PLL contracts will prevent players from competing for a Mann Cup
The Six Nations Chiefs capturing the 2014 Mann Cup (Photo: Kevin Light)
Still considered by many to be Canada’s most cherished, prestigious and iconic lacrosse trophy, the Mann Cup will have far fewer of the sport’s top players competing for it starting this summer.
The Lax Mag has confirmed with multiple sources that the most recent round of Premier Lacrosse League contracts includes a clause that prohibits players from taking part in any non-PLL competition during the pro-field league’s season of play. Those banned leagues would include Canada’s Senior A level of lacrosse, specifically the Ontario-based Major Series Lacrosse and the British Columbia-based Western Lacrosse Association.
The clause would not prevent players from playing professionally in the National Lacrosse League, however, the indoor league’s playoffs likely ending just prior or slightly past the PLL’s June 4th start date in Albany, New York. The PLL’s 2022 Championship Game will take place on September 18th in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The NLL’s 2021/22 regular season started on December 3rd.
Although neither the MSL or WLA have announced their 2022 schedules, most of the leagues’ regular season games, plus playoffs and Mann Cup Finals all traditionally take place within the dates of the PLL’s full-season schedule. (Update Mar. 23 8pm ET: The 2022 WLA schedule was released, their first game taking place on May 27th.)
While the Canadian Senior leagues are seemingly still considered to be an amateur level of lacrosse, they have long included professional players who’ve also taken part in the NLL, PLL, Major Lacrosse League and other short-lived pro leagues from the late 60s to the early 90s.
The MSL and WLA send post-season provincial champions to play in the Mann Cup Final, a trophy Canadian clubs have competed for since 1910. Ontario’s and BC’s top team play in a gruelling seven-game series to determine the Mann Cup winner. The last Mann Cup was won by the MSL’s Peterborough Lakers in 2019. The trophy was not awarded the previous two summers due to pandemic-related restrictions.
From players The Lax Mag has spoken to, most will likely be choosing the PLL over their Canadian Senior A commitments this summer.
Mark Steenhuis, Peterborough Lakers 2012 (Photo: Dave Fryer)
Although seemingly unrelated to this stipulation, Jesse King confirmed a number of weeks ago that he’ll be passing on the PLL in 2022. Currently competing with the Calgary Roughnecks in the NLL, King also plays for the WLA’s Victoria Shamrocks, winning a Mann Cup with the club in 2015. The PLL’s Chrome Lacrosse Club moved King to their holdout list on January 26th.
While there have been a handful of Americans that have played in the MSL and WLA over the years, the PLL’s preventative clause will obviously most impact the many Canadian and Indigenous players that regularly play in these leagues.
From the rosters the PLL currently has posted on their website, the following players have competed, have their rights owned/protected, or were recently drafted by an MSL or WLA club:
James Barclay, Chrome
Tyson Bell, Cannons
Wes Berg, Chaos
Reid Bowering, Waterdogs
Josh Byrne, Chaos
Adam Charalambides, Cannons
Chris Cloutier, Chaos
Bryan Cole, Whipsnakes
Zach Currier, Waterdogs
Dan Coates, Chaos
Mark Cockerton, Atlas
Tanner Cook, Chaos
Curtis Dickson, Chaos
Chase Fraser, Chaos
Holden Garlent, Cannons
Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, Archers
Latrell Harris, Archers
Jeff Henrick, Chrome
Graeme Hossack, Archers
Matt Hossack, Waterdogs
Kyle Jackson, Chaos
Shayne Jackson, Cannons
Warren Jeffrey, Archers
Andrew Kew, Chaos
Jesse King, Chrome
Tre Leclaire, Archers
Ryan Lee, Redwoods
Jordan MacIntosh, Chrome
Ian MacKay, Chaos
Ben McIntosh, Waterdogs
Brodie Merrill, Cannons
Tehoka Nanticoke, Chaos
Clarke Petterson, Redwoods
Ryland Rees, Waterdogs
Challen Rogers, Chaos
Eli Salama, Chrome
Dhane Smith, Chaos
Ryan Smith, Chaos
Jeff Teat, Atlas
Jeremy Thompson, Cannons
Joel Tinney, Atlas
Ethan Walker, Waterdogs
Dillon Ward, Waterdogs
Jake Withers, Waterdogs
While some have not played a Senior season in Canada for a few summers now, many from the above list of 44 were MSL and WLA regulars. Between additional anticipated signings and the PLL College Draft, that pool of impacted players should climb to over 50 in coming weeks.
MSL and WLA seasons also regularly include active NCAA players who’ve graduated from their Canadian Junior programs.
Although not as widespread as in the past, many players do get paid for playing in the Canadian Senior loops, sometimes a significant sum. Apparently no longer the case, top players at one time were rumoured to be getting paid more than their NLL salary supplied. Present PLL pay is likely much more than any Senior player makes today though.
During NLL Commissioner Jim Jennings’ years of leading the league (2000-2009), the topic of banning their pro players from playing in the Canadian amateur leagues was discussed but never acted on. As is likely the case with the PLL, many within the NLL were often worried of losing top players to injuries sustained during summer seasons in Canada. Clearly, injuries would present an even bigger problem for the PLL, potentially losing a star player in the middle of their season.
Gary and Paul Gait, Victoria Shamrocks 1999
Senior teams in Canada have had significant struggles attracting fans over the past decade, outside of the odd hotbed like Peterborough or Victoria. When asked about the topic earlier this year, MSL Commissioner Doug Luey responded, “That is a great question and without having a crystal ball is difficult to answer, but I believe in our product and we have the best box lacrosse players in the world. We will continue to market ourselves as such and have faith that people will not only return to the game but attract those new to our game.”
Decades ago, the absolute best box lacrosse players were most definitely playing in the Canadian leagues, but the absence of top players has increased significantly over the past several seasons. Thanks to the new PLL contracts, sure, some of “the best box lacrosse players in the world” will be playing north of the border in 2022, but a significant amount will be spending their summers stateside moving forward.
Based on pay, professionalism, league popularity, plus plenty of other reasons, can you blame them?
This is not the PLL’s first poke at box lacrosse. NLL supporters are regularly irked by the PLL’s refusal to acknowledge the NLL as a professional lacrosse league during its television broadcasts, online streams and through their extremely popular social media platforms. The obvious and very deliberate exclusion of the NLL in the PLL’s professional lacrosse conversations is looked at by many as smart marketing and branding within a sport whose pro landscape is about as convoluted and confusing as it comes (although it’s gotten much better). Box lacrosse backers don’t feel the same way.
Even when the NLL grew in popularity in the 90s, Canadian pro players would confess to most definitely wanting to win a Mann more than any other trophy in the sport. Supporters of Senior lacrosse can continue to convince themselves otherwise, but that has not been the case for many years.
Professional lacrosse has become a massive business both through the NLL over the past decade plus, and then more recently the PLL too. Whether the MSL and WLA consider themselves amateur, professional or whatever bizarre in-between status the leagues are clearly stuck in, the increased and now likely rapid loss of the sport’s best players leaves them searching for relevance while operating largely in the same state they did when the Mann meant much, much, much more.
Sorry, Sir Donald Mann.