NLL Insider

There is just over a week left until the season kicks off and I could not be more excited. The NLL has really come into its own over the past few years and I think the league is headed in the right direction both on and off the floor.

Yes, there have been some bumps along the way. Spandex shorts (yikes), Toronto turning the game into a slow-footed slugfest around the turn of the century and, of course, those nagging labor issues. However, everything occurs for a reason and I like what is happening now in the NLL.

Spandex is so long gone that most of you probably don’t even remember the snug fitting shorts that roamed the floors in the early ‘90s, Toronto’s form of pure offense-defense substituting has melted down bringing transition back into the game and perhaps most importantly, everything seems to be in place with a long term deal between the players and the league to ensure quality lacrosse for years to come.

I have been involved in this league since 1994 when I was a rookie in Buffalo. My inaugural game in the NLL (MILL then) was the first time I saw box lacrosse played, I got paid about $150 and wore spandex. Back then everyone played at both ends of the floor and there were only rumblings about a players union. NLL head coaches Darris Kilgour, Troy Cordingly and Bob Hamley were all on that Bandits team as were the legends, John Tavares and Jim Veltman. It was a young, fun league and we all had no idea what the future would bring.

Much has transpired since then and it all adds up to what I believe is the dawn of a truly great professional sports league. As I said at the top, I could not be more excited …..

My thoughts on this season?

Dan Dawson. Lewis Ratcliff already gave DD some love, I am going to give him a bit more. If you are a true NLL fan you know who this is and what he means to the Portland LumberJax. If you are a fan of field lacrosse and have not yet dialed in to the NLL scene, this is a guy you should be watching. Dan is a scorer, plain and simple. He is a right-handed John Grant Jr. Not in style, but in production. For the past two seasons, as much as I hated seeing him score on the Jax, I could not help but enjoy watching him play.

This year I don’t have to worry about that as Mr. Dawson is now with the LumberJax. With the talent from Arizona being redistributed around the NLL there is no question that the quality of play this winter will be stronger than ever but I think Portland profited the most in landing both Dawson and Derek Malawsky. Between them they bring 67 goals to the lowest scoring team in the league and that should really open up the floor for guys like Ryan Powell, Scott Stewart, Peter Morgan and Spencer Martin. There will be a ton of tight games in the NLL this winter and adding some much needed scoring punch could give the LumberJax just what they need to get back on top in the West.

My ’94 Bandits proved that even when you are real good, there can still be a team out there with more talent (the Wings had Gait, Gait, Eliuk, Finneran, Marachek et al and crushed us in the finals) so I am not going to guarantee a title for the LumberJax. However I know Dan Dawson’s star will continue to rise and I promise you the Portland LumberJax will do better than Shanny’s last in the West pick.

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