BUFFALO, N.Y. – Josh Byrne has accomplished just about everything you can as a Buffalo Bandits forward.

One day after being named the National Lacrosse League’s Offensive Player of the Year — and the same day they begin defense of their NLL Championship in the finals against Albany — Byrne was announced as the NLL’s Most Valuable player for the first time.

"For me personally, it’s felt almost easier this year," Byrne said.

And he’s certainly made it look easy. Byrne led the NLL in points during the regular season to bring in the individual accolades. But there are much loftier goals in mind.

"It’s something that we pride ourselves on is really chasing the championship," Byrne said in an interview inside KeyBank Center prior to the announcement of his awards. "That’s really the only award that we’re looking to get as a group. The individual awards will come if you’re playing great lacrosse, and we don’t really think about that stuff too much. It’s more of a testament to my teammates and how well they’re playing, and at the end of the day we’re just hunting another championship." 

Byrne and the Bandits are two wins away from repeating as National Lacrosse League champs.

"Winning is addicting and so something about wins, it’s like when it happens, it’s sweet and it’s amazing, but that feeling, it fades away fast," Byrne said. "So you really want to really chase it again and do your best to try to get there, so that’s what this season is about."

Byrne grew up in British Columbia, traveling across the continent to chase his dreams. In Buffalo, he’s found a community he’s embraced, and one that’s embraced him back. He recently signed a five-year contract extension to stay with the Bandits for the long haul.

"Buffalo’s become home for me. It’s become a place where I really feel like who I am fits," he said. "The people of Buffalo are super genuine, they’re really, they’re caring and they’re hard working. And that’s something that I want to be able to surround myself with."

He’s found love in Buffalo too — he’ll marry his fiancee Fiona later this summer. Byrne’s parents recently moved from Vancouver to nearby Ontario, as his support system only grows.

"You need your foundation to be strong and you need your foundation to be happy as well," he said. "That’s what allows us to do what we do on a nightly basis."

It’s already setting up to be year like no other for Byrne, and another NLL title would just be icing on the cake.

"You really see how much it affects the city of Buffalo and the people of Buffalo. And that’s really what we’re doing it for," he said.