The Edmonton Rush were a professional lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) that played from the 2006 to 2015 NLL seasons.
The team announced on July 20, 2015, that they would be relocating to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, for the 2016 season, where they would play at the SaskTel Centre as the Saskatchewan Rush.
History The NLL announced that Edmonton, Alberta would receive an NLL franchise on May 5, 2005. They played their home games at Rexall Place. The Edmonton team was owned by businessman Bruce Urban, who purchased the dormant Ottawa Rebel to start the Edmonton team. Although early reports suggested that they would be playing as the Edmonton Speed, they selected the name Rush on June 9, 2005.
On February 17, 2006, the Rush recorded the first victory in their franchise history, defeating the Calgary Roughnecks 12–11 in a thrilling game, scoring the winning goal with only 0.2 seconds left in the game. Their first home victory didn't come until their second season, when they defeated the Philadelphia Wings 13–12 on January 6, 2007, in the season opener.
After starting the 2008 NLL season with an 0–5 record, the Rush fired the franchise's original head coach and general manager, Paul Day, and replaced him with former NLL Coach and GM of the Year, Bob Hamley. The Rush finished the season last in the West with a 4–12 record, and after rebuilding much of the team in the off-season, the Rush struggled again in 2009. After finishing last in the West for the second straight season, Hamley was fired.
Relocation
During Edmonton's playoff run in 2015, Urban began threatening to move the team, telling the Edmonton Sun "It appears that it's coming to an end." After much speculation, the team officially announced they'd be moving to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan to play as the Saskatchewan Rush beginning in 2016. Urban cited the lack of a long-term deal at Rogers Place, which was slated to replace Rexall Place as Edmonton's main arena. Additionally, the Oilers refused to let the Rush put any of their signage at Rexall Place, a move that Urban claimed harmed the Rush's marketing efforts. By the end of the season prior to relocation, the Rush won the Champion's Cup for the first and only time in franchise history, defeating the Toronto Rock 11-10 in Game 2.
Rivalry with the Calgary Roughnecks The arrival of the Rush created another version of "The Battle Of Alberta". The head coach of the Edmonton Rush however, has come under fire by the Calgary Roughnecks. The Rush took out ads in Calgary newspapers before their first meeting that the Rush would "Open a Can" on the Roughnecks. This proved to backfire as the Roughnecks defeated the Rush in their first meeting. The tactic continued though when the Rush were playing the Toronto Rock, but once again it proved to backfire as the Rock easily won.
However, Calgary tried this tactic against Edmonton before the April 5, 2008 game by taking an ad in the Edmonton Sun saying that Edmonton was a "City of Losers" instead of a city of champions. Just as it had for the Rush, the plan backfired as the Rush won 11–9. The rivalry heated up March 13, 2009 in Edmonton as Calgary built up a 14–3 halftime lead over the Rush. At the one second mark of the 3rd quarter, a line brawl broke out between the two teams resulting in nine fighting majors and nine misconducts. Edmonton did get the upper hand in the first playoff meeting between the teams as the Rush won 11–7 in Calgary on May 1, 2010.
Edmonton had played four games against the Calgary Roughnecks in the 2012 season. The Rush went 0/4 in the regular season when they faced the Calgary Roughnecks. Calgary ended their season with the record of 12–4, while Edmonton dominated the second ever playoff Battle Of Alberta with a win over Calgary 19–11. Edmonton went on to the Western division final against the Minnesota Swarm toward another win, 15–3, and headed to the NLL finals.
