Brandonites head to Halifax for lacrosse nationals

A couple of Wheat City Wranglers are bound for the Minor Box Lacrosse Nationals in Halifax next week.

Jill Hatcher and Vaughn McLeod will represent Brandon as part of team Saskatchewan and Manitoba respectively.

McLeod is a member of the under-17 boys’ team that will go compete in Halifax. The squad has practised together since June in the hopes of vying for a medal at nationals.

“We are coming together pretty good,” said McLeod. “We started off with a lot of guys not knowing each other. It’s a fairly new team with a lot of younger guys, but I’d say we’ve come along fairly well and everybody on the team likes each other.”

McLeod is a veteran when it comes to playing at the national level. Last year, he attended the Canada Summer Games as a member of Team Manitoba.

The team went 3-1 in round-robin play finishing second in their group. Their only loss coming at the hands of Team Saskatchewan.

Ultimately, Team Manitoba secured a fifth-place finish at the Canada Games by beating Team Quebec 7-6 in their final match. McLeod picked up an assist on the team’s third goal of the contest.

He’s also been to Halifax for lacrosse before. In preparation for the Canada Games, McLeod and Team Manitoba played a few games in the city before moving on to St. John’s, N.L. for the tournament.

“(Halifax) is a very nice city and I’m excited to be there,” said McLeod. “Travelling is one of the perks of playing on a high-level team. Getting to go across Canada and visit all these places is always super fun, but the best part is always the lacrosse.”

Though the experience was good, it left McLeod and his teammates on the outside looking in when it came to medal games. This year, he hopes to change that.

“One of my goals is to win a medal,” said McLeod. “Just be the best player I can and help my team succeed.”

On the court, McLeod drives offensive play through his playmaking ability. He enjoys setting his teammates up for success more than finding the back of the net himself. As long as the team is producing, he’s happy to let the goals go to whomever, though of course, getting the chance to put a few in himself is always a bonus.

His unselfish attitude extends beyond the court. As a Brandonite, McLeod travels two-plus hours to and from practices in Winnipeg. Not only is the drive long, but he makes it four to five times a week depending on the team’s schedule. McLeod will often drive into Winnipeg, attend practice and then crash at a teammates house for the evening. He says he’s gotten used to it over the last five years.

“It’s gotten a lot easier driving to Winnipeg. It goes by a lot faster now,” said McLeod. “Still, it sucks being away from home, but it’s worth it to be with the guys.”

Heading into the tournament in Halifax, McLeod feels he has developed his skills this summer while also learning a bit about what it takes to be a leader. With national experience under his belt and an appreciation for what it takes to succeed, he’s focused on learning how to pick his team up to make the team around him better.

“My maturity has grown,” said McLeod. “I think I became a better teammate over the summer … I think I’ve become a better teammate and more positive.”

The under-17 men’s team will play their first game at nationals on Tuesday at 2 p.m. against Nova Scotia. The next day they take on Prince Edward Island at 10 a.m., followed by a long break before playing British Columbia at 6 p.m.

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Brandon’s Jill Hatcher is another young lacrosse talent competing in Halifax. Unlike McLeod, she will not be playing for Manitoba but for Saskatchewan.

In January, Hatcher inquired whether Manitoba would field a team at the under-15 girls’ level at nationals. She was informed that for the second-year running, there was no plan for Manitoba to compete.

Taking her career into her own hands, Hatcher asked for her player rights to be released from Manitoba — a step that needed to be ratified by all 10 provinces and Lacrosse Canada in order to be approved. Once approved, she set her sights on making Team Saskatchewan.

“So, we went out to tryouts … and I ended up making the team,” said Hatcher.

As a member of Team Saskatchewan, Hatcher travels on weekends to Regina or Saskatoon for practices. Luckily, the team only practices on weekends, making it much easier for her to attend.

“They do three intensive practices a weekend,” said Hatcher. “We do two (practices) on Saturday and one on Sunday so everyone can get home on time and not be driving home at midnight.”

An all-round player, Hatcher prides herself on being useful everywhere on the court. She thrives offensively and defensively using her diverse skillset to impact the play. She is also one of two players who tend to take faceoffs for Team Saskatchewan.

“I don’t like to specifically focus on one thing,” said Hatcher. “It’s really good for a player to have all of those skills and it makes you a more valuable player the more skills that you have.”

At the end of July, Hatcher and the rest of Team Saskatchewan competed at the 2026 Prairie Cup Regional Championship in Red Deer Alta. where they went 1-1-1 in the round-robin to finish second in the group. That bought them a ticket to the gold-medal match against Alberta North on the final day.

Alberta North wound up winning the hard-fought contest 4-3. While taking home silver was bittersweet, Hatcher felt the team improved greatly.

“It taught us to work as a team more,” said Hatcher. “We definitely learned a lot about the fact that we can’t just take the ball up all by ourselves because we are going to be gassed if we do.”

Evidence suggests Hatcher’s optimism is well placed. At the Prairie Cup, Team Saskatchewan lost its opening match against Alberta North 9-1 compared to a 4-3 finish in the gold-medal match. If the score reflects the game that is vast improvement on the side of Team Saskatchewan.

While Hatcher is looking forward to competing at nationals, she is also excited to return to an event that she missed last season because Manitoba did not send a team.

“(I’m looking forward to) being able to play all the teams that I haven’t played in a while,” said Hatcher. “I just mostly like playing all the different teams and getting to know some of the girls from different provinces.”

Team Saskatchewan kicks of nationals with a matchup against Nova Scotia on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m.

The following day they play Ontario at 10 a.m. and the First Nations Lacrosse Association at 3 p.m.

On Thursday, Aug. 13 they play New Brunswick at 8:30 a.m. followed by Manitoba at 3:30 p.m.

That will be a big game for Hatcher who will play against many of her teammates from years past. After she was released, Manitoba decided to field a team, but honoured the fact that it had already released Hatcher’s player rights.

On Friday, Saskatchewan will play British Columbia at 8:30 a.m.

» rmccarthy@brandonsun.com