Professional lacrosse will be coming back to Montreal after a nine-year absence, but over that time, the game was thriving in the native communities where it was born.

"We take a lot of pride when we play lacrosse," said Kahnawake coach Louis Alfred. "People say it's Canada's game, but we all know it's our game. The game started with us, with our people."

Now, those players in Kahnawake will have a professional team to look forward to, as Martin Routhier and Chad Fairfoull are spearheading a Montreal entry in the new Canadian Lacrosse Association.

"(The game) has deep roots in Quebec," Fairfoull said. "The minor population of lacrosse players is just starting to grow, it's just on the precipice of exploding."

That explosion means more opportunities down the road for some of junior league players who previously had nothing much to look forward to when it came to continuing to play the sport they loved as adults.

"Now we've got this pro league to look forward to," said Karahkwano: Ron Two Axe, a junior player with the Kahnawake club. "That's a job right there. A lot of these guys will be pushing for that."

Alfred may see the motivational side of his job as head coach become a lot easier with the carrot of playing professionally now pushing his players.

"I think its great to have a pro team for the younger guys to pursue and it's something right in their backyard," he said.

The Montreal franchise is likely to play in the new Centre d'excellence in Boisbriand, an intimate 3,000-seat arena where the fans will be close to the action.

Routhier says his franchise is in a better position to succeed after the failure of the Montreal Express in the National Lacrosse League almost a decade ago, playing their games in a largely empty Bell Centre.

"It's a little bit like the CFL vs. the NFL," said Routhier, who just left a position as president of the Montreal Junior hockey team. "It's a Canadian product with slightly different rules that will be good for the fans."

The mostly homegrown team with a $150,000 salary cap will begin their 20-game schedule in the fall.