Calgary Roughnecks look forward to first season

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Lacrosse fans in Alberta and British Columbia will be able to experience the professional variety of the Creator's Game now that the National Lacrosse League has expanded westward.

The Native inventors of Canada's national summer sport call lacrosse the Creator's game because they see playing the game to be a gift from the Creator. There are many Native stars in the pro league. All of those stars will make a couple of visits to Western Canada to play the expansion squads-the Calgary Roughnecks and the Vancouver Ravens.

"I'm just really excited to get this whole thing started. I wish the season started next week," said Calgary Roughnecks player Johnny Kilbride. "I'm really looking forward to getting on the floor and having a good time with this league."

The season will start for the Roughnecks at the Saddledome on Nov. 24 at 1:30 p.m. as they host another expansion team, the Montreal Express.

Vancouver's first game is away at Toronto on Nov. 17. The Ravens host Toronto in their first home turf match on Dec. 1.

Kevin Melnyk is Calgary's head coach and general manager.

"Well, as far as the team goes, we hope to reach .500. Can we do better than that? I hope so. We really hope to be in contention for the playoffs, but realistically, if we hit .500 as a ball club, it'll be pretty good," he said.

During the early off-season, the Roughnecks, along with the other expansion teams, had the opportunity to gain players for their team through the expansion draft. The Roughnecks had a chance to trade for one of the top offensive players in the league from the Toronto Rock, but Melnyk decided against the trade.

"Originally, they wanted our number one draft pick overall for (Calgary product) Kaleb Toth. We felt we were better using that pick to amass a team, which we did. We used the number one pick. We stepped back to number two when they threw us (New York Saints prospect) Ben Prepchuk, who is supposed to be an up and coming star, as well as Ryan Campbell, who is a great defensive player. So with that number two pick we picked up a player by the name of Blaine Manning, who is a 23-year-old rookie in the league.

"So we looked at having just Kaleb, or half a team," said Melnyk with a grin. "We went with half a team."

Melnyk said things are shaping up.

"I like the look of our power play because we have most of our power play in place right now, and I like the look of the short-handed team. Our special teams are kind of set. What we're looking for is just the regular five-on-five now, so we need some more defensive players and role players, because I think our scoring ability is just about set," he added.

Kilbride agreed.

"I think, overall, we're going to be a younger team, but we've got some experience coming in. As far as the physical make up of the team, I think it looks really good. We're going to be big and strong, and fast. That's for sure. We've got a lot of speed on the team, and we definitely have a lot of fantastic ball players, which is a credit to Kevin."

As far as his own goals on the floor go, Kilbride's is keeping it simple.

"For me, I'll just focus on working hard and doing my best," he said. "I'm relatively calm, and I'm not one to freak out about the excitement of a new team, or at least, I'm not the type of person who would take it into the dressing room and onto the floor. Hopefully, that experience will help keep things calm and focused in the room."