This article appears in the April edition of US Lacrosse Magazine. Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

The Major League Lacrosse season begins Saturday. There will be three games that day, beginning with the Charlotte Hounds hosting the Boston Cannons at 4:30 p.m. ET. The league enters a new era in 2018, with a new commissioner for the first time since 2004 and a franchise located in Texas for the first time in league history, but those are only a couple of the storylines to follow in the new season.

How will the new commissioner impact the league?

Alexander “Sandy” Brown was named MLL commissioner Feb. 6. Brown was the president and CEO of One World Sport, and he played lacrosse at Washington and Lee. 

Since Brown was hired, MLL announced the location and format of the 2018 MLL All-Star Game, which will feature the U.S. national team against the rest of the league’s top players at Harvard Stadium on June 28, and that it will host its annual collegiate draft at US Lacrosse on April 18.

MLL coaches believe Brown’s tenure is off to a promising start.

“He wants people’s input,” Cannons coach Sean Quirk said. “He’s reaching out, asking questions, which is important for any leader. With his background in TV and media and additions of new teams to the MLL, it will be an exciting time to see his foresight for the league as well.”

Will Ohio defend its title?

The Machine won their first MLL championship last August. Ohio now goes from the hunter to the hunted. Since 2008, only one team has repeated as champ: the Bayhawks in 2012 and 2013.

Ohio returns most of its roster, adding Mark Matthews and Ryan Ambler in the supplemental draft. The Machine have the longest active playoff appearance streak in the league. Rival coaches marvel at how well the Machine are built.

Will Dave Cottle bring the Bayhawks back to the playoffs?

Chesapeake parted ways with coach Brian Reese in September after his two seasons as head coach, then tabbed Cottle, who led the Bayhawks to those back-to-back titles in 2012 and 2013. 

Cottle inherits a team featuring many new faces. Four of the team’s top five scorers — Josh Byrnes, Myles Jones, Lyle Thompson and Jake Froccaro — were not members of the team during Cottle’s previous tenure. 

Cottle wants to improve the defense and start games stronger. The biggest issue, he feels, however, is team chemistry.

“Last year, Brian and I felt it wasn’t a talent problem, it was an assimilation problem,” Cottle said. “Byrne only plays in eight games. Thompson only plays in eight. At the end of the year, we were playing as well as anybody in the league. We lost numerous one-goal games. Whether it was youth or playing together, those are things we have to turn around.”

How will the world championship affect teams?

The 2018 FIL World Championship is July 12-21 in Israel, smack dab in the middle of MLL season. The league will break shortly during the competition, playing its final game before the world championship on July 7 and returning July 19. The heavy favorites to play in the finals of the world championships, however, are the United States and Canada. New York, Ohio, and Dallas will be undermanned.

It’s not ideal, but with the overlap with NLL and NCAA seasons, it’s also not something coaches aren’t used to.

“You wish the best for everyone,” Rattlers coach Bill Warder said, “and you make due with the guys who are there.”

What will Boston’s roster overhaul look like?

The Cannons were one of the busiest teams in the MLL offseason. They added Kyle Denhoff through player movement, acquired James Pannell, Ryan Walsh, and Scott Firman in trades and selected goalie Benny Pugh first overall in the supplemental draft.

Will so much change result in an improvement in the standings, though?

“They’re guys that will contribute right away,” Quirk said. “Consistency and continuity is going to be a really big key to success. As a coaching staff, we talked about that, seeing as many guys that can play 14 games as possible.”

PHOTO BY PRETTY INSTANT

How do the Rattlers fare in Dallas?

After years of stadium hopping and constant relocation rumors in Rochester, the Rattlers finally have a new home in Dallas. Despite moving across the country, the team retained most of its veteran core, including John Galloway, Ned Crotty, Jordan Wolf and Joel White. 

The team does have a new coach in Bill Warder, but he was an assistant with the team for the past seven seasons. Warder said the news provided relief to uncertainty, but that at the end of the day, it didn’t matter where they played.

“We had a different venue for multiple years,” he said. “When you look back at it, put us on the moon. We’re fortunate the location is Dallas. The facility is incredible. The staff is incredible. We’re very fortunate.”