From the time the Denver Outlaws hoisted the Steinfeld Trophy as 2018 Major League Lacrosse champions to the time the Denver Outlaws stepped onto the field at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, N.Y. for the first game of the 2019 season, a lot changed in the professional lacrosse landscape.

A simple game of “Six Degrees of Separation” with the Outlaws can cover a lot of those changes. Denver offensive coordinator John Grant Jr. ended his retirement and returned to the league with the Outlaws. The team the Outlaws faced in back-to-back championship contests in 2016 and 2017, the Ohio Machine, was one of three teams to cease operations; the other two were the Charlotte Hounds (the team that beat Denver in the 2013 MLL semifinals, ending the team’s perfect season) and the Florida Launch. Key Outlaws players like Eric Law, Jack Kelly, and Chris Cloutier left the team and joined the new Premier Lacrosse League.

One other big change was that the league pushed its start date back. Typically, the league begins its season in April, but the league announced it would begin its 2019 season at the start of June (the Outlaws and Lizards technically played on May 31). The biggest reason for this shift was to eliminate the overlap between the MLL season, NLL season, and NCAA season, allowing all players to be available for the first game.

Among the players helped by the change was Denver Outlaws goalie Dillon Ward, who also plays for the Colorado Mammoth in the NLL.

“I’ve done NLL and MLL here for a few years,” he said. “Every year, I come in about two or three games into the season already. Teams have camaraderie built up with training camp. It’s not awkward, but it’s a little strange to be thrown into games. I thought this year was awesome to be a part of training camp and be with guys from day one.”

The change paid off for teams immediately in the first week of the season.

“It’s good. We’re building chemistry right away,” said Boston Cannons midfielder Zed Williams. “Last year, I feel like we were getting hot at the tail end [of the season], but we missed playoffs because we had guys showing up too late and coming from the indoor game. I feel we all get to be together for the whole season this year.”

In the winter, Williams plays for the Georgia Swarm of the National Lacrosse League. Due to his commitment to the Swarm, however, his availability for the Cannons was limited. He finished third on the team in scoring in 2018 even though he played in only nine of the team’s 14 games. By the time he made his debut on May 19, the Cannons were already 1-4, a hole too big to recover from.

Williams wasn’t the only player previously unavailable to the Cannons, either. Attackman Kyle Jackson has never played more than nine games in his two seasons — including only five in 2018 — while Challen Rogers missed four games in both 2016 and 2018 and did not play a single game in 2017. Even Mark Cockerton, who was acquired by the Cannons in a mid-season trade in 2018, is typically rostered in the NLL and only played a total of nine games in 2018.

All those players made a huge impact in Boston’s win over the Lizards. Cockerton had six goals, Williams had two goals and two assists, Rogers had two goals and an assist, and Jackson had an assist.

“Obviously having Kyle Jackson, Challen Rogers, having those guys in Day 1 is huge, especially when we’re practicing out there, getting reps, running man-up,” Cannons midfielder Kyle Denhoff said. “Those guys used to come in a couple games in, coming in cold, trying to figure each other out, but being able to get a couple days in together and get a full game in is huge, so I think we’ll just build on it.”

Around the league, box players were shining like never before. Lyle Thompson, the former two-time Tewaaraton Award winner who has never played more than nine games in a season and played in only three games in 2018, starred in Chesapeake’s 14-11 victory over Dallas (the first time he has played in an MLL opener) with four goals and two assists. Shayne Jackson had two goals and two assists and Bryan Cole had three goals in Atlanta’s 14-12 victory over Denver. Ward was named Warrior Defensive Player of the Week after making 19 saves in Denver’s victory over the Lizards.

Ward said not missing time because of his box commitments played a huge role in both earning the starting goalie position and enjoying individual success in the first game.

“I would be coming into teams part way through the season. Teams would need a goalie to play. There’s a ton of great goalies out there, and I had to play that backup role,” he said. “[This year] I had a couple weeks to get used to [the field game], get some shots at practice, get some scrimmages, and just feel it out instead of being thrown in. I was able to build my relationship with my defense.”

A number of rookies also took advantage of being available for the first game of the season. Zach Goodrich (Cannons) and Brendan Sunday (Blaze) scored their first professional points; defenders like Kyle Pless, Ryland Rees, and Justin Pugal made their debuts; and Ryan Lee (five goals in Denver’s loss to Atlanta) and Luke Wittenberg (four goals in Dallas’s loss to Chesapeake) erupted offensively.

Overall, the players and coaches were appreciative of the schedule change.

“it was really nice being able to pick the roster of the best guys available,” Atlanta head coach Liam Banks said. “Having Randy [Staats], having our rookies in the training camp, they’re going to be an integral part of the Blaze. I enjoyed having those guys there at training camp and most definitely game one.”

“I thought it was great. Since I’ve been a pro, I’ve never been able to play a full field lacrosse season,” added Blaze attackman Randy Staats. “I wasn’t used to [being with the team from the beginning of the season], obviously, because the NLL goes so long, but it was good. You get to meet the guys, some of the rookies, the guys trying out, the guys on the team before. The chemistry is huge in this league. You only get so many weekends with each other. We need all the time we can get together.”

It’s a no-brainer that teams are happy they will have their best players available for every game. It’s also no surprise that players are happy because they get more opportunities to compete, more opportunities to earn a paycheck, and more time to spend with and get to know their teammates.

Ward said another advantage of the schedule change is how it will make the fans happy and make the overall MLL product better.

“There’s going to be more set lineups. From day one through the final weekend, you’ll see a similar lineup than in years past,” he said. “It also helps guys who want to do lacrosse more full time. They can play a full indoor season, a full outdoor season, coaching, their camps and clinics. It’s a win-win for everyone.”