The Calgary Roughnecks signed free agent goaltender Ryan McBride to a one-year contract last week, adding more depth between the pipes to a squad that is gearing up for training camp. McBride is a local product. Raised in Calgary, he played Senior B during the 2014 season in the RMLL for the Rockyview Knights, a team that plays just north of Calgary, in Airdrie, AB. McBride dressed for 11 games…
The Calgary Roughnecks made sure their top scorer will be around for the long haul when they announced earlier this month that Dane Dobbie had been signed to a four-year contract. Dobbie led the NLL in goals in 2014 with 51, a career high and only the 14th time anyone in league history has scored 51 or more. His 90 points were also a career high and second best on the…
Free agent Wenster Green was signed by the Vancouver Stealth on October 3, adding depth to their transition unit. Green was drafted by the Buffalo Bandits in 2012 but failed to make the team. The 21-year-old transition spent last year on the practice roster for the Rochester Knighthawks and, during the offseason, played for the Iroquois Ironmen in CLax and was a member of the Minto Cup winning Six Nations…
Over the summer the Minnesota Swarm traded Brock Sorensen to the Toronto Rock in exchange for transition Ethan O’Connor and a first round pick in 2017. For the past two seasons, Sorensen has literally been a big part of the Swarm’s transition unit. At 6’6″, 220 lbs, Sorensen was a major physical presence. He averaged 62 loose balls and 13 forced turnovers during his time with Minnesota. He could also…
In spite of having one of the top three goaltenders in the NLL and a veteran backup, the Edmonton Rush selected two more goalies in the entry draft last month. With their second pick, 13th overall, the Rush chose Alberta native Adam Shute. Shute played junior box for the Coquitlam Adanacs where he helped get the team to the postseason after a slow start. Interestingly, he also played attack for…
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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….