That was the term Whitby Warriors coach Jeff McComb used to describe his Jr. A lacrosse club prior to tonight's season opener at Iroquois Park (8 p.m.) against what is left of the defending Minto Cup champion Peterborough Lakers.
However, he doesn't necessarily view that as a concern.
Still awaiting the return of Zack Greer, Nick Cotter, Kyle O'Brien, Mitch McMichael and Brad Levick, the Warriors, as of Wednesday, still had nearly 30 players remaining with the team, many of who will see floor time over the next couple of weeks while the returnees filter in from their various schools.
"Obviously you always wish you had more time to prepare, especially with the guys that still aren't back," said McComb. "But things have gone good. We were pretty happy with what we saw. We have as many as 27 players still around right now, and that's a good thing. It'll keep things competitive until some guys get back."
As for tonight, and what to expect from the 2006 Minto Cup champions, McComb is perplexed. The Lakers lost a handful of players to graduation after last season, traded away star player Shawn Evans to Six Nations and are now dealing with holdouts from a pair of their top defenders in Kyle Sorenson and Mike Grimes, according to McComb.
"They are going to be awful difficult to get a read on," admits the coach. "With losing six or seven guys to graduation, Evans is gone, Sorenson and Grimes, two guys who played in the NLL this year are holding out, it's tough to know what they'll look like."
All that aside, the Lakers did manage a 10-6 win in their home opener over Mississauga Tuesday, the same night they raised their championship banner.
Tonight, on Rick 'Tuggy' Passfield night, the Warriors will look for a similar result in their home opener. All minor lacrosse players will receive free admittance and plenty of prizes will be given away throughout the night in honour of the former Warriors goalie who died in October 2005.
NOTES: Defenceman Ian Crashley is out indefinitely with a broken wrist, suffered while with the NLL's Portland LumberJax... Zack Greer is currently leading the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring with 51-22-73 numbers. Duke will host Providence College in Game 1 of the NCAA tournament Saturday.
