Edmonton Rush Announce 2012 Roster
December 22, 2011 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB--Setting the stage for their seventh National Lacrosse League season, the Edmonton Rush unveiled their 23-man roster today for the fast-approaching 2012 campaign.
The Rush are coming off one of the busiest off-seasons in club history, as General Manager/Head Coach Derek Keenan orchestrated numerous trades and signings to set up his roster. While looking at the future by acquiring six high draft picks via trades, Keenan sought to instantly improve the Rush lineup and did so by picking up a trio of new goaltenders, a top sniper, and three solid defenders.
Those new players will join forces with several returning players as the Rush go in search of a return to the NLL playoffs, and a shot at their first Champion's Cup.
"We made some moves that have drastically changed our team, but I strongly feel like we're a deeper team and I believe a better team as well," noted Keenan.
"Scoring and goaltending were issues we needed to address and that has been accomplished, and given the opportunity to improve our defense, we felt they were equally important acquisitions."
Up front, the Rush recently re-signed Ryan Ward who was the club's leading scorer during the 2010 campaign and a key figure in Edmonton advancing all the way to the West Division final. Ward, a two-time 30-goal scorer, finished second on the Rush last season in scoring with 58 points and was second in goals with 25.
The Rush are anchored on offense by Corey Small, last season's leading point-producer with 63 points, along with Scott Evans, a mid-season acquisition in 2011, who proved to be a valuable power forward, topping the team with 27 goals and 54 penalty minutes.
Off-season trades brought the Rush a pair go-to figures on offense. The Rush landed Aaron Wilson in a multi-player deal with Minnesota, and the two-time 40-goal scorer should bring some spark to the Rush.
The Rush will also count on newly acquired Shawn Williams, the former Rochester top gun who finished eighth in NLL scoring last season with 77 points. The veteran forward has an elite-level resume including a pair of 90-point seasons, three 40-goal campaigns, and has eclipsed 50 assists in a season five times.
Jimmy Quinlan, the Rush's all-time leading scorer, returns to his home-town team for a seventh season. The Sherwood Park, Alberta, product has missed just one game over his Rush tenure, and will continue to provide the club with solid transitional play along with intense emotional leadership.
Quinlan is joined on the Rush's transition/defense corps by a cast of new faces and blossoming stars including Brett Mydske, one of the NLL's top young players who represented the Rush and won gold with Team Canada at the 2011 World Indoor Lacrosse Championship. Among the other returnees at the back for the Rush are veteran Derek Suddons, Tyler Codron, and last season's strong rookies John Lafontaine and Jarrett Toll.
Among the new members of the Rush defense are Chris Corbeil, an off-season acquisition from Buffalo who registered 121 loose balls in 2011, Dispersal Draft pick-up Kyle Rubisch.
The Rush have entirely revamped their goaltending for the 2012 season, bringing in three new faces to stand between the pipes. All three players were involved in multi-player trades this past summer including Brodie Macdonald, one of the top netminding prospects in the NLL, who came over from Philadelphia as part of the package exchanged for Brodie Merrill. Meanwhile, Aaron Bold joined Shawn Williams in coming to the Rush from Rochester, and Kevin Croswell was picked up in the same deal with Minnesota that brought Aaron Wilson to Edmonton.
The Rush will be off for the Christmas break and will resume preparations for the 2012 season on Friday, January 13th with practice at Leduc Recreation Centre.
On Friday, January 20th the Rush will face the divisional rivals Colorado Mammoth to open the 2012 regular season at Rexall Place, game time is 7:00 p.m.
2012 Season Tickets and Game Day Tickets are now on sale and available at 780-732-RUSH (7874).
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National Lacrosse League Stories from December 22, 2011
- Wings Announce 23-Man Roster for Upcoming 2012 NLL Season - Philadelphia Wings
- Knighthawks Announce 2012 Roster - Rochester Knighthawks
- Bandits Announce Roster for 2012 Season - Buffalo Bandits
- Washington Stealth Announce 23-Man Active Roster for 2012 Season - Washington Stealth
- Edmonton Rush Announce 2012 Roster - Edmonton Rush
- Minnesota Swarm Announce Final 23-Man Roster for 2012 Season - Minnesota Swarm
- Veteran Pat McCready Re-Signs with Knighthawks - Rochester Knighthawks
- Rock Make Final Roster Moves - Toronto Rock
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