As declining ticket sales have caused some turmoil and uncertainty regarding the future of the Edmonton Rush franchise, a significant effort is being made to ensure upcoming on-floor successes.
The Rush have already began to make moves in preparation for next year in Edmonton, renewing general manager and head coach Derek Keenan’s contract or the next two years. Edmonton also fired team president Dave Jamieson after just one season with the club.
While the re-hiring of Keenan gives the Rush a sense of security behind the bench, the firing of Jameison may cause some uncertainty for lacrosse fans in Edmonton. As the franchise saw fan attendance decrease for the sixth straight season, rumours began to swirl regarding team being relocated to Saskatoon.
The Rush’s ticket sale woes can be largely contributed to their dismal record at home this season. Edmonton went 2-6 on the Rexall Centre turf, including a one goal loss to province rival Calgary Roughnecks to end the season which saw the team finish in third place in the western division behind Calgary and the Washington Stealth despite having identical records (9-7). However, despite six of Edmonton’s seven losses on the year being at home, these games were by no means easy victories for the respective visiting squads. Apart from a 13-8 home loss to the Minnesota Swarm, the Rush were not defeated by larger than a three goal deficit all season.
Moving forward, the Rush have found a dynamic duo in Mark Matthews and Kyle Rubisch that possess the ability to lead the team on the offensive and defensive side of the ball, respectively.
Reigning NLL Rookie of the Year Mark Matthews seems poised to lead the Rush offensively for years to come. The rookie led Edmonton is goals (38), while finishing second in points (69).
On the defensive side of the ball, Kyle Rubisch leads a defensive core that allowed fewer goals than any other NLL team this season (170). In just his third NLL season, Rubisch was honoured with his second consecutive Defensive Player of the Year award and was also named First Team All-Pro for the second year in a row. Rubisch is joined on defense by a core of athletic defenders that can also push the ball in transition such as Jeremy Thompson, John Lafontaine, Chris Corbeil and Ryan Dilks.
If history repeats itself, on draft day Derek Keenan will be selecting some players who have familiarity with his coaching style. Keenan, who also coaches at the Jr. A ranks with the OLA’s Whitby Warriors, has shown tendencies to select players who have previously played for him in their junior career. Members of the 2013 NLL All-Rookie team Mark Matthews and Curtis Knight, both of whom played for the Warriors before making the jump to the NLL, provide solid incentive for Keenan to continue this trend in a draft with several former Warriors available as prospects. Potential draftees Adrian Sorichetti and Nick Diachenko were both members of Whitby’s Minto Cup winning team in 2011 that also included Knight, Lafontaine and Matthews. Other players from Keenan’s championship Warriors team of two summers ago who are eligible in the upcoming draft include Zach Palmer and Mitch Wilde.
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