Opening night in Oshawa, a banner raising in Buffalo, and more NLL action. It's the NLL Weekend Primer for week one.

Opening weekend in the NLL has arrived. Training camp is wrapped, rosters are (for the most part) set, and it’s time to start playing for real. Opening weekend in every sport is a joy. Everyone has the same record, everyone is alive for the title, everyone has a reason to believe this is the year. There are just four games on the schedule this weekend, but those games include an NLL debut of a top overall pick, a banner raising night, and plenty more.

All game lines are courtesy of DraftKings, and are current as of time of publication. American fans can watch all games on ESPN+, Canadian fans on TSN+, and anywhere else in the world can stream games for free on NLL+. 

FRIDAY

Who: Toronto Rock (0-0) vs Oshawa Firewolves (0-0)

Where: Tribute Communities Centre, Oshawa

When: 7:30pm, EST

The Spread: Toronto favored by 1.5 (-105), game total set at 23.5

SATURDAY

Who: San Diego Seals (0-0) vs Ottawa Black Bears (0-0)

Where: Canadian Tire Centre, Ottawa

When: 7:00pm, EST

The Spread: San Diego favored by 1.5 (+120), game total set at 22.5

Who: Georgia Swarm (0-0) vs Buffalo Bandits (0-0)

Where: Keybank Center, Buffalo

When: 7:30pm EST

The Spread: Buffalo favored by 1.5 (-130), game total set at 23.5

Who: Colorado Mammoth (0-0) vs Vancouver Warriors (0-0)

Where: Rogers Arena, Vancouver

When: 10:00pm EST

The Spread: Vancouver favored by 1.5, game total set at 21.5

STORIES TO WATCH

NLL debuts around the league

The youth movement in Toronto is the major headliner. CJ Kirst will make his NLL regular season debut. Owen Hiltz, who was a scoring dynamo in the preseason, will join him. Sam English, also a high draft pick, should be on the floor for Toronto as well. The Rock finished 13th last year, had the first three picks in the draft, and immediately set to getting younger on offense. Early returns are promising. Elsewhere in the league, Ben Trumble and Nolan Byrne made the Swarm 21 man roster. They should get an immediate taste of hostile environment pro ball as the Swarm visit Banditland. It’s a fun time around the league with so many fresh faces taking the floor. As Adam Levi noted, if you look at the Roughnecks roster, you’ll see just five players with more than four years of NLL experience. I have a feeling the Rookie of the Year race will be a tight one. 

Banner raising and the quest for the 4-peat

As noted above, the Bandits host Georgia this weekend and will raise their championship banner. Three straight years of banner raising in Buffalo; the Bandits accomplished one of the most difficult and rarest feats in sports, the three peat. The fact that pundits are even talking about the four-peat as a possibility is a testament to the staying power and the incredible roster the Bandits have put together. As of today, Buffalo is still the odds on title favorite. They did lose some key players in the offseason. Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier signed with Las Vegas as free agents, taking their combined 87 points with them. Justin Martin retired. But the core of Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Ian MacKay, Kyle Buchanan, that group remains. Matt Vinc is back for another year (at some point father time has to catch this man, right?)  They signed Ryan Benesch in the offseason and while his name is absent from the initial 21 man roster, whispers suggest that Benesch will be rejoining the Bandits in short order. Saskatchewan took Buffalo to three games in the finals last year, can they do it again? Will someone else step up to deny the Bandits four peat and place in the history books? It should be a special opener in Buffalo.

Can Vancouver start strong?

The Warriors were a great story a year ago. A young team still building a culture, they say at 5-7 after 12 games. There were bright flashes from players like Owen Grant, Marcus Klarich, and Adam Charalambides, balanced with leadership and high level play from veterans like Keegan Bal, Kevin Crowley, and Riley Loewen. It all clicked for them over the final two months of the season. In March and April, the Warriors went 6-1, including a win in Banditland. From that 5-7 record, they finished with six straight wins to end up 11-7 and in the playoffs. The culture, and the vision for the future, clearly was taking hold. In the offseason, the Warriors made splash signings. Curtis Dickson and Jesse King join to further elevate the Warriors as they aim for a deep postseason run. They’ll also have a full season of Christian Del Bianco in net. If the Warriors fancy themselves contenders, there’s little room for slow starts. Announcing themselves to the league with a dominant win in the home opener would start the season off on the right foot for a team trying to take a big step.