Major Series Lacrosse is the official name for Ontario’s Senior A summer box league. This is absolutely top level lacrosse, with a TON of history behind it, where many of the game’s best players compete year in and year out. If you haven’t heard of MSL before, now is your chance to learn more. If you already knew about MSL, now is your chance to get updated on the 2019 season. It’s been an up-and-down affair already and we’re lucky enough to have an interview with Doug Luey, the commissioner of MSL, to answer some questions and get everyone up to speed.
CW: The season is off and running. From your perspective, how’s it going so far?
Doug Luey: I’m very happy with the start to the 2019 MSL season. Three teams sitting at 5-2 kind of speaks for itself. We talk a lot about the parity in Major Series lacrosse, and the results of the games so far have emphasized this with some really close scores across the board. It should also be noted that the Cobourg Kodiaks, who are entering their fourth year in MSL, are off to a really great start. Jeff Teat is a rookie this year and is sitting with 29 points for third place in league scoring. And it’s great to have Lyle Thompson playing MSL with 24 points in six games so far. The players in this league are phenomenal and there is a lot of talent everywhere. It makes for great, competitive lacrosse.
CW: MSL has always been a great product, but it seems like there is a renewed effort to get MSL in front of new fans. How are you going about that?
DL: The first thing that comes to mind is the use of social media to get our brand out to people new to not just the game, but out to new Canadians as well who may not know about lacrosse at all. We must continue to attract more and more people to our game. Lacrosse has long been called the fastest game on two feet. When you combine the foot speed, hand-eye coordination and the physical aspect of lacrosse, what general sports fan wouldn’t fall for this game? We believe we just need people to see the game once and they will come back time and time again.
CW: You also have an exciting partnership set up for the 2019 season, which will allow fans around the world to watch games. Can you tell us a little bit more about that, and where people can watch MSL games for the rest of the summer season?
DL: Lacrosse fans, for the first time in Major Series Lacrosse history, can watch the best lacrosse players in the world from anywhere. We are very excited about this new opportunity to showcase the league and the sport of box. This set up is made possible by our partnership with Lacrosse-TV, who are streaming all the games live. With numerous packages available, fans can see every minute of action, and pick and choose what they want to watch. We love a packed house for MSL games, but we understand that not everyone can make it to every game, and many people live outside of Ontario. By offering this digital product we hope to grow our brand, and provide another resource for everyone around the world to watch the best in the business go to work and put on a show.
CW: What does the exciting start to the 2019 season mean for the playoff push, and then the playoffs?
DL: With only two points separating the top four teams the race for positioning down the stretch should make for an exciting second half of the season. The league is thrilled with the exposure in North America and worldwide our league is getting with Lacrosse-TV, and we encourage people to tune in and watch the best box lacrosse players in the world all summer long.
CW: Many thanks to you Doug, and best of luck the rest of the way!
You can watch MSL games HERE, on Lacrosse-TV.
