St. Albert Catholic High School graduate Jackson Ganton was one of 97 lacrosse players from across North America to see their name be called during this year's National Lacrosse League entry draft earlier this month.
Ganton, a defenceman, was selected in the sixth round by the Philadelphia Wings.
Along with Ganton, another player from this past season's Edmonton Miners Junior A lacrosse team was also selected in the NLL draft, Briley Maxwell.
Maxwell, of Edmonton, was selected in the fifth round by the Halifax Thunderbirds.
Former Miners' team captain Bennett Smith, also of Edmonton, was taken in the first round 11th overall by the Calgary Roughnecks.
The Miners' season came to an end in August with a trip to the Minto Cup, an uber-prestigious tournament with a 122-year history that the Miners qualified for by being crowned Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League (RMLL) champions in early August.
Despite making history the year before by being the first Alberta-based team to play in the Minto Cup finals, the Miners weren't as successful this year as they suffered a semi-final loss to the Coquitlam Adanacs.
Ganton registered one goal through four Minto Cup games this year, and Maxwell, a forward, put up three goals and eight assists.
In regular season play, Ganton scored three goals and earned two assists in 13 games while Maxwell put up 14 goals and 26 assists.
Prior to the Miners' season starting in July, Ganton played for the Langley, B.C. based Shooting Eagles Lacrosse Club, a team in the west division of the Arena Lacrosse League, which is considered a semi-professional development league below the NLL.
In his first season with the Shooting Eagles, Ganton scored one goal and seven assists in 14 regular season games before helping his team squeak out a league championship over the Sea Spray Lacrosse Club, which is also based out of Langley, B.C.
Prior to his Junior and Semi-Pro lacrosse career, Ganton played minor lacrosse with the St. Albert Rams, football with the St. Albert Catholic High School Skyhawks, and hockey with the St. Albert Raiders.
Ganton still plays football as he's listed on the Edmonton Huskies roster as a defensive back, however the last game he played in was in mid-August. The Huskies play in the Canadian Junior Football League, an amateur league with teams in five provinces.
The 2023-2024 NLL season will start to gear up next month when teams begin training camp, and Ganton and the Philadelphia Wings will play their season opener on Dec. 2 when the Wings head to New York City to take on the Riptide.
The Gazette was unable to reach Ganton for an interview.
