BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The National Lacrosse League announced that Buffalo Bandits forward Josh Byrne has been named the NLL’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Byrne is the first to win the award, which was introduced this season. He was nominated for the award alongside teammate Dhane Smith and Jeff Teat of the New York Riptide.
He had a record-setting regular season — he led the NLL in points with 135, was third in the league in goals with 53, and was second in the league in assists with 82. All three marks were new single-season career highs.
Byrne had at least four points in every regular season game and had seven or more points in 15 of the 18 regular season games. He finished the year just shy of the NLL record for points in a single season, which is 137 set by Smith in 2016.
Byrne is also a finalist for the NLL MVP along with Smith and Toronto Rock goaltender Nick Rose. The winner will be announced Friday ahead of Game 1 of the NLL Finals.
The Bandits will take on the Albany FireWolves in a best-of-three series in the NLL Finals. Game 1 is set for May 17 at 7 p.m. at MVP Arena in Albany. Game 2 is set for May 18 at 7:30 p.m. at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. If necessary, Game 3 will be on May 25 at 5 p.m. at MVP Arena in Albany.
