The Edmonton Rush are getting ready to begin their training camp in anticipation of the 2014 NLL season. The team will be challenged to replace the Corey Small on offense. Small suffered a knee injury in the summer leagues and won’t be available, leaving the Rush without their top point-getter from last year. On transition, the retirement of team captain Jimmy Quinlan also leaves an empty roster spot, meaning there…
With training camp fast approaching, it’s time to see what the Calgary Roughnecks were up to over the off season. In September transition Nolan Heavenor called it quits after eight years in the NLL, seven with Calgary. His decision to retire leaves an opening in the transition game for the Roughnecks. The team made a couple of moves on the day of the annual draft. Jackson Decker was traded to…
With the announcement of six signings on Friday, the Calgary Roughnecks have finally made a big push to lock down their outstanding free agents. In their first announcement in almost two weeks, the Riggers revealed that they have signed forward Matthew Dinsdale and defenseman Greg Harnett to three-year contracts, while one-year contracts have been made with forward Darrren Kinnear, transitions Travis Cornwall and Curtis Manning, and defenseman Barclay Hickey. That…
The Edmonton Rush selected Mike Burke in the third round of the 2012 NLL draft, 28th overall, as a talented forward from Hofstra University and the Brampton Exclesiors of the OLA. Burke played in just two games in his rookie season, scoring once. That made his first NLL season considerably less auspicious than that of fellow Rush rookies Mark Matthews (38 G, 31 A, Rookie of the Year Award) and…
In 2013 the Calgary Roughnecks scored the most goals of any team in the National Lacrosse League, with 222. They also were tied for most goals against at 211. Obviously the offense seems to be in good shape. But do the Roughnecks need a boost on defense? In a nine-team league, it would be foolish to stand pat and assume you’ll be fine, so looking to improve should always be…
The Calgary Roughnecks have been busy this week—like everyone else—locking down their free agents. Since the NLL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement was announced on Oct 22, the Roughnecks have signed forward Jeff Shattler to a three-year deal, defensemen Dan McRae and Jon Harnett to two-year deals, and forward Dane Dobbie and goaltender Frankie Scigliano to one-year contracts. Calgary has also signed draft picks Garrett McIntosh, Jake Hayes and Karsen Leung. Free…
The free agent frenzy is well underway in the National Lacrosse League with teams re-signing their players in bunches leading up to the start of training camps in late November. The Calgary Roughnecks announced the re-signing of seven players today, including defensemen Jon Harnett and Dan McRae, forward Dane Dobbie, as well as draft picks Garrett McIntosh and Jake Hayes and free agent Cody Hawkins. But the biggest signing for…
As the Calgary Roughnecks prepare for their 13th season in the National Lacrosse League, let’s reflect on some of the key trades that have made the franchise into the powerhouse that it has become. The move that has arguably defined the course of the franchise happened just before the Roughnecks began their inaugural season when Calgary dealt first-round draft pick Blaine Manning to the Toronto Rock for Calgary native Kaleb…
Calgary Roughnecks forward Shawn Evans won the NLL MVP award for the first time in the 2013 season, leading his team to first place in the West Division with a career-best 112 points.
There were times during the 2013 NLL season when the Calgary Roughnecks had some challenges between the pipes. Coming off his first Goaltender of the Year award, Mike Poulin was expected to carry the defensive load for the team, but he was not able to match his 2012 performance. After posting a 10.27 goals against average with a .789 save percentage—both career bests—he slipped to a 12.70 GAA and a…