It’s rare to play 19 seasons in the NLL yet still rank second in your family in career points.

Most seasons, Buffalo Bandits defenseman Paul Dawson accumulates more penalty minutes than points. He ranks fifth in NLL history in penalty minutes, while his brother, Dan Dawson, ranks second all-time in points. The brothers with vastly different playing styles spent 10 years as teammates and won two NLL Championships together.

Bandits.com caught up with Paul Dawson to discuss playing with his brother, blocking shots for 19 years, fighting fires as his day job, and more.

In your 19th season, you’re second in the league in blocked shots. What are you doing to help your body deal with that impact week after week?

I mean, there’s not much you can really do. I always try and take care of my body, but bumps and bruises are going to happen, especially when you’re getting pelted with a ball. I try to have a good workout routine and nutrition, but I just try not to think of all the welts on my body, to be honest.

Does it feel the same as it did on day one?

Yeah, unfortunately, it’s one thing that never gets easier. It always hurts no matter what. So, I wish I could say I’ve grown some scar tissue or something, but, yeah, they still hurt when you get hit with it.

Certified tough guy. 😤

Paul Dawson is tonight’s Heavyweight Player of the game!#LetsGoBandits | @WNYHeroes pic.twitter.com/keC2xIwbms

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) February 2, 2025

When these guys are shooting the ball, what helps tell where they’re aiming?

I just try and look at the stick. I wish I could say I know exactly where guys are shooting, but if the stick is high, I feel like they’re going to go up, and if the stick is low, sometimes I’ll drop to a knee. And I try to follow the stick and also know where I am on the floor. There might be a spot where they want to shoot. So, I just follow where their stick is going, to be honest.

You were drafted into the NLL as a goalie. Did that help build the courage to block shots?

Yeah, I guess it’s out of stupidity. I was never really afraid to get in front of a shot. Maybe that comes back to being a goalie. I guess when I first started playing (out of goal), it was just second nature to, if I was out of position or just in a lane, just to try and block it rather than get out of the way. So right from the get-go, I wasn’t too worried about getting hit with a ball.

Looking back at it now – being a first-round pick as a goalie, then becoming a defenseman – how crazy has your career been?

Yeah, it’s wild. I’d have to look and see when I started playing lacrosse – I started playing a little bit later – but I’ve probably played longer out than I have in net now. Sometimes I look back and wish I played out the whole way through and never went in the net, but it’s worked out well. It is crazy to think because I got drafted pretty high and then never fulfilled those expectations as a goalie, but it is what it is.

Do you think you’d be able to contest Matt Vinc for the starting job right now?

Maybe someone else (will) a little bit further down the line. It’ll be tough to say anyone’s going to have the career of Matt Vinc; he’s won at every level. I could be his backup maybe, but I don’t think I could take his starting job now or ever.

What made you interested in becoming a firefighter?

It was always something growing up that I was interested in. My dad was a cop for 44 years, so I was always in between either becoming a cop or a firefighter. My brother got into firefighting when he was living in Arizona. He met some firefighters and then, playing up here in Canada, he met a fire chief and he’s like, “Hey, you should do this,” and then he ended up getting on and I was finishing school and was at a crossroads if I was going to go into policing or what I was going to do. My brother was like, “Hey, you should really look into firefighting, it’s been awesome.” He was only on for a couple of years, but he was loving it. I tried to go to fire school out of high school and I couldn’t do it for some reason. So, then I was like, “You know what, I might as well try and give it another go.” I got lucky enough and went to school down in Texas and then got hired up here in Canada, and it’s been amazing. It was following my brother’s footsteps, but it was something always that I wanted to do or at least was the kind of job I would have liked to do, and it just worked out.

Firefighting is a rigorous job. How do you think it helps you dually train for lacrosse?

Yeah, it’s a fiercely demanding job, so it helps. I mean, obviously playing professional lacrosse and just having a love of being in shape and working out, works out well for both. I think that’s what draws a lot of athletes to firefighting. It’s a very big team environment and you’re working out with the boys and girls and working out together, eating meals together, so it’s got a very big locker-room feel. Again, just staying in shape for lacrosse benefits firefighting, and staying in shape for firefighting benefits lacrosse. It’s a little bit different because firefighting is in and out and quick and hard, whereas lacrosse is a little bit longer, but again, they both definitely benefit each other.

You spent 10 years of your career playing alongside your brother, Dan Dawson. What was that like?

