It takes but one conversation or one minute of action to see the toughness.
To hear Okotoks Marauders captain Kaleb Burnett go through his laundry list of injuries and see him back on the floor for his final season with the Junior B outfit is a testament to the resolve of perhaps the biggest presence on the best squad in franchise history.
“Third year I played three games, dislocated my knee cap, came back for three games and tore my ACL and I was done,” Burnett said. “Before last year started I hurt my foot snowmobiling and was out for the year.”
Somewhat miraculously, given the history, the Nanton native entered his fifth and final season of junior eligibility in health – relatively speaking anyway.
“I still have to get my foot taped up every practice and game,” he said. “My ACL is gone, I’m going to have surgery on it where the knee brace is. I’ve got torn muscles on my back, done stuff to my shoulders. Everything hurts.
“Ever since I hurt myself playing Bantam hockey I’ve been hurt or sore. I can’t remember the last time I played a game where I wasn’t sore.”
Injuries are the cost of doing business as a take-no-prisoners, physical defensive force in lacrosse and during his tenure on the ice with the High River Jr. B Bisons.
He returned to the squad with a C stitched onto his jersey.
“Playing with the Flyers in Junior B my team captain (Eli Gosselin) died,” Burnett said. “That meant a lot getting the C and having the C for the first time in my life is pretty cool.”
Burnett shares back-end duties with a group made up almost entirely of rookies and sophomores in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League.
“I’m doing my best to help lead the defence out there and help them improve when I can,” he said. “It has been a blast having those guys kind of lean on me as well. If I see something that needs to be corrected I will point things out.
“But even the rookies point stuff out to me, they’re great, they’re pretty smart back there.”
The numbers paint a similar picture.
Boasting a rookie-laden roster Okotoks eclipsed its franchise wins mark, at six, with a dominant 14-5 victory over the Rockyview Silvertips on June 8 at the Murray Arena.
Speedster Cody Bomersine led the way with a four goal, six point effort while rookie Rylee Lapierre scored a pair and freshman defender John Stephen notched his first of the season.
“We’ve got really skilled rookies come out for us, we’ve got second and third years who’ve stepped up hard,” Burnett said. “The fourth years have really stepped up as well and it’s just a full team effort. We don’t have any individuals, we’re playing as a solid unit.”
The Marauders (6-4-1) get back on the floor June 16 to take on the visiting Manitoba Blizz. Opening face-off is 8 p.m. Okotoks wraps up the weekend with a road tilt on June 17 versus the Fort Saskatchewan Rebels.
For full schedule information go to rockymountainlax.com
