Jeff Moleski no longer has to clear customs to play home games as a professional lacrosse player and because that travel hassle has been eliminated he's still running the floor as one of the top defenders in the National Lacrosse League.
Now in his 11th season in the league, the 31-year-old from Prince George is loving the return of pro lacrosse to Vancouver, which lost its first NLL franchise when the Ravens folded in 2004.
The Vancouver Stealth transferred to Langley from Everett, Wash., in the off-season and made their home debut last weekend at the 5,276-seat Langley Events Centre. Moleski broke out of his shell as a defensive specialist, scoring Vancouver's third goal while shorthanded in the first quarter on the way to an 8-5 win over the Minnesota Swarm.
"We had a packed house and it was a good atmosphere," said the six-foot-one, 205-pound Moleski. "It's a nice-sized lacrosse rink and it's nice to see Vancouver get lacrosse again. We pretty well sold it out and hopefully that's a sign of things to come.
"We have a solid team and Vancouver likes their winners. The key to bringing in fans is to win. I was going to pack it in after last year but now that Vancouver has a team it makes my life a lot easier."
The Stealth offence is led by Rhys Duch, the NLL's top goal scorer in 2013, while veteran goalie Tyler Richards is a tower of strength in net. Richards made 45 saves in the win over Minnesota, which outshot the Stealth 50-33 on Saturday.
The Stealth have added the Gajic brothers, Iliya and Alex, who leads the team with nine assists. Both played for Colorado last year. Forward Tyler Rigby is another difference-maker on offence for Vancouver. Picked 20th in the NLL draft, the six-foot-three, 230-pound native of New Westminster was also selected in the fourth round of the Canadian Football League draft by the expansion Ottawa RedBlacks, having played lacrosse and football (as a tight end) at Robert Morris University in Pittsburgh. Rigby scored three goals in his NLL debut in Colorado.
"He's big, he's got a pretty nice touch and he's not slow on his feet at all," said Moleski. "He works real well with our go-to guy, Rhys Duch, the best offensive guy in the league."
Vancouver is at home tonight against the Colorado Mammoth, which beat the Stealth 13-12 two weekends ago in Denver. On Sunday, the Stealth will be in Calgary to face the Roughnecks, the team which drafted Moleski from the Prince George Posse junior ranks in 2003.
The move to Langley has cut Moleski's travel time to home games in half. He's now a one-hour flight away from his teammates. Moleski is an avid runner who stays in shape in the off-season working out regularly at the Northern Sport Centre. The NLL reduced the roster size for each team from 18 to 16, which Moleski says has made a noticeable difference.
"You have to be in shape and I find myself getting into the rush more because guys are getting tired, so it's pretty handy if you can kind of play both ends," he said. "To play in the league you have to be real good at one end or the other, but helps if you're good in one end and alright in the other."
Moleski broke into the league as a practice roster player in 2004 and played five seasons for the Roughnecks before he was traded to Everett for a first-round draft pick in 2010. The Stealth lost to the Rochester Nighthawks in the 2013 NLL final in May, a game played at the Langley Events Centre because their home arena in Everett was already booked. Moleski won the Champions Cup title with Calgary in 2009 and has played in the NLL final in three of the last five seasons. The Stealth has been NLL finalists three of the past four years.
Moleski loves playing in Calgary and he's looking forward to Sunday's game.
"We knocked them out of the conference finals two of the last three years so I don't mind sticking it to them," he said.
All NLL games are webcast live on YouTube. Tonight's game from Langley starts at 8 p.m. PST.
