Edmonton, AB–Edmonton Rush General Manager/Head Coach announced today that club has designated franchise tags on forwards Ryan Ward and Aaron Wilson for the 2013 Season.
National League Lacrosse teams have until midnight tonight to put the franchise tag on a maximum of two of its players. The franchise tag is used by a team to secure the rights of a player on the roster who qualifies to be an unrestricted free agent. By using the franchise tag, a team retains the player’s rights for the 2013 season, as they would otherwise be an Unrestricted Free Agent when the Free Agent Signing Period opens tomorrow (August 1). In return, the franchised-tagged player is a guaranteed a contract for 2013 that pays him the veteran maximum salary plus an additional 25 percent.
Assistant Captain Ryan Ward in his fourth year with the Rush finished first overall in team scoring in the 2012 post season with 10 (G), 11(A) for a total of 21 points, in regular season for 2012 Ward posted 19(G), 38 (A) for a total of 57 points to finish second overall in team scoring.
Forward Wilson in his first year with the Rush finished third overall in team scoring in the 2012 post season with 5(G), 9 (A) for a total of 14 points, in regular season for 2012 Wilson posted 13 (G), 18 (A) for a total of 31 points to finish sixth overall in team scoring.
A historical mark for the team this season is having the first time franchise first draft pick for the 2013 NLL Entry Draft.    The date and location for the 2013 NLL Entry Draft has yet to be announced but is tentatively schedule this September.
