The 2025-26 National Lacrosse League season commenced on Friday night, and it was a special evening when it came to Canadian lacrosse. That is because we saw a seventh Canadian franchise in the NLL begin play, as the Oshawa FireWolves defeated the Toronto Rock 8-7 in their inaugural game.
In the offseason, the Albany FireWolves moved to Oshawa, Ontario. The franchise is playing at the Tribute Communities Centre. The other six Canadian franchises in the NLL are the Rock (who play in Hamilton), Calgary Roughnecks, Saskatchewan Rush, Vancouver Warriors, Ottawa Black Bears and the Halifax Thunderbirds.
It is also interesting that the FireWolves are the fifth NLL franchise based in Canada that have moved from the United States. The Vancouver Warriors moved from Everett, Washington to Langley, British Columbia in 2014. Prior to being in Ottawa and Edmonton, the Sakatchewan Rush were known as the Syracuse Smash from 1998 to 2000. The Ottawa Black Bears were in New York from 2018 to 2024, and the Halifax Thunderbirds were in Rochester, New York from 1995 to 2019.
In the FireWolves’s first game, Oshawa’s leading scorer was forward Alex Simmons of Smithville, Ontario. Simmons had two goals and four assists for six points. Meanwhile, forward Ethan Walker of Peterborough, Ontario also scored twice.
