Six hundred and thirty-five days removed from his last game, Will Manny showed he hasn’t lost a step.

On Saturday, the 33-year-old finally made his return as a Boston Cannon, seven years after last wearing red and blue. He scored a hat trick in Boston’s 16-12 win over the New York Atlas and looked every bit like the offensive presence the team had been missing at lefty attack.

“It was special. … It meant everything,” Manny said postgame. “It feels good to fly around and show that I’m still ready to rock.”

His road back wasn’t a simple one. Manny, one of the most consistent and respected attackmen in professional lacrosse, found himself in unfamiliar territory when the Maryland Whipsnakes released him at the end of training camp in 2024. It was a shocking move that left a veteran known for his high IQ on the field and shooting touch suddenly teamless.

Then, in July, came a call from Boston.

The Cannons, under head coach and general manager Brian Holman, signed Manny in a reunion that felt years in the making. Manny had built a personal bond with Holman over the years, from working on his staff at Utah to the brother-like friendship he forged with Holman’s son (and now, once again, teammate) Marcus.

On a personal level, the reunion made sense. But in pro sports, nothing is guaranteed. Manny never took the field in 2024, sitting out the rest of the season as the Cannons’ attack unit shuffled and playoff urgency kicked in.

Still, Manny stayed ready.

“I’ll do whatever it takes and whatever the team needs from me,” he told me last summer. “I bet on myself and made sure to stay ready.”

His chance finally seemed to arrive in February, when he was slated to play in the 2025 Lexus Championship Series. But just days before the event, he was ruled out due to injury.

Another opportunity lost.

For much of the past year, Manny lived in limbo: signed but sidelined, healthy but held back. No matter the circumstances, though, he kept preparing and kept believing in himself. And finally, on Saturday night, he delivered.

“It was a lot of fun out there,” he said with a smile after his first professional game in more than 18 months.

He didn’t look like a player shaking off rust. He looked sharp, composed and in sync. If there was pressure surrounding his return or questions about how he would fit into a team that just drafted highly touted attackman Coulter Mackesy fourth overall, Manny ignored the noise.

As his third goal found the back of the net, the emotion on Manny’s face said it all. After the game, when asked to put the moment into words, he kept it simple: “It means more than anyone knows.” 

Now healthy, impactful and finally back in a Cannons uniform, Will Manny is exactly where he’s supposed to be.