Brady Gamble can’t get enough time at the rink. Best known as a defenceman with his hometown Lloydminster Bobcats of the Alberta Junior Hockey League, Gamble’s off-season is filled with lacrosse.
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He’s an assistant captain and a worthy competitor with the Lloydminster Xtreme, which just last weekend repeated as North Division champions in the junior B Tier 2 division of the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League.
“I think it’s just for the love of the game,” Gamble, 19, said Sunday evening after the Xtreme’s title-clinching 9-4 victory over the St. Albert Crude.
“I love to compete against people. I love the sport of lacrosse. It’s rough, it’s hard. You score goals, lots of goals, and it’s just so fun. That’s what keeps me going.”
Gamble and the Xtreme are going to host provincials this weekend. They survived a push from St. Albert, which won 8-7 earlier Sunday to force a third and deciding game in the North final.
“I think it was just our heart,” Gamble said about Lloyd’s efforts to finish the job. “Like, the will to win a loose-ball battle, the will to get it back and the will to come back after a loss like that and win.”
While he’s a gentleman off the floor, and the ice, Gamble is relentless in his defensive diligence in the heat of battle. That competitive spirit was alive and well on the weekend as he blanketed Brandon McNalley, the league scoring champion in back-to-back seasons. Trying to fight back Sunday, the Crude placed their 118-point man high in the offensive zone, but Gamble and company stuck with McNalley step-for-step and limited his opportunities and effectiveness.
“For him to lock down McNalley like that (was critical),” Xtreme coach Graham Murray said about Gamble. “I mean, (McNalley is) a 100-point guy, but I think he gets a little soft when he gets challenged like that, and tonight was a perfect example.”
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Gamble’s clinical defensive work illustrated his contributions to the Xtreme.
“Brady is the best defender in the league,” Murray said. “It’s not even a question who’s the best defender in the league. His tenacity, his pace, loose balls, everything. I can’t say enough great things about Brady. He’s our heartbeat back there. Without him scooping up loose balls, the series probably looks different, as well.”
This lacrosse season has been somewhat different for Gamble as his teammates no longer include older brother Ryker, who graduated last year after his standout goaltending helped Lloydminster win the provincial championship.
“It is a little different, but we still have had a real good goalie around in Jackson (Bennett), who we got at the trade deadline,” Gamble said. “He’s really helped us out. It’s different, but we’re still going on strong.”
After this weekend’s best-of-three series between the Xtreme and Calgary Wranglers, Gamble moves one step closer to hockey and the junior A Bobcats’ training camp.
“It’s been pretty good,” he said about his summer training. “I’ve been on the ice quite a bit, maybe four times a week, so I’m still keeping up with that.
“Yeah, (the Bobcats) are pulling in a lot of local guys, so that’ll be good.”
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