Urban passes Rush torch to Priestner family

Blades ownership buys NLL powerhouse club

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL title in 2018.

Shockwaves were sent through Saskatoon’s sports scene, and it would be safe to say Saskatchewan’s sports scene on Monday.

During the morning hours, news broke that the NLL’s powerhouse Saskatchewan Rush had been sold by Bruce Urban to the Priestner Sports Corporation, which has owned the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades since 2013. Mike Priestner leads the Priestner Sports Corporation along with owing the Go Auto automotive dealership chain.

The official announcement of the sale of the Rush was made Monday afternoon.

Colin Priestner becomes the new president and governor of the Rush while continuing his role as the president and general manager of the Blades. Jared Priestner takes on the role as the alternate governor for the Rush, and Steve Hildebrand, who is the associate general manager of the Blades, will be part of the Rush’s leadership team.

The Rush enjoy an NLL title winning goal by Jeff Cornwall, centre.

All of the lacrosse operations of the Rush will continue to be run by the team’s current all-world general manager in Derek Keenan.

Following the official announcement, Colin Priestner made the media rounds talking about the sale.

A thank you letter by the Urban family to the fans of the Rush was released on the team’s website. It was signed by Bruce, his wife Cindy and son, Brandon.

Brandon served as the director of media relations for the Rush Since January of 2017 and added the title of director of business development in September of 2017. He held those roles until the Rush were sold.

A crowd of 15,182 celebrate a Rush NLL title win in 2016.

He was very active during game days ensuring everything ran smoothly behind the scenes.

Until the sale was announced, it wasn’t really on anyone’s radar. It came out of the blue.

For anyone that has interacted with Bruce Urban, you always got the feeling that the Rush were his baby. He had owned the Rush since they were born as an expansion franchise in 2005 and first began playing in Edmonton.

The Rush won an NLL title in 2015, while calling Edmonton home. Playing out of Rexall Place, the Rush ran into issues where they were unable to promote their branding in that facility by the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, who also called that building home.

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL title in 2016.

Unable to secure a long term lease deal for the brand new Rogers Place in Edmonton, Urban relocated the Rush to Saskatoon and the club was branded as the Saskatchewan Rush for the 2016 campaign.

The Rush won NLL titles in 2016 and 2018 and gained massive popularity. 

In the four complete seasons and a fifth partial campaign played in Saskatoon, the Rush have averaged 13,482 fans per game during the regular season and 13,425 fans per game in the post-season.

The Rush got to play 10 games in 2020 before the rest of the NLL campaign that year was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The 2020-21 campaign ultimately got cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic too.

Captain Chris Corbeil raises the Champion’s Cup in 2016.

Like the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, the Rush draw fans from all across the province of Saskatchewan.

The Rush also had the best game day presentation out of any sports team in Saskatchewan. Going to a Rush game was an event and a party.

Music played throughout the game by a DJ. The Rush had an extremely talented dance team that performed during stoppages, an official mascot in Bruiser the Bulldog, an unofficial mascot in Rush Hulk and tonnes of fun things happening around the game to add to the entertainment aspect.

All the fun elements allowed the fans to even be more engaged in the game, and they gave the Rush an incredible home floor advantage.

Their most famous fan in Joyce Souka, who is best known as “Grandma Rush,” is one of the club’s diehard fans from Edmonton who traveled to Saskatoon for every Rush home game.

Tailgating at Rush playoff games was a common sight.

Captain Chris Corbeil, high scoring forward Mark Matthews and gritty transition player Jeremy Thompson have all become household names in “the Wheat Province.”

Urban enjoyed every perk that came with owning the Rush while the team called Saskatchewan home.

Both the Urban and Priestner families are from the Edmonton area. The Urbans call Calgary their home base now with Bruce owning the Western RV Group of Companies.

With both the Rush and Blades calling the SaskTel Centre home, personnel from both teams would converse from time to time.

Over the past year, Urban and the Priestner family had a series of friendly conversations.

Mark Matthews is a top scorer for the Rush.

During an online media conference on Monday, Colin Priestner said his family reached out to Urban asking if there ever might be a desire to retire or move on from owning the Rush. Things progressed organically from that point to where the Priestner Sports Corporation ultimately bought the Rush.

As the owners of the Blades, the Priestner Sports Corporation entered a massive rebuild with that team, which was devoid of prospects and WHL Bantam Draft picks after hosting the 2013 CHL championship tournament – the Memorial Cup.

After missing the playoffs for five straight seasons, the Blades finished fourth overall in the 2018-19 WHL regular season with a 45-15-8 record. The Blades have remained one of the WHL better franchises posting a 16-5-2-1 mark in their recently completed developmental regular season.

Now, the Priestner Sports Corporation owns a team in the Rush that is responsible for one of the most iconic moments in the history of the SaskTel Centre.

