Victoria, BC – With under a month to go until the Victoria Shamrocks’ 70th home opener on May 24th, the club is excited to announce the return of Matt Yager, Jesse King, Ben McCullough, Tyler Burton, and Tyson Gibson to the roster, as well as the signing of 2018 draftee Cole Pickup.

“Yager, King, and McCullough are three key veteran players for us and part of our leadership group,” said General Manager Chris Welch. “It’s great to bring Burton back into the mix, as well as a strong second-year player in Tyson Gibson, who is showing everyone he is a future superstar in the game. Pickup will be making his long-awaited debut as an official Senior A Shamrock, and all these things are just building the excitement and anticipation for all of us as the season gets closer.”

Matt Yager enters his second year as Captain of the green and white, coming into his tenth full season with the club. The 5′ 11″ defenseman from Victoria brings leadership and strong defense to the floor every game.

Jesse King coming into his second year as Assistant Captain is a threat to score every time he steps on the concrete. With 93 points in 17 regular season games in 2018, the 6′ 3″ righty also from Victoria is coming into his sixth full season with the Shamrocks.

Ben McCullough defines the gritty defender in box lacrosse today; the 5′ 10″ righty originally from Brampton, Ontario but now calling Victoria home has been with the Shamrocks since 2011 and puts all 195 lbs of his frame into defense.

Tyler Burton returns to the Shamrocks after a year off, but it would be a mistake for any opponents to not take the 6′ 1″, 220 lb defender originally from London, Ontario seriously. Now calling Victoria home, Burton has been in game shape all NLL season with Calgary, winning 51% of his faceoffs.

Tyson Gibson makes his return to Shamrock nation after a stellar 2018 campaign, his first with the club, saw him put up 47 points in 15 regular season games. The 6′ 1″ right-handed attacker from Scarborough, Ontario also contributed 33 points in 10 post-season games last year.

Cole Pickup is set to make his return to the WLA this season. After appearing as a call-up during the ‘Rocks 2015, 2016, and 2017 campaigns, he was drafted by the club in the 2018 graduating junior player draft but could not appear due to college commitments. But now, the 6’ 0″ lefty from Victoria is all set to step back on the concrete and demonstrate why he was voted to the BC Junior A all-star team three years running (2014 – 2016).

“I’m excited to see our guys coming back from last season,” said President Jim Hartshorne, “and I’m really excited to see about the guys we’re announcing in the coming days; our fans should be very excited about how things are shaping up.”