Oshawa’s new lacrosse team is bringing familiar faces with it.
While the franchise may be new to the city, its roster will feel familiar to many in Durham Region and the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) with several Ontario-born players on the team.
The FireWolves, which are being relocated from Albany, N.Y., bring one of the league’s youngest teams to the heart of the region, marking a new chapter for both the franchise and Canadian lacrosse.
“There is a gluttony of talent in this area and we already have some of the best from the area,” says head coach and general manager Glenn Clark, a Pickering native.
With core players returning such as Rookie of the Year Dyson Williams, Zachary Young and Ben MacDonnell – all of Oshawa – and captain Colton Watkinson of Burlington and Mike Byrne of Toronto, FireWolves owner Oliver Marti says the team is entering the upcoming season with high expectations.
He says Clark and his team “have painstakingly put together a team of all the right pieces that I think has the capability of winning a national championship.”
After a successful recent draft that added more emerging stars to their roster, including third-round pick Jaxson Fridge, the team is ready to “continue to build on our core,” says assistant coach Clem D’Orazio. “They all kind of fit a need of what we’re looking for.”
The Firewolves’ move to Oshawa represents a significant opportunity to rekindle local rivalries and spark new ones, particularly in a region rich with athletic talent, according to Andrew Nash, general manager of Tribute Communities Centre.
National Lacrosse League (NLL) commissioner Brett Frood says the target market for lacrosse is huge.
“We’re looking to have every hockey fan in this country and beyond watching our great product,” he says.
As part of the relocation, the NLL is also doubling down on its grassroots efforts across North America.
Frood says the league plans to launch community and school-based programs designed to increase participation and awareness of lacrosse from coast to coast.
“We’re trying to find non-endemic places across North America that don’t necessarily have those resources,” Frood said.
Bringing lacrosse sticks nets and other equipment to schools is the goal, “trying to create that connectivity with kids that maybe have never seen it.”