Rush Road to NLL Champions Cup Starts Tomorrow with Training Camp
November 20, 2014 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Edmonton Rush News Release
Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush will look to improve on last season the only way they can.
"This team has one ultimate goal ... win the NLL championship," said GM/Head Coach Derek Keenan.
The Rush boss and his charges have only that one last mountain to climb. They came up just a game short in 2013, losing the Champion's Cup final in Rochester. Last season, the Rush were the most dominant team in the NLL during the regular season, and in fact, had one of the all-time best campaigns in league history. Edmonton started the year 14-0 before finishing at 16-2, setting league and franchise records along the way.
Long gone are the days that the Rush are merely hoping just to get into the playoffs. The loyal fan base, the management, and the players all want that Champion's Cup to reside in the City of Champions.
Years of the Rush being amongst the league's lowest scoring teams are over as well since the club now bolsters a plethora of potent offensive threats including former NLL Rookie of the Year Mark Matthews, clutch performer Curtis Knight, set-up man Cory Conway, and sniper Zack Greer. And the rich are getting richer with the return of past team-leading scorer Corey Small, who missed all of last season with a knee injury, and 2013 number-one overall draft pick Ben McIntosh.
"When you draft first overall certainly there are high expectations for that player," noted Keenan, who became the NLL's first three-time winner of both the General Manager and Coach of the Year in 2014.
"We expect Ben McIntosh to come in and contribute, but at the same time we have offensive depth so there is not as much pressure on him as a lot of first overall picks."
The Drexel University standout finished his NCAA career with 191 goals and Honorable Mention All-American status. Deemed the most pro-reach player in this past summer's draft, McIntosh realigns himself in Rush color with former junior teammate Robert Church, who had 52 points in his rookie year for Edmonton.
The Rush will also have another hot prospect at camp - goaltender Adam Schute.
"McIntosh is the obvious but we want to see Adam come in and compete. We think he has huge upside," added Keenan, whose club has some of the best depth of any club.
"Getting Corey Small back is like adding another first-round draft pick to your roster. But with 20 man rosters now you must have depth down into your practice roster. You must have guys who can come in and play. I think we will have that."
Small's return bolsters an already stacked Rush lineup that also has notables like Jeremy Thompson, Jarrett Davis, and Riley Loewen up front. Edmonton's back end may truly be its strength, though, as three-time reigning NLL Defensive Player of the Year Kyle Rubisch anchors a stellar group that includes fellow league award finalist Chris Corbeil plus Brett Mydske, Jeff Cornwall, and Ryan Dilks.
The Rush's core defensive group accounted for astounding 207 forced turnovers in 2014.
But as good as 2014 was and as good as 2015 looks to be on paper, things can always be better.
"There are smaller performance goals along the way we will need to achieve. Generally, we will try to improve on something every week," said Keenan.
"We want to be better overall on special teams including 6-on-5 play. We need to get better at making defensive stops at crucial points in games."
Fans can enter the 2015 Rush Bracket Challenge sponsored by Pizza Hut and Pure Canadian Game FREE of charge at Facebook.com/theedmontonrush or www.edmontonrush.com. An entry must be completed and submitted on or before January 2, 2015. Once the season has begun on January 3, 2015, no more entries will be accepted. Limit one (1) registration and entry per person and per email address. Full details of the 2015 Rush Bracket Challenged sponsored by Pizza Hut and Pure Canadian Gaming are located at Facebook.com/theedmontonrush and www.edmontonrush.com. (2015 Rush Bracket Challenge does not include exhibition games)
2015 Edmonton Rush Season Tickets are now on sale. For more information, please visit www.edmontonrush.com or phone 780 732-RUSH to speak with a ticket representative and get your tickets to the 10th year of Edmonton Rush lacrosse.
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