Jeff Moleski is living proof kids from Prince George can go on to play professional lacrosse.
With eight games left in his ninth full season in the National Lacrosse League, the 32-year-old Moleski is now playing the pro game in his home province as a member of the Vancouver Stealth.
On Sunday from noon-4 p.m. at Pine Centre Mall Rec Mart, Moleski will be on hand with Stealth president and general manager Doug Locker and Stealth defenceman Mike Grimes to encourage kids to join the Prince George Minor Lacrosse Association and talk about what it took for them to make the jump to the pro game.
"It's a good way to build lacrosse in Prince George and the surrounding area and we can kind of let B.C. know that we have a professional lacrosse team in Vancouver, so it's a win-win situation," said Moleski. "It's good for Prince George to know that this isn't the Lower Mainland or Ontario lacrosse hotbed, but you can go somewhere with it."
The Stealth moved to Langley this season after several years based in Everett, Wash. The team is averaging about 4,000 fans in a 5,000-seat Langley Events Centre.
"It's a great atmosphere and it's loud in there and I think it's just going to keep growing," said Moleski. "I think Langley was the right move. It's the right sized arena and hopefully we can get on a winning streak."
After starting out with two wins in their first three games, the Stealth have lost five of their last six to drop into last place in the West Division. They are now in the middle of three-week break and won't play again until next Saturday, when they travel to Edmonton to take on the first-place Rush.
"We've been on a bad streak here, we've lost some close games and also lost some bad ones, so this is a break we really need," said Moleski. "Hopefully we can come back refreshed. We're missing a couple key guys."
Stealth captain and defenceman Kyle Sorensen, who was originally supposed to make the trip to Prince George this weekend, just had knee surgery and is out four-to-six weeks, while defenceman Chris O'Dougherty is also on the mend after ankle surgery that's expected to keep him on the shelf at least a month. The Stealth have signed three new players, including left-handed forward Jamie Lincoln, a 27-goal scorer for Colorado two seasons ago; defenceman Brad Richardson, a two-time Mann Cup winner with Peterborough who played for the Colorado Mammoth; and former Toronto Rock defenceman Bradley Kiri.
"It's no secret what we're lacking right now is a left-handed offensive guy and hopefully [Lincoln] will fill that position," said Moleski, a defensive specialist who has two goals and five assists in nine games
The Stealth will have payback on their minds when they reassemble next weekend in Edmonton. When they played the Rush on Jan. 25, the Stealth built a 7-3 lead and ended up losing 9-8. Moleski missed that game with an ankle injury.
Moleski is the father of two young boys, Jackson, 6, and Hunter, 5, who will be playing minor lacrosse for the first time this season. He says he'll try to help out with coaching their team when his work schedule at Terasen allows it.
"We've been throwing the ball around the yard," said Moleski. "It's going to be interesting to watch them play and see how they perform in certain situations."