“Grandma Rush” is the Rush’s most famous fan.

On June 4, 2016, the Rush were looking to win Game 2 of the NLL championship series at the SaskTel Centre against the Buffalo Bandits and sweep the best-of-three set to take the league title.

Locked in a 10-10 tie with under 25 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, the Bandits had possession in the Rush zone. A hard point shot from a Bandits player rebounded high into the air off the back boards and was collected by Rush defenceman Jeff Cornwall near the edge of exiting the defensive zone.

With a clear path to the Buffalo goal, Cornwall dashed down the rink on a breakaway. He tucked home a shot low stick side with 12 seconds to play to put the Rush in front 11-10.

Derek Keenan has led the Rush to three NLL titles.

At that point, the SaskTel Centre became a madhouse going bonkers in a good way. The cheers might have been the loudest the building had experienced in its history.

The final 12 seconds ticked away allowing that 11-10 score to hold up as the final as the Rush swept the series 2-0 to capture the Champion’s Cup.

Cornwall’s goal would go down as one the most iconic moments in the history of the SaskTel Centre along with John Slaney’s golden goal that won Canada top spot at the world junior hockey championship on Jan. 4, 1991 and Bret “The Hitman” Hart capturing the WWE heavyweight title on Oct. 12, 1992.

One key thing Urban did to allow the Rush to have success was bring in someone who knew the lacrosse game well and let them run the team. After not being able to win more than six games in each of team’s first four seasons, Urban brought Keenan in to be the Rush’s head coach and general manager in June of 2009.

Captain Chris Corbeil lifts the NLL Cup in 2018.

With Keenan as head coach and general manager, the Rush franchise posted a 116-66 record during the regular season and a 15-8 mark during the post-season.

After the 2020 campaign was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Keenan turned over the head coach role to Jeff McComb, who has been the Rush assistant coach responsible for offence for seven seasons.

The Priestners plan to follow that same blueprint.

“Our goal is to continue that winning culture with the same great group of people who made it happen,” said Colin Priestner in a statement. “Derek Keenan is a big reason we made this investment.

“His track record is simply unparalleled, and we want him running this franchise for years to come. To any Rush fan reading this: we’re keeping the players you love and the people who worked so tirelessly to build this organization.”

Bruce Urban raises the National Lacrosse League Cup in 2018.

Colin and his wife, Alanna, live in Saskatoon, which will allow the new ownership group to be a little more hands on locally with the business side of things. The Urban family continued to live in Calgary, while the Rush played in Saskatoon.

While the NLL is hoping to return to play in the upcoming 2021-22 season, an era has come to an end for the Rush franchise.

Bruce Urban and his family set the bar incredibly high when it came to operating the team.

Now it is the turn of the Priestner family carry the Rush franchise torch. They have learned a lot when it comes to running a sport franchise in owning the Blades, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them carry the Rush torch well.

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

WHL continues to roll as B.C. Division gets green light

Schedule announced for East Division hub

Connor Zary and the Blazers are set to be back in action.

WHL officials might be over celebrating if they pop the champagne corks, but they should feel free to indulge in their favourite order from Starbucks.

On Tuesday, the WHL officially announced they had the green light from the British Columbia Provincial Health Office to play games in two hub centres in that province in Kelowna and Kamloops. That means the five teams in the WHL’s B.C. Division will be allowed to begin an abbreviated regular season starting on March 26, where each team will play 24 games.

With that announcement, the WHL was successful in navigating all hurdles to this point in time to get all of the circuit’s 22 teams back into action for a shortened 2020-21 campaign. The season is being held for the purposes of developing players and allowing them to be scouted for the next NHL Entry Draft.

Action is already underway in the Central Division. The East Division is schedule to begin play in a bubble environment in Regina, Sask., on March 12.

The U.S. Division is slated to begin play on March 19.

Of course, the WHL clubs are playing shortened seasons due to the fact the world is still in the grips of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

“The WHL appreciated the cooperation we have received from the Provincial Health Officer and health officials in B.C. as we work toward a safe return to play in the B.C. Division,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison in a release. “With our extensive protocols and the necessary approvals now in place, we are looking forward to play beginning in the Kamloops and Kelowna hubs.

Tarun Fizer will aim to pile up offence for the Royals.

“We are excited to now have all four WHL Divisions returning to play as it was our objective from the onset to deliver a season for all our players.”

On Wednesday, the WHL continued to roll announcing the schedule for al 84 regular season games that will be played in the East Division hub in the Brandt Centre. 

The schedule gets going on March 12 with two games as the Moose Jaw Warriors take on the Brandon Wheat Kings (4 p.m. Saskatchewan time) and the Regina Pats will tangle with the Prince Albert Raiders (4 p.m. Saskatchewan time).

As for the B.C. Division, games will be played at Prospera Place in Kelowna and the Sandman Centre in Kamloops. 