Roster
Final season’s opening roster
Retired numbers Edmonton Rush retired numbers No. Player Position Career No. retirement 81 Jimmy Quinlan F/T 2006–13 January 17, 2014
Hall of Famers Name Position Seasons played Year inducted Dan Stroup Forward 2007–2008 2010
Team captains Name Seasons served Andrew Turner 2006–2007 Chris McElroy 2008–2010 Brodie Merrill 2011 Jimmy Quinlan 2012–2013 Chris Corbeil 2014–2015
Head coaches # Name Term Regular season Playoffs GC W L W% GC W L W% 1 Paul Day 2005–2008 37 7 30 .289 — — — — 2 Bob Hamley 2008–2009 27 9 18 .333 — — — — 3 Derek Keenan 2010–2015 100 59 41 .590 10 6 4 .600
All-time record Season Division W–L Finish Home Road GF GA Coach Playoffs Avg attendance 2006 Western 1–15 6th 0–8 1–7 150 202 Paul Day Missed playoffs 10,367 2007 Western 6–10 5th 4–4 2–6 160 189 Paul Day Missed playoffs 10,815 2008 Western 4–12 5th 3–5 1–7 141 197 Paul Day (0–5)Bob Hamley (4–7) Missed playoffs 8,820 2009 Western 5–11 6th 4–4 1–7 159 200 Bob Hamley Missed playoffs 8,347 2010 Western 10–6 3rd 5–3 5–3 186 201 Derek Keenan Lost West Division Final 7,558 2011 Western 5–11 5th 4–4 1–7 175 204 Derek Keenan Missed playoffs 7,151 2012 Western 6–10 4th 4–4 2–6 167 175 Derek Keenan Lost NLL Championship 7,050 2013 Western 9–7 3rd 2–6 7–1 203 170 Derek Keenan Lost in Western Semi-Final 6,714 2014 Western 16–2 1st 8–1 8–1 220 157 Derek Keenan Lost West Division Final 7,844 2015 Western 13–5 1st 6–3 7–2 241 177 Derek Keenan Won Championship 6,578 Total 10 seasons 75–89 40–42 35–47 1,802 1,872 8,103 Playoff totals 8–6 3–1 5–5 152 116 9,695
Playoff results +SeasonGameVisitingHome2010West Division Semi-FinalsEdmonton 11Calgary 7West Division Finals Edmonton 11Washington 12 OT2012West Division Semi-Finals Edmonton 19Calgary 11West Division Finals Edmonton 15Minnesota 3NLL Championship Edmonton 6Rochester 92013West Division Semi-Finals Edmonton 11Washington 122014West Division Finals Game 1Edmonton 11Calgary 12 OTWest Division Finals Game 2Calgary 13Edmonton 15West Division Finals TiebreakerCalgary 2Edmonton 12015West Division Finals Game 1Calgary 8Edmonton 10West Division Finals Game 2Edmonton 9 Calgary 12West Division Finals TiebreakerEdmonton 4Calgary 1NLL Championship Game 1Edmonton 15Toronto 9NLL Championship Game 2Toronto 10Edmonton 11
Franchise scoring leaders These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures are updated after each completed NLL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game; G/G = Goals per game; A/G = Assists per game; * = current Rush player
Points Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G Ryan Ward F 64 96 168 264 4.13 Mark Matthews* F 52 122 140 262 5.04 Zack Greer* F 72 142 105 247 3.43 Jimmy Quinlan F/T 127 100 119 219 1.72 Corey Small F 64 88 129 217 3.39 Robert Church* F 34 58 86 144 4.24 Andy Secore F 44 57 87 144 3.27 Jarrett Davis* F 51 45 95 140 2.75 Cory Conway* F 42 27 103 130 3.10 Curtis Knight* F 34 54 64 118 3.47
Goals Player Pos G G/G Zack Greer* F 142 1.97 Mark Matthews* F 122 2.35 Jimmy Quinlan F/T 100 0.79 Ryan Ward F 96 1.50 Corey Small F 88 1.38 Robert Church* F 58 1.71 Andy Secore F 57 1.30 Curtis Knight* F 54 1.59 Scott Evans F 50 2.00 Dan Stroup F 50 1.56
Assists Player Pos A A/G Ryan Ward F 168 2.63 Mark Matthews* F 140 2.69 Corey Small F 129 2.02 Jimmy Quinlan F/T 119 0.94 Zack Greer* F 105 1.46 Cory Conway* F 103 2.56 Jarrett Davis* F 95 1.86 Andy Secore F 87 1.98 Robert Church* F 86 2.53 Brodie Merrill T 74 2.31
Team records Single season goals - Mark Matthews, 53 (2015) Assists - Mark Matthews, 62 (2015) Points - Mark Matthews, 114 (2015) PIM - Jamie Floris, 67 (2009) Loose balls - Brodie Merrill, 190 (2010) Forced turnovers - Kyle Rubisch, 61 (2014)
NLL awards
Champion's Cup 2015
Finals MVP Mark Matthews: 2015
Rookie of the Year Award Mark Matthews: 2013 Ben McIntosh: 2015
Defensive Player of the Year Award Kyle Rubisch: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
Transition Player of the Year Award Brodie Merrill: 2010
Les Bartley Award Derek Keenan: 2010, 2014
GM of the Year Award Derek Keenan: 2010, 2014
See also Edmonton Rush seasons
References