Rhys Duch’s success with the Victoria Shamrocks — having recently won three straight Western Lacrosse Association titles and a Mann Cup championship — has not exactly translated over to his time with the National Lacrosse League’s Vancouver Stealth.
That doesn’t mean the lacrosse sniper is about to give up hope as he prepares to enter his ninth season with the organization. In fact, it just makes him want to work that much harder.
“We want to get back to playing in May when games are important and having that feeling that goes with being successful and competing for championships,” said Duch, who is preparing for the new season while being kept busy as a realtor in the Victoria area.
“It’s almost like we’ve been right there, only to lose one-goal games. That’s been the difference the last couple of seasons, having a chance at a playoff spot late in the year and just missing.”
The past results are just memories now as the Stealth collect for weekend training camps at the Langley Events Centre, the team’s home, in preparation for 2017. Last weekend, the Stealth collected an 11-10 exhibition win over the defending NLL champion Saskatchewan Rush, and suffered a 13-6 loss to the Calgary Roughnecks.
“It’s been a fast-paced camp, with the highest tempo I’ve experienced through my whole career, which is good because it sets the standard for work ethic, which is the most important thing,” said Duch, who in 2015 was named at No. 12 by Inside Lacrosse in its Top 50 NLL players list.
“We’re only going to get better. We were plagued with some injuries last year, but now we’ve had a really competitive camp and I expect to see a lot of new faces this year. We’re only going to be stronger for it. It should be a refreshing year and that’s going to help us all become more successful.”
Which describes his career.
Duch, who turned 30 in July, was selected third overall in the 2008 draft by the Stealth and earned the 2009 NLL rookie of the year award. He is coming off his finest season last year when he recorded 48 goals and 111 points in 18 games for the Stealth. He bettered his 2015 campaign by eight points when he finished with 41 goals and 62 assists.
He has played his entire NLL career with the Stealth, moving from San Jose to Washington and then on to Vancouver.
The sticking point has been playoffs as the team continues to try to find its way back to the post-season and, possibly, championship form like in 2010. In 2013, Duch had 10 goals and seven assists in three playoff games in Washington, below his career-best 11 goals and 14 helpers in three games in 2010, prior to the league title run.
The five-foot-11, 200-pound righty is joined in Vancouver by Shamrocks teammates Corey Small and goalie Cody Hagedorn. Dane Sorenson, also of Victoria, and Duncan’s Tyson Roe are also on the club.
Small, like Duch, had a career year for the Stealth last season with 37 goals and 47 assists. The two, often referred to as the Dynamic Duo, were united with the Stealth two seasons ago when president and general manager Doug Locker acquired Small in January of 2015 from the then Edmonton Rush.
“Rhys and Corey are two of the best there is in the NLL and have great chemistry together. Because of that chemistry, we made it a very high priority to bring Corey to the Stealth last season,” Locker told media last year.
Victoria’s Tyler Haas is also still listed on the team’s physically unable to perform list and Shamrock Cory Conway suffered a separated shoulder in camp and sits on the Stealth’s injured reserve list along with another former Shamrock, Rory Smith.
Vancouver begins regular-season play Jan. 6 in Calgary against the Roughnecks, a team which features several Shamrocks teammates in Jon and Greg Harnett, Tyler Burton, Karsen Leung and Jeff Shattler and rising local star Brody Eastwood, who was selected in the third round of this year’s draft.