Like action in the rest of the WHL, spectators will not be permitted into league facilities for the 2020-21 season.

The Kelowna Rockets and Victoria Royals will be based out of Kelowna. The Rockets expect to stay with billet families, while the Royals are expected to stay in a hotel.

The Kamloops Blazers, Prince George Cougars and Vancouver Giants will be based out of Kamloops. The Blazers are expected to stay with billets, while the Cougars and Giants will stay in hotels.

Kaedan Korczak is expected to be back in the Rockets fold.

WHL teams will be permitted to travel between the two hub cities with no stops permitted. The two centres are about 170 kilometres apart from each other.

The players and staff from B.C. Division teams will begin self-quarantining this coming Saturday. 

They will report to their respective hub cities on March 13 and will undergo COVID-19 testing upon arrival followed by an additional quarantine period.

Players and staff will undergo a second COVID-19 test before being permitted to engage in any team activity.

WHL clubs will provide private PCR testing through DynaLIFE Medical Labs in order to ensure no additional strain is placed on public health. 

All private testing conducted in the B.C. Division will be processed and analyzed at DynaLIFE’s Alberta-based laboratory in Edmonton.

The major junior circuit will implement an ongoing weekly private PCR testing strategy.

If a WHL squad has one or more players or staff test positive for COVID-19 at any point in the season, the team will be required to suspend its activities for a minimum of 14 days.

There will be enhanced screening for all WHL players, team staff and officials that will take place on a daily basis including regular temperature screenings as well as symptom monitoring through the WHL Athlete RMS Mobile Application.

Masks must be worn by all WHL players at all times except when they are participating on ice for games and practices.

Alex Kannok Leipert will man the blue-line for the Giants.

WHL coaches will be required to wear masks at all times including while conducting practice and while behind the bench during games.

The schedule for the B.C. Division will be announced at a later date.

Overall, the WHL was able to accomplish something that looked to be impossible. For the longest time, there was huge doubt that the circuit would be able to hold any type of season for a 2020-21 campaign.

The fact the WHL will hold an abbreviated campaign getting all 22 member clubs into action has to be seen as a minor miracle.

Rush honour Shahab with jersey, other notes

“We presented Dr Saqib Shahab with a jersey in appreciation of his leadership and guidance under unimaginable pressure. We look forward to seeing him and his family in the stands next year alongside Rush Nation” Rush owner Bruce Urban

(Dr Shahab w/ Paul Merriman, Health Minster) pic.twitter.com/4X8C4ddf1V

— Saskatchewan Rush (@SaskRushLAX) March 3, 2021

The Saskatchewan Rush seem to enjoy hitting lots and lots of homeruns.

On Wednesday morning, the powerhouse National Lacrosse League club shared photos of having presented Saskatchewan’s Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Saqib Shahab with a personalized jersey. The jersey is emblazoned with the number one and has Dr. Shahab on the name bar.

In a release, the Rush wrote that Dr. Shahab and his team have been working tirelessly to keep us all safe from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Rush release said Dr. Shahab is the face of thousands working in the front lines to make Saskatchewan better.

“On behalf of the entire Rush organization, we proudly present Dr. Shahab with a personalized jersey in appreciation of his continued leadership and guidance under unimaginable pressure,” said Rush owner Bruce Urban in a release. “His expertise and calm demeanor have been a guiding light in the storm, and we look forward to seeing him in the stands alongside Rush Nation next season.”

The Rush relocated to Saskatoon before the start of the 2015-16 NLL campaign from Edmonton as the defending league champions.

In that first campaign playing out of the SaskTel Centre, the Rush won a second straight NLL crown. They added a third NLL championship in 2018.

The Rush last played on March 7, 2020, when downed the visiting Vancouver Warriors 17-7 at the SaskTel Centre. The rest of the 2019-20 NLL was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The NLL decided to not play in 2020-21 due to the continuing pandemic electing to focus on returning for the 2021-22 season.

When action does resume, you can expect the Rush and the league will continue their entertaining magic.

