Very quietly, the good folks of the GSLA (Greater Sudbury Lacrosse Association) have been going about their business.

This past weekend, the results of their efforts were unveiled, with very encouraging signs.

“I didn’t expect much for the first tournament; there are some good teams down there,” noted Sudbury Rockhounds U15 head coach Benoit Douillette, a few days after his all minor crew advanced to the finals of the Stayner Hitmen Spring Showcase, taken down by a very impressive West Grey Rampage crew, 6-1 in the gold medal affair.

That setback did not diminish in the least the gains that were made via victories over the host Stayner Hitmen (7-1 – Malik Jakubo-2; Owen Angus-2; Jackson Mead; Ty Belanger; Levi Blouin), the Six Nations Chiefs (9-3 – Owen Angus-4; Malik Jakubo-3; Liam Hagen; Jackson Mead) and the Nepean Knights, in overtime (3-2 – Malik Jakubo-2 – including GWG; Jackson Mead).

“That’s how you learn; you play against better competition,” noted Douillette, philosophically. “You try and take that knowledge and move on.”

The U15 Rockhounds will move on, confident in their ability to produce scoring right across the lineup. “We had six of the leading scorers,” said Douillette. “And six on a roster of ten players is pretty amazing.”

“Every player is different: some shoot hard, some know their way around the net. They all have different strengths and strategies.”

Rounding out the Sudbury U15 squad are Aidan O’Coin, Reid Martin, Shkwaadem-Ninii Osawamick, Braeden Thibault, Koda Peltier, Evany Ashcroft and Jordan Bizak.

The Sudbury U13 Rockhounds kicked things off on the right foot, slipping past Six Nations 3-2 but were in awfully tough against both Stayner (10-1 loss) and the West Durham Rockmen (6-0).

Coming off an OLA “C” championship in the summer of 2022, the U22 Rockhounds under the guidance of head coach and former NLL ( National Lacrosse League) goalie Mike Miron were right in the thick of a hotly contested tournament grouping in Stayner, even as the re-jigged Sudbury roster adopts a somewhat different approach to their play this year.

“It’s a complete overhaul for us,” suggested Miron, his team also posting a record of 1-2 in their first showcase of the season, but with both losses coming by just a single goal. “Last year, teams did not want to play us by the end of the year – we were very physical. We pressured everything.”

“This year, we’re a little more run and gun. We’ve got a younger team with a lot of speed. We have some good systems, but we’re still building on those.”

Spotting the West Grey Rampage an early 1-0 lead in their curtain-raiser last weekend, the northern lads countered with goals from Alex Hachez, Ben Harris, Jacob Hickerson and Ashton Eadie-Chartrand, hitting the win column right out of the gate.

The elder Rockhounds were up 3-2 against the powerhouse Brampton Excelsiors early in the third courtesy of goals from Alex Hachez, Mason Lachance and Hachez, again, when the southerners rallied, scoring twice to escape with a 4-3 win.

Game three was not quite as heartbreaking, though the result was the same as the Clarington Gaels edged the Sudbury lads 4-3 with Jacob Hickerson leading the locals with a two goal effort while Hachez netted his fourth in three games.

“We’re going to get the offense going,” stated Miron. “Our defense is very, very strong and we have two of the best goalies in the province in that age group (Mason Robertson and Kiaus Lalonde). We’re trying to get Sudbury lacrosse back to where it used to be.”

Taking full advantage of the networks of contacts that Miron developed during his time as a pro, the Rockhounds are once again affiliated with the Huntsville Jr C Hawks program. “We’ve actually sent quite a few guys down for games,” said Miron. “We need the players to know that there are opportunities for the younger guys.”

“It’s not all over when you turn 16.”

The remainder of the Sudbury U22 lineup is comprised of Caden McDonald, Auston Arlt, Andrew Whitehouse, Jared Eadie-Chartrand, Keegan Esquimaux Osawamick, Xavier Esquimaux Osawamick, Daniel Czerwinski, Joe Gouchie, Cody Wahl, Blake Ramalho, Max Vendette and Kai D’Amour.

The U22 team will focus on fine-tuning things for the next few weeks before heading off to tournaments on back to back weekends in July, entered in the Ray Broadworth Memorial Tournament in Gloucester (July 7th- 9th) and the St Catharines Conradi-Engemann U22 Memorial Tournament the very next weekend.

Meanwhile, coach Douillette and company will also make their way to Gloucester, but not before joining seven other U15 teams in Orillia for the Boyd Balkville Memorial Tournament, an event the U13 Hounds will also attend.

Finally, the Sudbury U11 Rockhounds were off a little further east, taking part in the Northumberland Nemesis Clash last weekend and posting a .500 mark in a division where the top to bottom spread of talent was all over the place.

The locals took down the Uxbridge Enforcers (6-1) and Toronto Beaches (17-0) in their first two outings but were grounded in game three, an 8-5 loss to the Akwesasne Storm before dropping a 5-1 decision in their semi-final encounter to the Northumberland Nemesis.