It’s almost that time of year - the Ontario Junior Lacrosse League begins its season next week.
The Oakville Buzz will have their first regular-season game on Saturday, May 14, 2022, at the Toronto Rock Athletic Center, where they face off against the Whitby Warriors.
The Buzz is looking for a bounce-back year after the team had a 3-5 record in last summer’s tournament and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Oakville's lacrosse team lost several players after last year's tournament, including Phil Mazzuca and Chris Weier, who are now members of the Toronto Rock. But the team is now looking forward to a new and hopefully successful season.
Before the draft, the team made a huge trade with the St. Catherines Athletics: the Buzz acquired Brayden Mayea in exchange for Davis Longlade, Logan Fletcher, Ryan Petterson, and two first-round picks in the 2023 OJLL draft.
Buzz Coach Joel Johnson talked about how Mayea will help the Buzz. "He’s a very welcome piece to our offence and the side of the floor," says Johnson. "Expectations are high for him, but I know he has high expectations for himself."
The Buzz played an exhibition game at the Toronto Rock Athletic Center last Sunday, May 1, against the Six Nations Arrows, where the Buzz won with a final score of 16-11.
The standout performers for the Buzz in that game were Will Sheehan and Brian Jackman, two players the Buzz will lean on heavily throughout this season. Another standout was Buzz rookie Malikye Good who tallied two goals of his own.
The final standout player was goaltender Aden Walsh; the Georgia Swarm prospect played a spectacular game and was called upon when needed and made huge saves to give the Buzz the best chance to win.
The Buzz will also have reinforcements coming to the team as Eddie Qu and Curtis Goddard will join the team this summer when they have finished their school year at Yale and Jacksonville.
Learn more about the Oakville Buzz on their team website.