His presence won’t likely be fully felt until later this season.
But star goaltender Aaron Bold will be back in the fold this summer to help the Victoria Shamrocks in their bid to win another Mann Cup. The Western Lacrosse Association team announced Monday morning that Bold, 31, has re-signed with the club for 2017.
“It’s a true honour to be part of the Victoria Shamrocks organization once again,” the Victoria lacrosse product and 2015 WLA playoff MVP said in a release. “I’m excited to play in front of my home crowd and to play with great players and the coaching staff. I’m looking forward to continuing the winning culture that comes hand in hand with the Shamrocks.”
Bold helped the Rocks capture that national championship two years ago at The Q Centre and will only be available part-time until the playoffs. Business commitments in Edmonton, where he lives and formerly played in the National Lacrosse League (he’s now with the NLL’s Saskatchewan Rush), will prevent him from joining the team full-time likely until the WLA playoffs.
In the meantime the team will use a three-goalie rotation, with veterans Cody Hagedorn and Adam Shute sharing most of the duties early on.
“Having Aaron in net gives everyone that extra bit of confidence and you can’t underestimate how important that is when the pressure is on,” said Shamrocks general manager Chris Welch. “You’ve probably heard it said that you build from the net out and defense wins championships. I think both of those things are true and with Aaron in the mix, the last line of our defense is very strong.”
The Shamrocks open their regular season at home May 19 against the Langley Thunder. Visit victoriashamrocks.com for ticket and other team information.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com