(TORONTO, ON) November 24, 2023 — The Toronto Beaches today announced that the organization has agreed to an affiliate partnership with the Nepean Knights.
“We are absolutely thrilled to announce our exciting partnership with the Nepean Knights Jr B Lacrosse team. This partnership is a testament to our shared commitment to the growth of lacrosse and the development of young athletes,” Beaches General Manager Reid Acton said of the partnership. “We are excited for an incredible journey as we join forces to elevate the game to new heights, showcasing the best of Toronto Beaches and Nepean Knights lacrosse!”
“I’m fired up for some of our Nepean boys to play Jr A with Beaches and join a first-class organization. This will be a successful partnership,” Nepean President and Head Coach Matt Firth said.
The Beaches have served as a home to several players from the Ottawa area over the past 30 years. Most recently, NLL draftees Curtis Conley (2020 third-round pick), Cam Wyers (2022 first-round pick), Sam Firth (2020 third-round pick), and Will Johnston (2021 third-round pick) graduated from junior lacrosse as members of the Beaches organization.
The Beaches currently have two players on their roster who hail from the Nepean system. The organization drafted Willem Firth with the third overall selection in the 2021 OJLL Draft while defender Josh Sweet joined the team midway through the 2023 season.
At 19 years old, Firth has already cemented himself as one of the best players in Beaches franchise history. The lefty forward has finished with two straight seasons of at least 50 goals and 100 points, earning the OJLL’s Green Gael Award in 2022 as the league’s Most Valuable Player.
With 63 career games in blue and yellow under his belt, Firth has 148 goals and 159 assists for 307 points.
Sweet appeared in seven games for the Beaches during the 2023 season, playing out of the back gate while also taking face-offs. He had three points while taking just a single penalty.
Nepean has a rich history in lacrosse, becoming one of the best centres in the province of Ontario to produce lacrosse talent. The Jr B Knights started play in 1993 and have been a constant in the league since, making the playoffs regularly over their tenure in the OJBLL.
The last two summers, the Knights have finished as the first seed in the OJBLL’s Eastern Conference. They claimed their first-ever Ontario Championship in 2022, making it to the Founders Cup in Brampton, where they overcame the Coquitlam Adanacs to capture the Junior B National Championship.
The organization originally spent time as a Junior C franchise in 1975 and 1976 – then called the Lumberjacks. In 2019, Nepean was once again awarded a Junior C franchise, allowing the Knights to further their pipeline to produce talent from the Ottawa area.
“It’s no secret the strength of the Nepean organization. They have been an integral part of the past couple of National Championships,” Beaches Head Coach Reilly O’Connor said. “We are very excited about this partnership and looking forward to welcoming a solid core of Nepean boys to the Beach this summer.”
Following a 2023 season that saw the team go 12-8, the Beaches will return to action in May of 2024. The organization is extremely excited for the new year and our return home to Ted Reeve Arena.
We look forward to seeing our Beaches Family back in The Sand Box in the New Year.