In the first of a string of headlining trades just before Monday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, the Calgary Roughnecks traded goaltender Christian Del Bianco and future considerations to the Vancouver Warriors in exchange for defender Brayden Laity, Vancouver’s first-round selection in the 2025 Entry Draft, their second-round selection in the 2025 Entry Draft, their first-round selection in the 2026 Entry Draft and future considerations.
Calgary’s decision to trade Del Bianco comes after his move to the Hold Out List in November after announcing his intention to focus more on family and his off-the-floor endeavors. From October on, Del Bianco was a free agent, but Calgary maintained his Franchise Tag under the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), meaning he wasn’t able to sign anywhere else.
“With the franchise tag and all those other things we didn’t know when this would get done or if,” said Del Bianco. “This could’ve been a multiple year situation so I’m pretty pumped and excited that I get to play in my home city.”
Del Bianco has spent his entire NLL career as a Roughneck, climbing the ladder from his single-game rookie season to the starting roster, winning a League Championship and earning his slot on the NLL All-League 2nd Team in 2019. He was also named to the All-League 1st Team in 2023 and was named the 2023 Goalie of the Year as well as MVP, making him only the second goalie to win MVP after the Buffalo Bandits’ Steve Dietrich in 2006, and only the third non-forward to win the award.
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The Warriors, having fallen to 11th place in overall League standings following their loss to the San Diego Seals in Week 15, need a new spark on the defensive end to re-energize themselves during the March to May. Tacking on Del Bianco’s championship pedigree could prevent another 12th place finish like last season and lead the team to greater heights. “We feel that [Del Bianco’s] a franchise-changing goalie,” said Vancouver Head Coach Curt Malawsky, crediting Del Bianco’s rebound control, speed in transition, and field IQ for informing their decision. “With his pedigree and his leadership, and his poise in the net, it was something that we just couldn’t pass up on.”
Del Bianco ended the 2023-24 season in good standing, finishing with nearly 1100 minutes played, 192 goals against, 746 saves (second in the League behind Philadelphia’s Zach Higgins’ 213 goals against and 759 saves), and a solid 80% save percentage. For comparison, now in Week 16 with 12 games played, current Vancouver goalkeeper Aden Walsh sits second overall in League goalie stats, averaging 9.95 goals against a game (116 goals against, 428 saves). “Walsh has been doing a great job, statistically, we’d probably look at [goalies] as not an area of need,” Malawsky explained. “We thought this would be more of an off-season summertime deal, but one thing led to another, and we had this opportunity.”
But a trade this big is not without its share of drawbacks. “Unfortunately, we had to let go of a really, really good young player, and a family friend of mine, Brayden Laity.” Malawsky lamented. Laity was signed by the Warriors in the 2023 Entry Draft, but had been playing under Malawsky since he was nine years old. Laity’s family farm, Laity Pumpkin Patch, is also a short drive down the road from the Malawsky residence, where Malawsky’s wife, Gilda, still works every Halloween. “It’s a professional sport, but it’s not just cutting and moving on,” Malawsky explained, noting that the size and interconnected nature of the League makes trades like these all the more heartbreaking. “[Having to trade] a guy who played with my son every second of every year I coached him, it was a very difficult decision in so many ways.”
Since his move to free agency, Del Bianco had been keeping his skills sharp in the Arena Lacrosse League West as the goaltender for Grizzles LC, an experience he described to Inside Lacrosse as a refreshing change of pace: “I think (after) a lot of years, you start to take it for granted, especially when you are paid to play. You come out here, and guys are out here by choice to have fun. The guys are soaking shots. It is a refreshing take on lacrosse for me, so it is definitely contagious.”
The Coquitlam product was originally drafted 15th overall in the 2015 Entry Draft, a selection he later confided as being much earlier than he expected.
“In 2015, I was in my backyard following the draft on Twitter,” Del Bianco explained in a My Draft Day excerpt published by the Roughnecks in 2020. “It was a surprise; I thought I was going two or three picks later to Vancouver.”
Del Bianco and Vancouver head coach Curt Malawsky, also a Coquitlam native, crossed paths many times in the British Columbia Jr. A Lacrosse League before the NLL. Malawsky was the Coquitlam Adanacs Jr. A coach, where he led the Adanacs to the BCJALL league title and won the Minto Cup in 2010. Though he had already relinquished the position by the time Del Bianco was on the roster, Malawsky still contributed to the junior program during that time. Malawsky also finished his NLL career as a Roughneck, ending with a League Championship in 2009.
Del Bianco is expected to debut in black and gold this Friday, March 14, against the Toronto Rock, another decidedly quick turnaround for a newly traded player this season. The new Calgary keeper, Nick Rose, debuted in a similar timeframe against the Colorado Mammoth in Week 14. Despite the quick turnaround, Del Bianco finds that cooler heads prevail during these crucial changes, highlighting growing pains as a natural part of the trade process. “Everyone’s bought in in Vancouver, and if I don’t have my best game day one, I’m not going to lose sleep,” he said. “My goal in this whole situation is to prove my value to the organization over the next 10 seasons and go out there and prove them right.”
Additionally, Del Bianco has also had the opportunity to form relationships with a few members of his new defense outside of the arena, including players like Matt Beers, Steph Charbonneau, and Jeff Cornwall. He’s even made fast friends with his goal scorers, finding a regular workout partner in Keegan Bal. “[Bal’s] on the other side of the floor, but for the last four, five seasons probably, I’ve been working out with [him],” he explained. “It’s hard to find guys who want to practice at 5:30 AM before work, so you tend to stick together.” Del Bianco has also had the opportunity to play with several of Vancouver’s defenders during his time out of a Calgary uniform. He and Reid Bowering met during their time in Juniors and even singled out Tyson Kirkness as one of his best friends. “There’s so many faces that I’ve actually had the opportunity to play with and have a relationship with,” said Del Bianco. “It’s going to be exciting to get on the same page and get the ball rolling right away.”
In other deadline deals, the Warriors also traded rookie Johnathan Peshko and their fourth-round selection in the 2026 Entry Draft to the Ottawa Black Bears in exchange for transition specialist Kiel Matisz and their first and second-round picks in the 2026 Entry Draft. Matisz was then traded to the Buffalo Bandits alongside a fourth-round selection in the 2028 Entry Draft in exchange for Buffalo’s second-round pick in the 2028 Entry Draft.
