Boxla player won’t let defence rest
Boedy Shields practising twice a week despite cancellation of season
Boedy Shields is looking forward to picking up a lacrosse stick and, for the first time in a long time, playing competitively at a high level again.
But will it be as a midfielder with the men’s field team at Brock University or as a defensive specialist for the expansion Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League (NLL)? Right now, the schedule favours the Knighthawks. While the NLL is shooting to start the regular season sometime in March, the Badgers, whose fall season was cancelled by COVID-19, won’t be back on the field until September 2021.
Understandably, Shields hasn’t red-circled anything on his calendar yet.
“Right now, it’s just a waitand-see thing,” he said.
Shields has been busy despite the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. He is among a group of Brock, junior-A and NLL players from the area who have been getting together a “couple of times” a week for scrimmages.
“It’s been good just keeping a stick in the hand that way. That’s kind of where we’re at right now,” the third-year sport management student from Didsbury, Alta., north of Calgary, said.
Though he didn’t hear his name called in the six-round NLL draft that was conducted online in late September, Shields, 20, last week signed a two-year contract with the Knighthawks.
He was disappointed that he went undrafted — in all, 93 players were selected — but he wasn’t surprised.
“Obviously, I was hoping to be drafted but that didn’t work out,” Shields said. “Players from Alberta don’t get quite as much attention, especially if the biggest place you get noticed is the Minto Cup and I haven’t been there since 2018.”
On top of that, not having a season, as well as an NLL, combine also kept him under the radar.
“It’s hard being from Alberta to get in front of NLL coaches and general managers.”
Shields did have a connection with the Rochester team. Cody Hawkins, his coach with the junior-A Calgary Mountaineers of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League, spent two years on the practice roster for the original Knighthawks as a reserve player. He reached out on Shields’ behalf.
“Rochester took a look at me and a couple of weeks later they signed me. I’m excited to get started with them,” he said. “Everyone starts from square one at training camp so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.”
The 6-foot, 180-pound, righthand shot had five points in 20 games protecting the back end over the past two seasons with the Badgers.
“This has been something I’ve worked so hard for and I’ve sacrificed a lot to get to this point, so I am very excited,” he said.
Turning pro has long been a goal of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League’s 2019 defensive player of the year.
“I’ve dedicated my whole life to lacrosse and being able to reach this level,” he said. “It’s very exciting to sign with such a great organization like Rochester.”
He spent the last two years playing indoor lacrosse close to home playing with the junior-A Calgary Mountaineers. He had 11 goals and 15 assists in 29 regular-season games and 10 goals and 13 assists in 27 playoff games in the Rocky Mountain league.
In addition to earning defensive player of the year honours, Shields was named to the first all-star team after putting up 17 points — four goals, 13 assists — in 17 games with the Mountaineers last season.
Before moving up to junior-A he had 25 goals and 55 assists in 38 games over two seasons in junior-B with the Rocky View Silvertips in the Calgary area.
Shields prefers the indoor version of Canada’s national summer game.
“I’ve been playing box my whole life. Field I just started playing a couple of years before I came to university,” he said. “I definitely like box a lot better.”
His courses are all online but Shields opted to live in St. Catharines for the fall semester rather than remain home in central Alberta.
The original Knighthawks relocated to Halifax where they will be known as the Thunderbirds. They were replaced by an expansion franchise, which also will be nicknamed Knighthawks and has retained Mike Hasen as head coach. The new team is owned by Pegula Sports and Entertainment, which also owns the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League and the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League.
Shields’ Brock teammates Chris Weier, 21, of Niagara-onthe-Lake and Sam LeClair, 21, of Welland were among four players from the region selected in the 2020 National Lacrosse League draft.
Weier, a 6-foot-1, 200-pound right-hand shot, went to the Toronto Rock in the fourth round with the 62nd pick. LeClair, 5foot-10, 170 pounds, right-hand shot; was selected by the Colorado Mammoth in the sixth round with the 86th pick.
Owen Friesen, 21, of St. Catharines was taken 48th overall in the third round by the Halifax Thunderbirds with a pick they received from the Saskatchewan Rush.
John Kit, 21, of Ridgeville went to the Philadelphia Wings in the fifth round with the 74th pick overall.
“Everyone starts from square one at training camp so I’m looking forward to the opportunity.” BOEDY SHIELDS UNDRAFTED ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS DEFENSIVE SPECIALIST