Edmonton Rush General Manager/Head Coach announced today a pair of major transactions, the first of which means the departure of last year’s leading scorer, and the second trade marks a deal with the Rush’s rival from last season’s National Lacrosse League Champion’s Cup final.
In the first move, the Rush traded Shawn Williams to the Minnesota Swarm in return for two second-round picks in the 2013 NLL Entry Draft. The second move sees the Rush ship holdout defender Paul Rabil to the Rochester Knighthawks in exchange for forward Jarrett Davis.
“Rabil was never going to play for us, and in a thin market, we had to make the best deal possible,†said Keenan. “Jarrett is a talented, skilled, and athletic young right-handed offensive player and we need help on the right side.
“Shawn Williams did exactly what we needed him to do for the Rush in 2012 by leading a young offensive group to the NLL Final,†Keenan added.
“But on Aug. 1, Shawn was due to become an unrestricted free agent, so to get two high draft picks in 2013, which is another deep draft class, is a positive move for the organization. It continues our mandate of building with young talent.â€
Davis, a native of Port Moody, B.C., was Rochester’s first-round pick, fifth overall, in the 2010 NLL Entry Draft, and enjoyed two productive seasons with the Knighthawks. In his rookie campaign, Davis notched 12 goals and 12 assists for 24 points, and then followed this past season with seven goals and 21 assists for 28 points to finish seventh in Rochester scoring. En route to the Knighthawks’ Champion’s Cup victory over the Rush, Davis picked up one goal and nine assists in the playoffs.
The six-foot, 170-pounder played college field lacrosse at Bellarmine University, and rounded out his career with 44 assists – the third-best total in school history. Davis was the team’s MVP for the 2008 NCAA season.
Davis played junior lacrosse in the B.C. League, and moved on to play senior summer ball with the Maple Ridge Burrards. This summer, Davis finished in a tie for ninth in WLA scoring with 19 goals and 37 assists for 56 points, including an eight-point outing against Victoria.
Rabil was acquired by the Rush from Washington back in February in exchange for holdout Athan Iannucci, but he did not report to the team and did not play for the remainder of the 2012 season.
Williams, the NLL’s record-setting Ironman, hit the 1,000 career-point plateau in 2012 – his first season with the Rush, coming over in an off-season trade with Rochester. Williams posted a team-leading 68 points including 52 assists in his lone campaign with the Rush.
