Pro Lacrosse fans – get excited. There will 38 lacrosse games played across 23 days starting in just two weeks! Pro Lacrosse Talk contributor and Quick Stick host Nicole Weaving recaps all the pro lacrosse news from the week including MLL’s return to play, the PLL releasing each team’s 22-man rosters for the PLL Championship Series and the NLL announcing its annual award winners including Shayne Jackson’s MVP award.
MLL Announces 2020 Season
Major League Lacrosse has finally announced its plan to return in 2020. The MLL will kicks off its 20th anniversary season in Annapolis on July 18th. The regular season will be played over the course of a week with all teams facing each other once to decide the Top 4 seeds. Those teams that make the cut will do battle in the semis with the winners playing in the championship on July 26th. The league also announced the games will be available on ESPN+ with a to-be-determined number of games appearing on ESPN’s family of networks.
PLL Rosters Released
Once the MLL is finished, the PLL Championship Series begins. We now know the official 22-man rosters for each team.
NLL Awards Announced
The annual NLL Awards have come and gone with 11 winners announced on Tuesday. The Georgia Swarm’s Shayne Jackson earned the coveted title of MVP after ranking top 5 in goals, assists and points during the shortened season. Graham Hossack took home Defensive Player of the Year honors for the third year in row while Paul Day won both GM and Coach of the Year after leading a 4-14 Philadelphia Wings team to a winning record in 2020.
NLL Compensatory Draft Picks
The NLL also released a list of the compensatory draft picks this week ahead of the 2020 NLL Entry Draft. These are extra picks teams earned as a result of losing players to unrestricted free agency. The San Diego Seals were issued the most draft picks with an extra selection in each of the first three rounds. The Colorado Mammoth, Philadelphia Wings, New England Black Wolves and Saskatchewan Rush were awarded two picks while the Calgary Roughnecks received one.
PLL Extensions and an NLL Trade
Ryder Garnsey signed an extension with the Redwoods on Wednesday while the Chaos’ Jarrod Neuman penned a new contract through 2022 on Friday. The New York Riptide also acquired Dereck Downs from the Calgary Roughnecks in exchange for a 3rd round pick in the 2020 Entry Draft.
Don’t forget to listen to the Pro Lacrosse Talk Podcast. This week’s episodes feature the Currier brothers, Zach and Josh, who discuss playing against each other in the NLL and facing each other in the upcoming PLL Championship Series and former two-time MLL Champion and MLL MVP goalie Greg Cattrano. Plus, Pro Lacrosse Talk is launching a newsletter featuring each week’s episode of the Quick Stick and our digital content you don’t want to miss.
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