• The WHL’s games will be streamed on WHL Live on CHL TV. Back on Feb. 16, the CHL announced Verizon Media Platform would be its streaming partner for this season. For WHL games, a season pass will cost fans $59.99 or a 24-hour pass will cost $6.99. As fans aren’t allowed to attend WHL games this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many were looking for information regarding live streams for games. You can find more information on WHL Live on CHL TV by clicking right here.
• On Monday, Edmonton Oil Kings winger Dylan Guenther was named the first WHL play of the week for the 2020-21 campaign. The 17-year-old had four goals and four assists in two games for the Oil Kings, who picked up a pair of victories over the Lethbridge Hurricanes. Oil Kings 18-year-old netminder Sebastian Cossa was named the WHL goaltender of the week. He was in goal for both of the Oil Kings wins over the Hurricanes posting a 1.50 goals against average and a .935 save percentage.
• Tickets are on sale for the March jackpot for the Saskatchewan Amateur Football Mega 50/50 lottery. The funds from this 50/50 lottery will go to support the CJFL’s Saskatoon Hilltops and Regina Thunder and the WWCFL’s Saskatoon Valkyries and Regina Riot. One prize will be drawn per month, and the remaining draw dates are Wednesday, March 31, April 30 and May 31. Tickets can be purchased by clicking right here, and purchasers must be in Saskatchewan in order to buy tickets.
• On Tuesday, CTV Regina shared a story of an under-18 hockey team in Estevan breaking Government of Saskatchewan Public Health Orders in holding scrimmage with a referee. The teams weren’t social distancing on the bench either. Sport competitions are currently not allowed and Public Health Orders in Saskatchewan. The scrimmage was streamed live online, which basically means those involved with the scrimmage were giving the “Stone Cold Stunner” to authorities. Claire Hanna had the story, and it can be found by clicking right here.
• On Tuesday, Gregg Drinnan posted his latest entry on his Taking Note blog on how the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc on the sports world. He also shows an example of a factually inaccurate tweet that was made to try and influence government officials in British Columbia. It shows the unhelpful lows some will go to get sports back into action. Drinnan’s piece can be found by clicking right here.
• Netminder Garin Bjorklund of the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers delivered a message on the importance of masking in during these COVID-19 pandemic times in the tweet below.

Goaltender Garin Bjorklund knows his way around a mask. He’s here to ask you to keep one another safe by wearing your own. #WHLMaskUp

INFO 📝 | https://t.co/ReHDXwk3J4 pic.twitter.com/1fTz9BPtAP

— Medicine Hat Tigers (@tigershockey) March 3, 2021

If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Keenan made his mark as coaching icon with Rush

Oshawa, Ont., product leaves bench boss role, remains GM

Derek Keenan with the NLL Cup in 2018.

    In a world that has very few certainties, it seemed like Derek Keenan would coach the Saskatchewan Rush forever.
    With that noted, change seems to be inevitable in life. On Friday, the Rush announced Keenan was stepping down from his role of head coach.

    The 58-year-old product of Oshawa, Ont., will remain with the powerhouse National Lacrosse League club as general manager.

    Taking over as head coach will be Jeff McComb. The 51-year-old McComb, who is from Pickering, Ont., has been with the Rush for the last seven seasons and was their assistant coach responsible for offence.

    Former Rush captain Jimmy Quinlan has been hired as the team’s new assistant coach responsible for offence. The 38-year-old Quinlan last played for the Rush in 2013, when the franchise as still located in Edmonton.

    His #81 is retired by the team.

    Following his playing career, the Sherwood Park, Alta., product proceeded to spend five seasons with the Rush as an assistant coach responsible for defence.

Derek Keenan checks out action from the Rush bench in 2018.

    Jeremy Tallevi, who is from London, Ont., remains on the Rush staff as the assistant coach responsible for defence.

    Way back in June of 2009, Keenan was hired by the Rush to be the team’s head coach and general manager. He guided the club to an NLL championship in 2015 in the squad’s final season in Edmonton.

    Keenan led the Rush to another NLL title in 2016, which the franchise’s first season playing out of the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon as the Saskatchewan Rush. The Rush captured the NLL crown again in 2018 under Keenan’s leadership.

    As the Rush bench boss, Keenan was viewed as the ultimate player’s coach. He treats his players with so much respect that the players don’t want to let him down.

Derek Keenan speaks at a Rush rally in 2017.

    In a lot of ways, Keenan is viewed as a kind father figure with the Rush.

    As Rush general manager, Keenan focuses on bringing in good people and his goal is that those players become better persons during their time as Rush team members.

    Keenan came to the Rush with boatloads of positive experiences in the game. As a player, he was a member of the Buffalo Bandits when they won NLL titles in 1992 and 1993.

    He doubled as a player and assistant coach when the Toronto Rock won the NLL crown in 1999. Keenan was an assistant coach for the Rock’s NLL championship wins in 2000, 2002 and 2003.

    Keenan was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012 before the Rush moved on to win their three NLL titles. As both a player and a coach, Keenan has been a part of nine NLL title wins.

Derek Keenan speaks to the media after a game in 2017.

    Just how big of an impact did Keenan have on the Rush?

    The Rush franchise posted a 16-48 regular season record in their first four campaigns of existence before Keenan came on board. In Keenan’s first season with the team in 2010, the Rush made the playoffs for the first time with a 10-6 record.

    The effect Keenan had on the Rush players showed through in the 2015 campaign. The Rush entered that season with expectations to contend for the NLL title with their only drawback being their youthfulness at the time.

    Keenan’s wife, Wendy, passed away on Jan. 2, 2015 due to her battle with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. Derek had taken a leave of absence from the Rush to tend to Wendy in November of 2014.

