For the fourth time in 14 years, the Coquitlam Adanacs are Minto Cup Champions. 

After winning in 2010, 2016, and 2018, the 2024 group finished off a stellar run with a 9-6 victory over the Orangeville Northmen. Cody Malawsky had 4 goals for Coquitlam and was the game MVP, while Jack Kask became the story. He was awarded the tournament MVP award for the 2024 Minto Cup.

In the end, the Adanacs left no doubt. They were the best team in 2024, capping off a year unlike many others. They lost once during the round robin of this 2024 Minto Cup, but went undefeated in the BCJALL playoffs and finished the season with a combined record of 26-4. 

Like the Coquitlam teams that won before them, this group started at the back. While the talk of the tournament was that Kask had another level to find, he found it quickly in the final series. With the MVP award, he finishes off one of the most impressive seasons by a goaltender in summer lacrosse history. 

In a borderline astonishing statistic, Kask allowed 10 or more goals in a game only once this summer, and it was in that unusual Orangeville round robin game with the Northmen reserves. In the final two, he allowed a combined 16 goals, and was the only goaltender this summer to have success against Joey Spallina. He also added three assists in the 2024 Minto Cup.

Kask also plays field lacrosse at Marquette, so NLL fans will have to wait and see him play at the next level. But given the success he has had this summer, is it crazy to think that Kask could be the first player drafted in his class? The highest drafted goaltender I could find was Dillon Ward, who went third overall in 2013. Evan Kirk went 6th in 2011, and Brett Dobson went 11th just two years ago. 

The reality is that most goaltenders go under-drafted because they enter the draft at younger ages, for example Doug Jamieson went 19th, and Christian Del Bianco went 15th. Kasks' performance this week alone should put him in contention to buck that trend. He was the most important player in Canada in 2024. 

In front of Kask was an excellent defense that was well-coached and featured no weak-links. They were particularly successful against Orangeville at forcing ball carriers down the alleys, and having help ready to slide on flip passes. They also took very few penalties, and managed the ball well in transition. 

Ty Banks is the headliner and one of the best junior defenders I have seen. Remo Schenato had an awesome week as well, showing great chemistry with Jaxon Fridge as part of a pairing that held Spallina out of the goal column. Connor Nock had the most unusual summer of any player this year, but capped it off with his third national championship in three years (he won the founders in 2022 and Minto last year).

Up front, Malawsky, Jaxon Dillon, and Noah Manning led the way for a very good Adanacs offence. I wrote before the final game that Manning was an X-factor, and he finished with 13 points in the two-game final series. Ryan Colsey joins a small list of Americans to win the Minto Cup, and looked very comfortable indoors.

Malawsky, Manning, and Colsey played in the final four this year, and now won a Minto Cup. What a year. 

While official attendance numbers were not available, Friday’s game against the Northmen was the biggest crowd I have ever seen at a Junior lacrosse game. The Palace seats around 2,200 people, and there were hundreds more than that in the building. The term “standing room only” implies that there was room to stand, I am not sure that was true Friday.

As my friend Matthew Caruk likes to say, if the fire marshal is reading this, then the crowd was capacity minus one. 

But it was that crowd which separated this Minto from any other that I could remember. “Nacs Nation,” ensured that each game was a spectacle, and the images and videos that will come out of this tournament will live for a long time. 

That juice helped Coquitlam immensely, and I don’t think there was much of a chance they were going to lose once the crowd got going. Just two weeks ago, Orangeville used an incredible home-floor advantage to beat Mimico. In Coquitlam, the Adanacs did the same. 

I was incredibly grateful to be a part of the call, and to witness an incredible display of lacrosse. I will have some more words on that soon. 

But the credit belongs to the Adanacs, their coaches, players, and fans. It takes a village to raise a Minto Cup. 

The Adanacs were worthy champions. In the end, they were the best. 

And with that, the 2024 season is over.