Can the Rush Repeat Their 2014 Defensive Performance?

October 10, 2014

The Edmonton Rush gave up the fewest goals (157) in the NLL last season en route to a league-best 16-2 record. Although they came up shy in the playoffs, getting bested by the Calgary Roughnecks in the West Division finals, the Rush looked invincible at times, especially on the defensive end. Scarily enough, they could actually get better on the back end in 2015. Edmonton had at least one representative…

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How Does Alexis Buque Fit in the Colorado Mammoth Picture?

October 6, 2014

The Colorado Mammoth selected goaltender Alexis Buque with their third pick, 17th overall. Buque will be fighting for a spot on the roster against veteran Tye Belanger and Rookie of the Year candidate Dillon Ward. The starting job between the pipes for the Mammoth is obviously Ward’s to lose, leaving Belanger and Buque to battle for the backup role. Belanger’s position in the role is currently vulnerable. He started out…

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Corey Small’s Return to Edmonton

October 4, 2014

Edmonton Rush forward Corey Small missed the entire 2014 NLL season. During the WLA playoffs in the summer of 2013 Small tore his ACL while playing for the Victoria Shamrocks. As a result he had to sit on the sidelines while the Rush set an NLL record by winning 14 straight games to start 2014. Things should be a little different in 2015. Back with the Shamrocks over the summer,…

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2015 NLL Early Rookie of the Year Candidates

September 28, 2014

With the 2014 NLL Draft now in the books we can start speculating about which of the rookies will stand out among the rest. Interestingly, only four times in the last decade has the Rookie of the Year also been the first pick overall: Logan Schuss this past season, Mark Matthews the previous year, Ryan Benesch in 2007 and Brodie Merrill in 2006. So getting picked first is no guarantee…

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2014 NLL Draft Analysis: Edmonton Rush

September 25, 2014

The Edmonton Rush set an NLL record for consecutive wins during the 2014 season, but faltered at the end and found themselves eliminated from the playoffs during the West Division Finals, leaving them short of their goal of getting to their second Champion’s Cup. So although the season has to be thought of as a successful one, it looks like there may still be some room to improve going forward….

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2014 NLL Draft Analysis: Calgary Roughnecks

September 24, 2014

Going into the 2014 NLL Draft, the Calgary Roughnecks had three picks in the first two rounds and appeared to be positioned to add more blue-chip youth to their roster. Instead, they traded their two first-round picks as well as their two third-round picks to the New England Black Wolves in exchange for a first-round pick next year and a third rounder in 2016. “We entered the draft without a…

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NLL Breakout Players for 2015: Riley Loewen

September 21, 2014

In his rookie season, Riley Loewen made an immediate impact on the Edmonton Rush’s offense. He contributed 17 goals and 19 assists to a team that needed help after the loss of Corey Small to a knee injury in the offseason. Small had been third on the team in scoring in 2013 with 64 points so there were question marks about whether Edmonton’s offense could remain competitive in 2014 without…

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NLL Draft Needs: Vancouver Stealth

September 16, 2014

The Vancouver Stealth finished the 2014 NLL season tied for the worst record in the league, a disappointing 4-14. They were second-worst in goals for (181) and second-worst in goals against (223). Quite the fall for a team that came a goal shy of winning the Champion’s Cup just a year earlier. Over the summer the Stealth suffered another blow when head coach Chris Hall stepped down due to health…

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NLL 2015 Breakout Players: Karsen Leung

September 15, 2014

This week we will be focusing on NLL breakout players for the 2015 season. We begin with Calgary transition player Karsen Leung. Leading up to the 2013 NLL Draft, the Calgary Roughnecks traded forward Joe Resetarits and the 15th pick overall for the 10th pick and a second round pick in 2015. With that 10th pick, the Roughnecks grabbed transition Karsen Leung. The decision to let go of a talented…

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NLL Draft Needs: Rochester Knighthawks

September 11, 2014

The Rochester Knighthawks have won an unprecedented three Champion’s Cups in a row, arguably making them one of the greatest dynasties in NLL history. More impressively, they’ve improved in each season during the three-peat run. In 2012, the Knighthawks stumbled into the playoffs with an unremarkable 7-9 record before getting white hot in the postseason and taking the championship. In 2013, they improved to 8-8 before making their playoff run…

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