The Washington Stealth has quietly crossed the 49th parallel.
And Jeff Moleski couldn't be happier, knowing he'll be playing pro lacrosse next season in his home province as a member of the Vancouver Stealth.
While he feels bad for the people of Everett, Wash., who supported the team and helped it reach the National Lacrosse League final in three of the past four seasons, Moleski is thinking about how much better his travel schedule will be now that the team has relocated to Langley.
Instead of having to fly from his home in Prince George to Vancouver, then renting a car to take him another 2 1/2 hours down the highway to Everett, Moleski can avoid the long border lineups and stay put in his own country.
"It's unfortunate for Washington, but for me personally it's a good move, I was pretty excited about it," said Moleski, a 31-year-old native of Prince George. "It kind of cuts my travel in half. This is what I've wanted since I started playing in the league, for Vancouver to start up a team. It's one quick flight and I can take the first flight home in the morning [after a game] and be home by eight in the morning. I might even be able to take a late flight home right after the game."
Moleski and the Stealth lost in the NLL final to the Rochester Nighthawks 11-10 in May, a game played at the Langley Events Centre because their home arena in Everett was already booked. The Stealth will play home games next season in the Events Centre, which has a seating capacity of 5,276. The team had the league's lowest attendance in 2013 averaging 4,184 per game.
The Stealth will be the fourth NLL team based on Canada, joining the Calgary Roughnecks, Edmonton Rush and Toronto Rock. Vancouver lost its NLL franchise in December 2004, after three seasons in the league, when the Vancouver Ravens folded due to management issues.
The announcement of the team's move on Wednesday was enough to convince Moleski to shelve his plans to retire from the NLL after 10 seasons. He would love to get his hands again on the Champions Cup, having won it as a member of the Calgary Roughnecks in 2009. Moleski has played in the NLL final in three of the last five seasons, having been traded to the Stealth in 2010.
"I'm going to play another year," he said Friday. "We still have to sign a new collective bargaining agreement. I think they've only talked once so far and it was pretty positive. I'm not sure what's going to happen there."
Moleski works full-time as an installer for FortisBC and is a husband and the father of two young boys. With him always away from his family on weekends during lacrosse season, that was his motivation to retire from the game. Now he's more likely to bring his family with him.
"My in-laws live in Victoria and they really enjoy watching, so they'll probably come to most of the games in Vancouver," said Moleski, an NLL all-star defenceman in 2009. "My wife and kids will make quite a few trips and will get to visit grandma and grandpa lots."
