Warriors Roll Deep to the Mann Cup on September 5
Published on August 29, 2025 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Vancouver Warriors News Release
The Vancouver Warriors will have a strong presence at this year's Mann Cup, with several players with the New Westminster Salmonbellies.
The Salmonbellies finished second in the WLA regular season, posting a 14-4 record. In the playoffs, they edged the Victoria Shamrocks 3-1 in a best-of-five opening round, then knocked off the Coquitlam Adanacs by winning four in a row through five games in the best-of-seven series.
Now, the Salmonbellies will host the Mann Cup at Queen's Park Arena, where they'll face the Major Series Lacrosse champions and two-time defending Mann Cup Champions Six Nations Chiefs.
Warriors' captain and New Westminster native, Brett Mydske lives in the community, like many of his Salmonbellies teammates, and takes a lot of pride in putting on the jersey.
"I still live in New West, so anytime I'm playing on that floor, I think back to my childhood, and I remember in the previous Mann Cups played in New West," Mydske said. "You think how special it would be to get a Mann Cup and to be able to win that at home would be truly something special."
Mydske is joined by five other Warriors teammates in the quest for the Cup - forwards Ryan Martel, Marcus Klarich and Ryan Sheridan, and defencemen Jeff Cornwall and Owen Grant. Grant finished his first PLL season with the Boston Cannons and Klarich earned WLA MVP honours with the Maple Ridge Burrards, finishing third in the league in points (72), third in goals (37), and fourth in assists (35). Sheridan was a second team All-Star, putting up 52 points (27-25-52) through 15 games.
While Mydske has anchored the back end for the Salmonbellies throughout the playoffs, Martel tallied four goals and three assists along with winning 16 of 32 faceoffs in four playoff games. Cornwall has played 11 postseason games this season and scored an empty netter in Game 5 of the WLA finals series against Coquitlam.
Warriors' General Manager and Head Coach Curt Malawsky has created a family culture within the organization, and that brotherhood carries over whenever players reunite in summer ball.
Mydske, Martel, Cornwall, Keegan Bal, and Kevin Crowley were part of the Salmonbellies squad that faced Six Nations in the 2023 Mann Cup. That experience has fueled Mydske's determination to get back.
The 37-year-old veteran took last WLA season off to recover from the NLL grind, but knowing this year's Mann Cup would be on the West Coast - and his deep ties to the community and desire to stay sharp on his game in the NLL offseason - it was an easy decision to play.
"I've been thinking about ever since we lost that last game - Game 5 - to have another chance at it," Mydske said. "I'm 37 years old, so don't think I'm going to get too many chances [after this]. I'm definitely going to make sure I do whatever I can to get that Mann Cup.
"I think it's no secret that Six Nations is the team to beat, they've won it the last two years. If you look on paper, they're probably even better this year than they were the last two years."
Going into this Mann Cup, the Salmonbellies have the experience behind them. In 2023, the Bellies lost three games by just one or two goals, falling to the Chiefs in five games.
"We were right there competing with them. I think everybody has a really good feeling going into this year. I think as a team we've become drastically better, and we've been preparing for this moment since 2023," Mydske said.
Part of Mydske's pre-game ritual is walking to the rink three hours before game time. It reminds him how significant the games are and how much a Mann Cup would mean to him and the community.
"It's pretty cool to walk to the rink before games, see people you coach, see family and friends," Mysdke said. "New West is why I started playing lacrosse, so I feel I'm forever indebted to city of New West and while I'm still capable of playing lacrosse I'll still be playing for the Salmonbellies."
The dates and times of the Mann Cup games are as follows:
Game 1: Friday, September 5 - 7:30 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, September 6 - 7:00 p.m.
Game 3: Monday, September 8 - 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: Tuesday, September 9 - 7:30 p.m.
If needed: Game 5: Wednesday Sept 10 - 7:30 p.m., Game 6 Friday September 12 - 7:30 p.m., Game 7 Saturday September 13 - 7:00 p.m.
National Lacrosse League Stories from August 29, 2025
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