Recently it was made official by National Lacrosse League (NLL) commissioner Nick Sakiewicz that the remainder of the regular season has in fact been cancelled.
Due to the world wise crisis of COVID-19, the NLL originally back on March 12th announced they were suspending play before deciding on Wednesday, April 8th, to terminate the remainder of the regular season.
“With three weekends left in the regular season and the uncertainty about resumption during that time, we decided it was in the best interest of our players, coaches, staff, partners and fans to remove the uncertainty,” Sakiewicz said. “Our goal is to find the best and safest solution for resumption of play, but what that looks like, and when that occurs cannot be determined today. Our primary focus is the long term health of all involved in the sport of lacrosse from a personal and a business standpoint, and we are consulting with our board, medical and municipal authorities, as well as leadership in other organizations across sports and entertainment, to determine when we will be able to effectively move forward.” In his statement, which was written in the NLL website, Sakiewicz ended on a positive note by saying, “Whenever that is, we have plans in place that continue to evolve, and we will be ready to restart the process correctly and effectively.”
Showing true compassion to the situation was Halifax Thunderbirds goalie Warren Hill who with an 8-1 record and .809 SP was in the mist of a stellar season. Though disappointed, Hill totally understood and supported the commissioner’s decision.
“First and foremost, I was disappointed but the safety and health of everyone is what’s most important during time,” Hill said. “I understand and respect the league’s decision to cancel the remainder of the regular season.”
Overall, it’s been quite the year for Hill who is part of the Knighthawks team who are playing its first year in Halifax after management relocated the team from Rochester.
“This year blew away all my expectations,” Hill said. “The people and the city have been great to us. It wasn’t hard to get up for games in Halifax in front of our fans. The energy and positivity in the building was infectious and something we are all proud of to be apart of.” When asked about the biggest highlight to this first season in Halifax, Hill responded, “Our last game we won to grab first place in the north division. As I said before, the fans were great and were really supportive. They’ve been behind us all year and a big reason we lost only the one game at home.”
Meanwhile, according to Toronto Rock veteran Johnny Powless, the league hasn’t completely shut the doors on still having a playoffs.
Powless, who in 2011 was taken fifth overall by the Rochester Knighthawks, and in his career has won four NLL championships stated, “I wasn’t surprised they cancelled the season. I first saw it on Twitter but I had received an e-mail from the team as well. The league announced that even though the season is over they will view different scenarios for a post season.”
Only time will tell what will happen.
