September was an exciting month for the Vancouver Warriors, marked by key player re-signings, new signings and an NLL draft class brimming with potential.
Outside the box, the Warriors were equally as active in the community, engaging with fans, schools and charity events, all while preparing for an exciting new season.
In the Community
SFU Welcome Week: The Warriors welcomed students back to campus at SFU Welcome Week in Surrey and Burnaby, sharing their passion for lacrosse and the excitement for the upcoming season.
Richmond Lacrosse Fundraiser: Brett Mydske, Matt Beers and Owen Grant joined Richmond Lacrosse in a fundraising event for former NHLer and former Burnaby firefighter Ray Sawada. The event was hosted at Minoru Arena where Sawada learned to skate and where he played for the Richmond Sockeyes of the PJHL.
Beers and Mydske both worked with Sawada at Burnaby Fire and honoured their former coworker and friend.
Vancouver Canadians First Pitch: Grant tested his baseball skills and threw out the ceremonial first pitch at the Vancouver Canadians Game against the Eugene Emeralds.
Jake Milford Canucks Charity Invitational: The Warriors continued their commitment to supporting charitable initiatives by attending the Milford Invitational.
Elite Academy Tryouts: Warriors stars Reid Bowering, Jackson Suboch, Adam Charalambides, Brayden Laity and Matt Beers lent their expertise to the Warriors Elite Academy U11 and U13 tryouts, helping develop the next generation of lacrosse talent.
Stick to School Registration: Last season, the Warriors visited 80 schools around the Lower Mainland as part of their Stick to School program to teach students about the Indigenous roots of lacrosse, the history and the rules of the game.
To learn lacrosse from the Vancouver Warriors, registration is open for the Stick to School program and you can sign up here.
In the Box
NLL Draft
At the 2024 NLL Draft, the Warriors initially had one first-round pick, and one pick in rounds three through six. They turned that into two first-round picks, two third-round picks and a fifth and sixth round pick.
Their first-round picks were forward Johnathan Peshko (fourth overall), and defenceman Remo Schenato (sixth overall). To get the sixth overall pick and a 2025 second-round pick, they traded forward Brock Haley who was the Warriors’ seventh overall pick in the 2023 NLL Draft.
Vancouver moved up again, selecting two right-handed forwards; Rhys Porteous and Josh Carlson in the third round, 32nd and 41st overall respectively. Transition player Kai George was selected in the fifth round (61st overall) and their sixth-round pick was 6-foot-7 defenceman Cole Kastner.
Carlson and Kastner are back in university for grad school, but the rest of the draftees will attend training camp at the end of October.
Re-Signings & Signings
Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides re-signed with the Warriors in September. As two of the top three offensive contributors for the club, they combined for 203 points last season and are looking to build on the Warriors’ season last year. Bal had a career-best 105 points (49-56-105) and Charalambides amassed a career-high 98 points (37-61-98).
Vancouver signed their 2023 NLL 4th overall pick, forward Payton Cormier, who is ready to make an impact with the Warriors. The 24-year-old set the all-time NCAA Division I career goal record, scoring 224 goals during his five-years at the University of Virginia.
They also signed Delta, B.C.’s Rhys Porteous after he was selected 32nd overall in the third round of the 2024 NLL Entry Draft. The 22-year-old forward suited up for the Maple Ridge Burrards of the WLA over the summer, tallying 35 points (19-16-35).
Free Agency
A huge offseason acquisition for the Warriors is defenceman Jeff Cornwall, who signed a two-year contract with the team. The Coquitlam native brings size and more championship experience to the Warriors’ back end, appearing in 177 games in his NLL career. Through those 177 games he has collected 705 loose balls, forced 180 turnovers and blocked 43 shots while tallying 112 points (46-66-112).
The Warriors also signed goaltender Brandon Humphrey who played for Warriors’ Assistant Coach Rob Williams with the WLA’s Maple Ridge Burrards over the summer. Humphrey helped the Burrards to a second-place finish for the regular season.
Dispersal Draft
The NLL held a dispersal draft for the former Panther City Lacrosse Club and the Warriors acquired Ryan Sheridan and Ronin Pusch.
Sheridan, the Victoria-born forward was the fourth pick in the dispersal draft and played 14 games last season with Panther City. The 6-foot-4 forward totaled 19 points (12 goals, 6 assists) and picked up 29 loose balls. He played four years at Hofstra University as a midfielder, picking up 39 points (29-10-39) along the way.
Pusch, the right-handed defender and faceoff specialist was the 15th pick in the dispersal draft. He played five games with Panther City last season and picked up 51 loose balls, was 65-of-147 off the draw, forced three turnovers and blocked two shots. Pusch went to the Mann Cup with the Victoria Shamrocks and we’ve got more on that below.
Mann Cup
Pusch and Brad McCulley went to the Mann Cup with the Victoria Shamrocks against the Six Nations Chiefs. The best-of-seven series was played in Ontario at Iroquois Lacrosse Arena.
The Shamrocks went undefeated (18-0) in the WLA season and won their first game in the Mann Cup, but Six Nations won four straight to take the title.
President’s Cup
Matt Beers was the assistant coach of the Ladner Pioneers in the West Coast Senior Lacrosse Association (WCSLA) that won the Presidents Cup for the third year in a row.