    After she passed away, Derek returned to the Rush bench to resume his duties as head coach and general manager for a regular season game on Jan. 24, 2015. The Rush rallied around their coach for the rest of that campaign resulting in the team’s first NLL title win.

Derek Keenan gives a Rush player encouragement on the bench.

    Keenan views that first championship as his most memorable time with the team.

    “It was a very difficult year for our family, because we lost my wife and my kids’ mom and that was difficult, but we won that year,” said Keenan in a 2018 interview. “I think the amount that our players put into that season in terms of kind of her memory was so strong with our group.

    “I think that was really important to our team, and it was really important to me. It kind of started a legacy then that we were a very driven group. That was a big memory for sure.

    “The 2015 championship I think was really, really huge for us.”

    When the Rush moved to Saskatchewan, Keenan quickly became a household name in the province.

Derek Keenan hugs Rush goalie Evan Kirk after the 2018 NLL title win.

    Keenan’s kind and personable demeanor was one of the factors that helped the people of Saskatchewan develop a love in for the Rush.

    He would also take the time to explain the ins and outs of the lacrosse game, which also helped draw you into the sport.

    After winning the NLL title in 2016, the Rush were able to pick Derek’s son, Ryan, with the first overall selection in the 2016 NLL Draft. With Derek behind the bench and Ryan on the floor as a skilled forward, the Rush captured their third NLL title in 2018.

    Derek will also tell you he had a lot of help in creating a powerhouse program in the Rush. He will spread credit to his assistant coaches and to team owner Bruce Urban.

    Of course, Keenan guides a terrific group of players like captain Chris Corbeil, Mike Messenger, Jeff Cornwall, Robert Church, Ryan Dilks, Evan Kirk, Mark Matthews, Jeremy Thompson, Jeff Shattler, Ben McIntosh and Matt Hossack.

Derek Keenan speaks at the Rush victory rally in 2018.

    Along the way, Keenan became the NLL’s all-time leader in head coaching victories, and he has 155 combined wins in the regular season and post-season. The win total includes stints as head coach and general manager of the Anaheim Storm and the Portland LumberJax.

    He was the NLL coach of the year in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018 and the NLL’s general manager of the year in 2006, 2010 and 2014. The 2010 NLL coach of the year award was shared with Chris Hall of the Washington Stealth.

    It was just too bad real life threw a wrench into how Keenan’s final campaign behind the Rush bench went.

    The 2019-20 NLL season was suspended on March 12 and ultimately the remainder of the campaign was cancelled due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The Rush were 7-3 when NLL play was halted.

Derek Keenan and the Rush pose for a championship team picture in 2018.

    While Keenan will no longer be behind the bench, he will still be a key part of the organization. The outstanding culture that the Rush have built will be a huge asset for the franchise when it returns to action.

    Combined with the support legendary fan Joyce Souka, who is best known as “Grandma Rush,” and the rest of Rush Nation, you can already see the Rush quickly hitting high gear when they return to play.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Rush NLL title runs show how sports unifies a community

Sports teams could play key role in COVID-19 recovery

The Rush enjoy an NLL title winning goal in 2016 by Jeff Cornwall, centre.

    Do you remember the party at the SaskTel Centre on June 4, 2016?
    It is safe to say the 15,182 spectators who were in the building won’t forget that night.

    Playing their first season in Saskatoon after moving from Edmonton, Alta., the Saskatchewan Rush were looking to capture the National Lacrosse League title in Game 2 of the best-of-three championship series against the Buffalo Bandits.

    Locked in 10-10 tie with under 25 seconds to play in the fourth quarter, the Bandits had possession in the Rush zone. A hard point shot from a Bandits player rebounded high into the air off the back boards and was collected by Rush defenceman Jeff Cornwall near the edge of exiting the defensive zone.

A crowd of 15,182 celebrate a Rush NLL title win in 2016.

    With a clear path to the Buffalo goal, Cornwall dashed down the rink on a breakaway. He tucked home a shot low stick side with 12 seconds to play to put the Rush in front 11-10.

    At that point, the SaskTel Centre became a madhouse going bonkers in a good way. The cheers might have been the loudest the building had experienced in its history.

    The final 12 seconds ticked away allowing that 11-10 score to hold up as the final as the Rush swept the series 2-0 to capture the Champion’s Cup.

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL title in 2016.

    A large number of fans hung out for an hour soaking in the post-game celebrations. The championship party would go long into the Saskatoon night.

    Cornwall’s goal would go down as one the most iconic moments in the history of the SaskTel Centre along with John Slaney’s golden goal that won Canada top spot at the world junior hockey championship on Jan. 4, 1991 and Bret “The Hitman” Hart capturing the WWE heavyweight title on Oct. 12, 1992.