Yeah, it was amazing. We started on different teams and then spent the majority of the middle of our careers together. Towards the end, we were on different teams, but yeah, it was great. Me and my brother are super close, and I credit a lot of my success to him and what he’s done in his career. I got to look at it and can’t emulate it, but to see what it takes to be a true professional. Stuff like that, it’s just great for the family. Mom and dad and brothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives only have to come to one rink, only have to cheer for one team. Towards the end, when we were on opposite teams, it got back to, “Who’re you guys cheering for?,” and “Oh, we’re not cheering for anyone,” and vice versa. So it made life just everywhere easier, but again, like us being so close, you’re playing, just like when you have close teammates you love playing with, it was amazing. We’re best buddies, so it was awesome just getting to spend more time with a guy you love and admire.

In the odd year when the two of you were on a different team, were you trying to show him who’s the tougher brother?

Yeah, for sure. Again, growing up you always have rivalries, whether it was playing hockey in the front yard or basketball in the front yard. So you get little brother syndrome and obviously, him being who he is and the stature he carries in the game of lacrosse, sometimes you feel like you’re an afterthought in the Dawson family. So there was always, not jealousy, but always something to try and prove that little brother can still take out big brother or whatever. Maybe I tried to go a little harder against him and other guys, but it was all fun and games.

You played against John Tavares, the player, for a few years, then John Tavares, the coach, for a few years, and now he’s your coach. What is that like from a player’s perspective?

It’s funny because I’ve said this a couple of times to people, but I’m in this weird position now where I’m playing against guys I played with and against, and now I’m playing against those guys’ sons. So, a guy like Shawn Williams, I got to play a season with and played against a bunch of years and now I’m playing against Dyson Williams. And Jeff Teat is the son of Dan Teat who I played with, and the same thing with John Tavares. The one thing that you can draw on from playing against guys like that is you know who they are, and the person and the player they are. So, I think it makes the transition almost easier just because you know what they brought on the floor and what they did, especially JT, what he did in his career. So it’s pretty easy to get behind a guy like that and the messages he’s relaying to us.

You played with Matt Vinc in Rochester for multiple years. How did the chemistry you’d built in Rochester help you both acclimate to Buffalo and protect him in the net?

Yeah, it made the transition pretty smooth. You draw on what we used to do in Rochester and it’s obviously a little bit different in Buffalo, but we both know each other’s tendencies. I know what he likes to see from a goaltender standpoint, and he knows what I’m going do from a defensive standpoint. We have made it that easy that it was just like “I need you to do this” or like, “Hey Matt, I can do this.” So, it was an easy transition, and again, any goaltender, especially Matt, is the backbone of your team, so trying to make sure his life is as easy as possible. On the same point, he bails me out a ton.

You didn’t always have the mustache and you’ve gone on and off with it. What’s the reasoning behind that?

Honestly, just boredom. I usually grow it for Movember. That’s where it first started, when Movember first became a thing and raising some money for prostate cancer. Then I’d shave it. Then it seemed stupid to shave it after going through with it for a month. I think it’s funny to rock one, but then I get bored and shave it off. I don’t like having the same haircut for too long and I don’t like having the same facial hair for a long time. Then also with firefighting, I can only grow a mustache, so sometimes it’s just funny to be a firefighter and rock a big mustache.

Do you use anything to style it?

Not the mustache, no. I’ve had it for a pretty long time, longer than six or seven months. I just trim it. It’s at the point now where it’s getting a little crazy. … My wife’s getting sick of it, so I’ll have to trim it down and groom it, but I don’t put anything in it. I’ll put some stuff in my hair, now that it’s longer, to try and keep it tame, but I just go all natural with the mustache.

There’s a video of a fight you had years ago, and you had this long stylish hair. Why did you cut it off?

I ended up cutting it for cancer. I just had long hair, or longer hair, and back towards the end of the season, the league was announcing the following season they were going to do a bunch of cancer initiatives, and every team was going to have like a blackout for cancer night. So, my hair grows quickly, and I was like “Let’s see how long I can grow it and maybe we could raise some money and cut my hair.” I donated it to the Susan Komen Foundation. It ended up working out well where it was long enough that I cut it for cancer and we raised a bunch of money, so that worked out. I wasn’t ever going to grow it that long, but then once the cancer initiative came up, I thought it would be cool if I could do that. And someone got a wig out of it, so it all worked out.

What’s your go-to pre-game meal?

Pretty simple, just some veggies, chicken, rice and a salad. I try and keep it pretty simple and pretty plain jane, but just something healthy, something that’s going to fuel my body. Usually, one thing I’ll do, I always put it in a bowl and mix it up, so just basically like a chicken and rice veggie bowl. [That’s] what I eat before every game along with the side salad.