“Those reps in the summer are huge, and then I went into training camp remembering the work we put in during the summer and continued to trust the process,” he said.
With the Roughnecks game fresh in his mind, Klarich talks about refining his finish in key moments. In the third quarter against the Roughnecks, he drove and went short side across the crease, but Cam MacLeod made the save. He’s hard on himself, but he says the next step is to finish in tight and that’s what he’s focused on.
Malawsky says it’s a natural progression for young players in the NLL that the finish will come. He likes the fact that Klarich is more concerned about the opportunities he missed than the goals he’s scored.
“He’s arrived, and I’m with him – if he finishes some more shots, we win those tight games. I like the fact that he wants to put it on his shoulders,” Malawsky said. “You want guys that are perfectionists that want to score every shot, that’s a quality that drives the best players to be the best.”
While he continues to fine-tune his game, Klarich’s confidence is growing, rooted in his continued preparation and seeing his success.
“Confidence in yourself and your teammates being confident in you is the most important part,” Klarich said. “Having teammates that believe in you—that gives you the confidence to trust in yourself.”
If Klarich’s work ethic and commitment to improvement are any indication, he’s well on his way to becoming a major force in the NLL.