    On Thursday, the NLL officially cancelled the rest of the 2019-20 campaign due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The announcement came four years to the day after Cornwall scored his legendary goal.

Captain Chris Corbeil raises the Champion’s Cup in 2016.

    The NLL has suspended the regular season on March 12 due to COVID-19 and cancelled the games that were postponed and the rest of the remainder of the regular season on April 6. There was hope a post-season format could be arranged to crown a league champion.

    For the first time since the NLL first crowned a champion in 1987, the league will not be handing out its championship trophy.

    When the NLL suspended play, the Rush sat first in the West Division with a 7-3 record, and they were once again a contender to win a league championship. While the 2019-20 campaign will go unfinished, the Rush are one example of how a sports team can bring a community together.

    The Rush won the NLL title in their final season in Edmonton in 2015.

Tailgating at Rush playoffs games was a common sight.

    Upon relocating to Saskatoon in the off-season, the team’s brain trust elected to name the team the Saskatchewan Rush in order to brand itself as the province’s team like the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders, who are based in Regina.

    The move worked as the Rush have season ticket holders drive into Saskatoon for games from all over the provinces along with some of their diehard fans from their Edmonton days including Joyce Souka, who is best known as “Grandma Rush” and is a cancer survivor.

    Official mascot Bruiser the Bulldog and unofficial mascot Rush Hulk became entertaining mainstays who gave fans joy and entertainment.

Jeff Shattler was the MVP of the NLL playoffs in 2018.

    The Rush’s first season based out of Saskatoon was a magical one as huge crowd flocked to the SaskTel Centre. At playoff games, fans would show up to tailgate sometimes six hours before the contest was to start.

    On May 21, 2016, the Rush drew a crowd of 15,192 spectators to see them win Game 2 of the West Division final 12-9 to sweep that best-of-three series 2-0. 
    The attendance from that night is still a SaskTel Centre record for a sporting event.

    It is likely 10 fewer people were permitted into the luxury boxes in the game where the Rush won the NLL title on Cornwall’s electrifying goal.

    The support for the Rush has remained solid since the first season. Owner Bruce Urban, head coach and general manager Derek Keenan, captain Chris Corbeil, high scoring forward Mark Matthews and gritty transition player Jeremy Thompson have all become household names.

“Grandma Rush” tells it like it is.

    Fans continued to pack into the SaskTel Centre with attendance usually hovering around 13,000 per game.

    The Rush returned to the NLL final in 2017 falling to the Georgia Swarm.

    Another home championship celebration took place for the Saskatchewan side on June 9, 2018. In a series-deciding Game 3 of the NLL championship, the Rush downed the Rochester Knighthawks 15-10 before 13,654 spectators.

    The fans at the SaskTel Centre stood and saluted the rush for the final two minutes of the game as the final outcome wasn’t in doubt and stayed for a lengthy stretch for the post-game celebrations. The Rush raised the newly minted National Lacrosse League Cup after that victory.
    The party again went long into the Saskatoon night.

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL title in 2018.

    Forward Jeff Shattler, who signed with the Rush as a free agent on Aug. 3, 2017, was named the MVP of the NLL playoffs in 2018, and he has put in a tonne of time working with the local lacrosse community in Saskatchewan trying to help grow the game.

    The Rush fell by a heartbreaking 11-10 overtime loss to the Colorado Mammoth in a single-elimination West Division semifinal contest in the 2019 NLL playoffs at the SaskTel Centre.

    While there was no deep run in the 2019 post-season, optimism was high for a team that has had a core group together throughout its time in Saskatoon.

    Despite the fact there was no opportunity for fans to get pumped for a post-season run this year thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rush franchise has been a shining example of how a community can rally behind a team during its run in Saskatoon.

    When the Rush do return to action, odds are high they will likely rally the community again with another long post-season run.

Hockey Canada resumes sanctioning events, other notes

Could Jaime Bourbonnais be in action in a rink near you soon?

    On Thursday, Hockey Canada lifted its national ban on sanctioned activities.

    Back on March 12, Hockey Canada announced it was canceling all of its sanctioned activities effective on March 13 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision ended all activities conducted under the Hockey Canada banner for the rest of 2019-20 campaign.

    In lifting the ban on Thursday, Hockey Canada said it was allowing each of its member organizations to determine when it is safe to return to play. The national body is still working with the regional organizations on return to hockey plans.

    The member organizations will work with their provincial governments and provincial health authorities to determine when a return to play should proceed.

    In a release, Hockey Canada stated, “Hockey Canada knows the game will look quite different, and the return will happen at different speeds and at different times across the country.

    “Be assured, we will continue to work on our multi-faceted return-to-hockey plan that includes health and safety regulations, communications and seasonal structure. As with so many people across the country, we look forward to return to the game when it is safe to do so, and we will support our 13 members as we continue to work towards getting back on the ice.”

