A handful of Edmonton Rush players enter the final weekend of training camp without their spot on the 20 man active roster locked up. The rest of the team is focused on preparation so they can avoid dragging their feet out of gate and falling behind in the standings of the Western Division just as they did the past two seasons. As far as the practice roster goes, players have to agree to be assigned to one of the four spots, allowing them the chance to find an active roster spot on another NLL team first.
The Buffalo Bandits will be a welcome opponent for the Rush so that everyone can show coaches Derek Keenan, Jeff McComb and Jimmy Quinlan why they are the best option to remain with the club when rosters are submitted before Monday’s noon EST deadline.
Between the pipes, one would think that Aaron Bold’s nine wins and 10.56 Goals Against Average should guarantee him the job as starter, but he laid down roots in Edmonton this summer by getting his sport specific training and development business off the ground and established in the community. This resulted in him playing Senior B in the Rocky Mountain Lacrosse League, which has a negative stigma in the eyes of many NLL coaches and general managers. He will be pushed by Brodie MacDonald, who lead the WLA with a 7.51 GAA in the regular season, backstopping the Thunder to the WLA Finals. Third stringer Dave Marrese also will have to prove that the stigma of playing in Alberta during the summer is not a factor so that he can solidify his spot on the practice roster. The changes in the Collective Bargaining Agreement have placed much more importance on those four spots so the Rush coaching staff will need to be confident that Marrese can step in to NLL action if needed. The performance of all three will be intriguing to follow while watching tonight.
Offensively, the focus will be on adjusting to a slightly new system under McComb in addition to getting the power play clicking. The right side will consist of Cory Conway, Jarrett Davis, Curtis Knight, Michael Burke and rookie Robert Church . Both Keenan and McComb spoke highly of Church, their top pick in this year’s entry draft.
Keenan put it very simply, “He’s a player. We expect him to step in and contribute.”
Burke will have to have a very impressive performance to put himself ahead of the other four so that he makes the active roster.
On the left side, Mark Matthews and Zack Greer are going to be counted on to lead the offence while Dane Stevens could be the sleeper the Rush need to replace the loss of Corey Small. Stevens led the Burnaby Lakers of the Western Lacrosse Association in scoring his summer (18GP, 26G, 55A. 81Pts) which put him fourth in the league. Rookie Riley Loewen and fifth year vet Alex Turner will be competing for that final left handed spot on the active roster, so pay special attention to their performances against the Bandits.
The most difficult cuts to make when finalizing the active roster will come on defence and transition. The Rush were the second toughest team to score against in 2013 and boast some of the top defenders in the NLL. Chris Corbeil, Kyle Rubisch, Brett Mydske, Jeff Cornwall, Nik Bilic and face off specialist Jeremy Thompson are all locks to make it Rookie Adrian Sorichetti is on the radar to make the active roster too. John Lafontaine and Ryan Dilks will likely be on the final list too, leaving two veterans, John Lintz and Jarrett Toll needing to impress to fill the tenth spot earmarked for players coming out of the back gate. Rookie Reid Mydske along with Michael Cudmore, Mitch Bannister and Jesse Fehr are also fighting for that last spot along with spots on the practice roster.
There are tough decisions to be made league wide, so this game is important for all players as they jockey for more floor time, more responsibility on special teams and one of only 180 jobs available in the best indoor lacrosse league in the world.
