There is a lot of attention surrounding Cash Frijters right now.

Watch the Raiders Lacrosse Club forward play at the 2026 Minto Cup and it isn’t difficult to understand why.

The confidence is there. The vision is there. The production is there. And then there are the moments where Frijters seems willing to try something that most players simply wouldn’t.

One of those moments has already produced a highlight-reel goal at this year’s Minto Cup, putting Frijters’ creativity on display on the biggest stage in Canadian Junior A lacrosse.

But for those who have followed the Raiders and Junior A lacrosse in Alberta over the last few years, this isn’t exactly a player coming out of nowhere.

The rest of the country may be taking notice now.

It Started at 16

Frijters was only 16 years old when he established himself as one of the most intriguing young players in Alberta Junior A lacrosse.

Playing against athletes several years older than him in 2024, Frijters didn’t look out of place. Far from it.

He became an important part of a remarkably young Raiders team that eventually captured the Alberta championship and earned a trip to the 2024 Minto Cup.

And when the games became more important, his production only increased.

Frijters finished the 2024 RMLL playoffs with 45 points, including a league-leading 34 assists, tying teammate Dylan Belliveau for the playoff scoring lead.

The Raiders needed all of it.

After taking a 2-0 series lead in the RMLL Final, they watched the Miners respond with three consecutive victories. Suddenly, a young Raiders team was one loss away from elimination.

They won Games 6 and 7.

Frijters and Belliveau were at the centre of the offensive effort, combining for 90 points over 11 playoff games as the Raiders punched their ticket to the national championship.

At 16, Frijters was already demonstrating the traits that have become the defining characteristics of his game: confidence, composure, vision and creativity.

Learning on the National Stage

That 2024 Minto Cup was a difficult introduction to the highest level of Junior A lacrosse.

The Raiders entered as the youngest team in the tournament and were tasked with facing some of the best Junior A programs and players in Canada.

They didn’t advance, but for a young core that wasn’t anywhere close to the end of its Junior A window, simply getting there mattered.

Frijters experienced first-hand the speed, physicality and defensive quality required at the national championship.

Even during a difficult tournament for Alberta, there were flashes.

Against the Port Coquitlam Saints, Frijters was named the Raiders’ Player of the Game.

Two years later, he isn’t arriving at the Minto Cup simply to gain experience.

He’s arriving as one of the players opponents have to account for.

From Prospect to RMJALL MVP

The progression since that first trip to the Minto has been substantial.

Frijters has gone from being an exciting 16-year-old prospect to becoming one of the premier offensive players in Alberta Junior A lacrosse.

His 2026 season culminated in being named the RMJALL Most Valuable Player and a First Team All-Star.

And the evolution of his game goes beyond simply producing points.

The passing ability that immediately made him dangerous remains one of his greatest weapons, but Frijters has become increasingly capable of creating his own offence.

That creates a difficult decision for defenders.

Pressure him aggressively and he has the vision to find the player you’ve left open.

Protect the passing lane and he’s capable of attacking himself.

Give him time and space and he’ll find a way to use it.

Sometimes, he’ll find an option nobody else saw.

Creativity on Display at the Minto Cup

Perhaps no moment has better captured that ability than one of Frijters’ goals at the 2026 Minto Cup.

It was the kind of play destined for a highlight reel — and one that demonstrated the confidence Frijters now plays with.

WATCH: Cash Frijters’ highlight-reel goal at the 2026 Minto Cup (provided by HNLive)

After the game, Frijters was asked about that creativity and how he comes up with plays like it.

His explanation was considerably simpler than the plays themselves.

Frijters explained that he essentially goes onto the floor and has fun with the game. He also credited the teammates he has played alongside for helping him learn how to be creative and develop that part of his game.

It’s an interesting answer because it matches what you see when he has the ball.

Frijters doesn’t play like someone afraid of making a mistake.

There is freedom to his game.

He’ll attempt the unexpected pass. He’ll attack from an unusual angle. When the original play disappears, he’s comfortable improvising and trying to create another one.

Built for Box Lacrosse

His game seems almost tailor-made for the confined spaces of the box.

Frijters isn’t dependent on physically overpowering defenders to create offence.

He uses quick hands, deception, vision and anticipation.

He sees passing lanes developing and has the confidence to put the ball through them.

He can manipulate defenders into committing before finding the space they’ve vacated.

And as his scoring ability has developed, simply taking away his passing options is becoming less and less effective.

That unpredictability is what makes him so difficult to defend.

You might know what Frijters wants to do.

Knowing what he’s actually going to do is another matter entirely.

The Next Step is Already Waiting

Frijters’ development hasn’t gone unnoticed outside the box game either.

The Calgary product has committed to the University of Delaware, where he will take his offensive skill set to NCAA field lacrosse.

It’s not difficult to see why his game translates.

The quick decision-making required in box lacrosse, the ability to operate in traffic, his vision as a distributor and the creativity he’s developed with the ball are all qualities that can carry into the field game.

The Spotlight is Getting Brighter

That’s perhaps what makes the attention surrounding Frijters at this Minto Cup so interesting.

This doesn’t feel like the beginning of the story.

It feels like the moment a much larger audience has started paying attention to it.

The Raiders saw the potential when he was a teenager entering Junior A.

Alberta watched him become one of the league’s premier distributors.

He gained his first experience against Canada’s best at the Minto Cup.

He kept developing.

And in 2026, he entered the national championship as the reigning RMJALL MVP with considerably greater expectations than the 16-year-old who made the trip two years earlier.

Now we’re seeing the creativity, confidence and offensive instincts that made Frijters such an intriguing prospect in the first place coming together on the national stage.

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