A young lacrosse player from Airdrie will fulfill his lifelong goal of donning the Maple Leaf later this month.
Rockyview Silvertips junior B box lacrosse player Nolan Oakey is heading to Australia to compete for Team Canada at the inaugural International Indoor Junior Lacrosse (IIJL) Commonwealth Cup, to be held March 16 to 22 in Melbourne.
The 18-year-old forward said it was surreal when he learned he had cracked the Canada roster.
“It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid to put on the Canadian uniform and represent my country, whether it was in hockey when I was younger or, now, lacrosse,” he said. “It was an amazing feeling and I was speechless. My parents were the ones who told me I had made the team and I just couldn’t even speak.”
The Canadian team will take on competitive junior sides from Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth in a round-robin format, as well as an all-star team comprised of players from the three cities.
Oakey, who will depart for Australia March 14, said the tournament is the IIJL’s effort to promote the sport internationally.
“It’s really about spreading the love for the game of lacrosse to the rest of the world and making it a bigger sport worldwide,” he said.
Making the national team for the Commonwealth Cup was extra sweet for Oakey, who was cut when he tried out for Canada’s U20 team that competed in the 2019 World Junior Lacrosse Championship. Oakey, who was still just 17 at the time, made the 40-player short list, but not the final roster.
The 2019 graduate of W.H. Croxford High School said he’s looking forward to the upcoming trip, as it will mark his first time travelling to Australia.
“I’m going to just take it all in and not take it for granted,” he said. “It might not be something that happens again, so I want to just enjoy the moment and not focus too much on everything while I’m down there.
“I’ll go, have fun, play my game and enjoy it.”
After he returns home, Oakey said, his focus will shift back to the Silvertips and the impending 2020 Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) season, which takes place in the spring and summer.
“I’m super excited to get going,” he said. “We have a really good team this year and I think we can make a really good run. I’m excited for all the guys coming back and doing our training camp – it’s a blast.”
Last season was a positive one for the Silvertips, as the Cochrane-based squad won its first RMLL playoff series in more than a decade. Rockyview ended its 2019 campaign with an appearance at the Larry Bishop Memorial Cup – the provincial championship tournament for junior B lacrosse in Alberta.
Oakey’s firepower in front of the goal played a crucial role in the Silvertips’ success. He ended the regular season as the top scorer in the Tier 1 Central Division, with 32 goals and 60 assists. The then-second-year junior player added an additional 29 points in the playoffs.
His play in the RMLL also attracted the interest of NCAA lacrosse programs in the United States. In February, Oakey said, he signed his letter of intent to join the field lacrosse team at Lander University, a Division 2 team in South Carolina, next year.
“I’m excited for that and will go down there in fall 2020 to start my college career,” he said.
Scott Strasser, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @scottstrasser19
