Tag: Okotoks Raiders
Western Wheel: Late bloomer lands on Raiders
Lacrosse: Luke Welton drafted by Okotoks Jr. A club
READ Okotoks Western Wheel online posted Wednesday, February 15, 2017 06:00 am Click here
By: Remy Greer
- Okotokian Luke Welton, the Okotoks Jr. A Raiders third round draft pick, stands at the Crescent Point Field House.
Brent Calver/OWW
What a difference a few years make.
Just a couple seasons removed from taking a hiatus from the sport Luke Welton has found himself selected by the powerhouse Okotoks Jr. A Raiders after being scooped up in the third round of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League Midget Player Draft on Thursday.
“I’ve been playing for 10 years and only been good for two,” Welton, a Grade 11 student at Holy Trinity Academy, said with a laugh. “I took a year off assessing priorities, figuring out what I wanted to do in progressing in sport. I made the Alberta Summer Games in 2014 for Zone 2, that’s where I realized I could actually become something, where I could grow my skills.
“Once that happened it kind of took off.”
Welton’s ascension in the sport coincided with a move to Okotoks.
After playing a season at the Midget B level, he played A ball for first time as a member of the HOKS – a regional team encompassing Okotoks, High River and Rocky View – where his dad Dave coached. The Hawks won their league banner and Welton went on to represent Team Alberta at the Midget Box Lacrosse Championships in 2016.
As a multi-sport athlete, hitting the gridiron over the past two seasons with the HTA Knights as a safety and slotback was also a boon to his box lacrosse and vice versa.
“Football is so much more structured, so much more system run,” he said. “With football, I was always training, always practicing and I really built my work ethic up so I could transfer that in to lacrosse.”
When a future in lacrosse began to blossom, Junior A was always the destination.
“This has pretty much been my goal. I was never really that good and then I thought I’m going to get serious, grind my butt off,” he said. “Then hopefully make something happen. I’ve been working super hard, taking all my opportunities and trying to make the best of what I get.
“It paid off and it’s so satisfying.”
The Okotokian joins the most successful program in the short history of the Jr. A division.
The Raiders, five-time provincial champions and finalists for eight years running, are annual favourites for the league crown alongside the arch rival Calgary Mountaineers.
“I’m super hyped on the coaching staff,” he said. “It’s one of those programs you look at and say ‘I want to be a part of that.’ Excellent ball players, just something I’ve always looked up to and thought ‘I wish I could play like that.’”
Welton showcased his hard-hitting, physical style at a Raiders open-floor time and during the draft combine at the Saddledome the week prior to selection night.
He had a good feeling he might be wearing Raiders red down the road.
“I went out to one of the Raiders floor times and had a really good tryout and just got a good vibe. I had good talks with the coaches, everything went perfect,” Welton said. “I had a good combine.
“Even though there’s a lot at stake, you’re out there with your friends, out there playing and trying to encompass the whole vibe of the sport.”
The Raiders have been tracking the young athlete for some time.
His strengths should fill some of the team’s deficiencies on the back-end.
“It really stood out that Luke wasn’t afraid of contact, he wasn’t going to shy away from the physical play,” said Raiders head coach/GM Andrew McBride. “That’s something we’ve been lacking. We try to go skill and implement that, but the physicality Luke Welton is going to bring to our lineup for years to come is going to be imposing.”
Work commitments prevented Welton from getting the good news in person at the live draft.
It wasn’t long before he got the message again and again on the mobile.
“I had to work, it was a little bit of a bummer, but you’ve got to add that mystery,” Welton said. “I got a text from my dad … then they just rolled in, all my friends, coaches, everybody.”
Also receiving congratulations is a former and future teammate. High River’s Brendyn Kendall, a goaltender with the HOKS and Team Alberta, was taken in the seventh round by the Raiders.
“He’s a really committed lacrosse goalie,” McBride said. “He plays his angles very well, does a lot of great things in between the pipes. He reacts in a smart manner, we’re impressed with the poise he showed with some of our shooters when he came out.
“It’s a position that’s probably the hardest in lacrosse and whenever you can add some pieces in goaltending it’s going to bode well for our future.”
Rounding out the local contingent, Foothills product Jared Ferris was selected in the seventh round by the Mountaineers.
He joins established defenders in Okotoks’ Ryan McLean and DeWinton’s Tom Fream on the roster.
For the full list of draft results go to rockymountainlax.com
Raiders rush
Registration is underway for the Okotoks Raiders Lacrosse Association for the rapidly approaching minor box lacrosse season.
The Raiders are offering a $100 discount on registration fees for first-time registrants until Feb. 28.
For more information go to okotokslacrosse.com.
Western Wheel: Roughneck rookie scores in debut
Lacrosse: DeWinton’s Holden Cattoni suits up for Riggers
READ Okotoks Western Wheel online posted Wednesday, January 11, 2017 06:00 am Click here
By: Remy Greer
CANDICE WARD/Calgary Roughnecks
- A lifelong dream was realized for one of the most talented lacrosse players to come out of the Foothills.
DeWinton’s Holden Cattoni got his long-awaited taste of professional lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League, suiting up in the Calgary Roughnecks season opening 12-11 loss to the Vancouver Stealth Friday night at the Saddledome.
“It was a thrill,” Cattoni said. “I had a lot of fun with it, then once I got into my regular routine with games I kind of forgot it was my debut and everything, it just felt like another game.
“It was definitely an exciting experience for me and my family.”
With his parents, younger brother Taite, grandparents and family friends in tow, the sharp shooting lefty put on a show in hitting the back of the net in the second quarter on opening night with the Riggers.
“It was an awkward play. I kind of got sucked into a grey area and put it in a good spot and luckily it went in,” Cattoni said. “It’s good to get a little confidence and know what it feels like to score and definitely gives you that drive to score more.”
Confidence would be the operative word.
The Riggers first round pick in the 2016 NLL Draft, Cattoni brings high level experience as an NCAA standout with Johns Hopkins University Blue Jays field lacrosse program along with senior experience in Ontario.
“The biggest part of any offensive player is knowing you can go out there and can score goals and contribute offensively,” he said. “I always try to be as confident as can be and never try to get down on myself.
“It’s my first season and a lot of things are going to go right and wrong. You just have to stay the course and keep a good effort and keep toeing the line.”
He will have some help from a talented group of offensive dynamos on the Riggers including the likes of Superman Curtis Dickson, veterans Jeff Shattler and Dane Dobbie and sophomore sensation Wesley Berg.
“It makes my life a lot easier, especially being a rookie, having some veterans to help you out and guide you along,” he said. “Especially early in the season when you don’t know what to expect. That’s one great aspect of our offence.”
Cattoni, who won two provincial championships with the Okotoks Raiders in three seasons before finishing his junior career with the Peterborough Lakers, has formed a bond with the Roughnecks since Okotokian Brad Banister founded the franchise in 2001.
As a youngster, Cattoni was a ballboy for the club alongside future Raiders teammates Mitchell and Raymond Banister.
“I had a personal relationship with a lot of the guys, especially Kaleb Toth and Tracey Keluskey and still have that connection with them today,” Cattoni said. “I was lucky enough to have that personal connection with some of the players which really drew me in even closer with the Roughnecks.
“Being involved as a ballboy, knowing Brad Banister and Ray when we were ballboys made the experience even better. I’m proud to be playing for the Roughnecks.”
For more information on the team go to calgaryroughnecks.com