Could teams like the Saskatoon Contacts get going again soon?

    It should be noted that this is one hurdle that has been jumped in order for Hockey Canada sanctioned events to get going. The game’s return is still basically in the hands of medical healthy authorities.

    Still, the governing bodies of most minor sports organizations watch Hockey Canada for cues regarding policy, because Hockey Canada has more resources than any of Canada’s other minor sports governing bodies.

    With Hockey Canada giving the green light to sanctioning in its sport, it is likely other minor sports governing bodies will follow Hockey Canada’s lead.

• On Wednesday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott pronounced in an executive order a transition to Phase 3 of that state’s reopening plan. With that move, sports venues – among other businesses – are allowed to hold up 50 per cent capacity. That means some venues will be allowed to draw tens of thousands of fans in the professional and university ranks. The state of Texas has high school football stadiums that can seat 20,000.
• On Thursday, Murray McCormick, who is the veteran Saskatchewan Roughriders beat writer with the Regina Leader-Post, reported the community owned CFL team lost $210,064 for the 2019-20 fiscal year. McCormick wrote the deficit was revealed in a shareholders’ package that was issued in advance of the team’s annual general meeting set for June 24, at 7 p.m. The AGM will be conducted remotely for the first time in team history due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Radek Kucerik, who is a defenceman with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, was invited to a training camp to take a step to potentially earn a spot on the Czech Republic’s world junior team. The camp begins on June 14. Kucerik, who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 210 pounds, appeared in 49 regular season games with the Blades last season posting three goals, 10 assists and a minus-five rating in the plus-minus department as an 18-year-old rookie. 
• To end on an uplifting note, a group of students from Medicine Hat High School in Medicine Hat, Alta., are part of a musical group named Brodie. They recorded a cover of the Michael Jackson number one hit song “Man In the Mirror” from the 1987 album “Bad” in isolation using phones and personal devices. The recordings from the Hat High students were mixed and mastered by local artists Ryan Massini and Rob Hardowa. The finished product was a great one and worth checking out. Posted on Thursday, it already has over 2,900 views.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------                                     

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Pumped Rush and NLL avoid stoppage, will play in 2018-19

The Rush celebrate an NLL title win last June.

    If the Saskatchewan Rush didn’t play in 2018-19, it would have felt like something was missing.

    For a large chunk of November, the National Lacrosse Association and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association were trying to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement. At times, there was loud talk that the negotiations were going so bad the 2018-19 NLL season could be lost.

    I am sure some fans were starting to decide where else they would spend their free time and disposable income. The may have included going to other sporting events, nice dinners at fancy restaurants, movies and concerts.

    In my own individual life, I knew I wouldn’t be deeply impacted, if the Rush didn’t play.

Captain Chris Corbeil lifts the Champion’s Cup in June of 2016.

    Fears of losing the season were erased on Nov. 24, when the NLL and PLPA reached a new collective bargaining agreement that is five years in length.

    The Rush, who are the defending NLL champions, will play a full 18-game regular season. They open the regular season on the road on Dec. 28 traveling to Uncasville, Connecticut, to play the New England Black Wolves.

    The Rush open the regular season on Saturday, Jan. 5, 2019 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre against the expansion San Diego Seals.

    Saskatchewan hosts an exhibition game on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the SaskTel Centre against their archrivals the Calgary Roughnecks.

    I admit I am not enough of a hard core lacrosse follower to know all the ends and outs of the struggles of what went into the negotiations that resulted in the new collective bargaining agreement between the NLL and PLPA.

Captain Chris Corbeil lifts the NLL Cup last June.

    Now that the NLL season will go on, there was a sense of being pumped up that there will be Rush games to go to. For myself, I was happy to have Rush games to look forward to.

    It hit me that it would have felt like something was lost, if the Rush didn’t play.

    During the three complete seasons the Rush have played in Saskatoon taking on a provincial tag as the Saskatchewan Rush, they have become a team the whole province supports. The nights the Rush clinched the NLL title at the SaskTel Centre in 2016 and 2018 are two of the top moments in that building’s history, and I was fortunate enough to be present for both of those games.

    When Rush defender Jeff Cornwall went coast-to-coast to score the NLL championship winning goal with 12 seconds to play to break a 10-10 tie with the Buffalo Bandits and give the Rush an 11-10 victory on June 4, 2016, the sellout crowd of 15,182 spectators at the SaskTel Centre erupted like they have never erupted before.

The scene after Jeff Cornwall scored the NLL title winning goal in 2016.

    For myself, that was the loudest I have ever seen the fans cheer in that building.

    Many fans go for the party, and why not. The Rush put on an enjoyable show around the game.

    For the game itself, it is easy to get addicted to the non-stop action of an NLL lacrosse game.

    Rush owner Bruce Urban and his front office staff are a stellar group. They help set the tone for what you see on game day.

    Head coach and general manager Derek Keenan is an outstanding man. He is a kind and understanding forward-thinking coach, and it will take you spending less than five minutes with his to realize why the Rush have won three of the last four NLL titles including their final campaign based in Edmonton, Alta.

Rush forward Matthew Dinsdale is set to score on this circus shot.

    The Rush have been strong in getting their players out in the community across Saskatchewan, and they are a terrific group of young men. Knowing that individuals like captain Chris Corbeil, fan favourite Jeremy Thompson, Mark Matthews, Ryan Keenan, Robert Church, Cornwall, Ben McIntosh and Evan Kirk will be back in the community makes the cold winter feel that much warmer.

    It will be cool to see the new ways star forward Jeff Shattler holds court in the humour department in the upcoming campaign.

    Rush fans will also get to see mascot Bruiser the Bulldog, Rush Hulk and the Original 16 Crush Dance Team making appearances all over the place too. They all add their significant parts to Rush Nation.

Grandma Rush’s sign says it all.

    Of course, Rush games wouldn’t be complete without the passionate support of the club’s top fan in Grandma Rush.

    There is so much to look forward to now that the Rush season will go ahead. Let the games and the defence of the NLL title begin.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.

Rush continue to be perfect at home fit in Saskatchewan

The Rush celebrate winning the NLL Cup on Saturday.

    The honeymoon is still going strong between Saskatchewan and the Rush.

    On Saturday, the Saskatchewan Rush added to their continually growing list of magical moments at the SaskTel Centre winning their third National Lacrosse League championship in franchise history and third in the last four years. In a series deciding Game 3 of the NLL championship series, the Rush scored the last four goals of the contest to surge to a 15-10 victory over the Rochester Knighthawks.

    The win sent the gathering of 13,645 spectators into a joyful victory celebration. The celebration ran through that night and into a victory rally on Sunday morning at the Delta Bessborough Gardens with the newly minted National Lacrosse League Cup.

Rush goalie Evan Kirk sets to pass the ball to a teammate.

    The Rush captured their first league title in early June of 2015, when the franchise was still located in Edmonton.

    Unable to secure a long-term lease in the Alberta capital, owner Bruce Urban moved the team to Saskatoon in July of 2015. The club was branded as the Saskatchewan Rush aimed at drawing fans from all over the province following a model established by the CFL’s Saskatchewan Roughriders.

    Now three years after that move, the Rush have become an established part of Saskatchewan’s culture. In the town of Chamberlain located about an hour drive north of Regina on Highway 11 heading to Saskatoon, you can find a billboard that says the road runs south for the Roughriders and north for the Rush.

    The Rush’s rise to prominence in Saskatchewan was aided by the fact the NLL’s championship team was heading to Saskatoon. In their title win in Edmonton, the Rush swept the Toronto Rock 2-0 in the best-of-three NLL title series.

Rush Hulk and Bruiser get the crowd fired up at the SaskTel Centre.

    The Rock have the reputation of being Canada’s most storied NLL team equaling the Philadelphia Wings for most titles in the circuit’s history at six.

    The Rush won their first championship in 2015 with one of the league’s youngest teams. While hope was high the title wins would continue in Saskatchewan, they were tempered with caution that the title win in Edmonton could be a one-year run type thing.

    There was good optimism the Rush could be a success, but the last three years have comfortably passed the most optimistic expectations.

    The Rush capped their inaugural campaign in the “Wheat Province” capturing a second straight NLL crown in 2016 sweeping the Buffalo Bandits 2-0 in the title series. Game 2 of that set at the SaskTel Centre provided a “where were you when” moment, when defender Jeff Cornwall went coast-to-coast to score the series winning goal for the Rush with 12 seconds to play in the fourth quarter.

Rush forward Robert Church (#17) charges towards the Rochester goal.

    Cornwall’s tally broke a 10-10 tie and gave the Rush an 11-10 victory. The noise made by the 15,182 spectators in attendance that night was likely the loudest that was ever heard in the history of the SaskTel Centre for a sporting event.

    Saskatchewan fans had their first opportunity to watch their team lift what is now the circuit’s former championship trophy in the Champion’s Cup on home turf.

    The Rush had a real chance to win the NLL title again in 2017. They advanced to the NLL title series again only to be swept 2-0 by the Georgia Swarm.

    That series ended with a heartbreaking 15-14 overtime loss in Game 2 played at the SaskTel Centre. They were painfully close to forcing a series-deciding Game 3.

Jeff Shattler cheers after scoring a goal for the Rush on Saturday.

    In the aftermath of that setback, the Rush set out to reclaim the NLL championship. They topped the overall NLL regular season standings in 2018 with a 14-4 record and dumped their archrivals the Calgary Roughnecks 15-13 in the West Division final.

    That set up the championship encounter with the Knighthawks, who claimed both head-to-head regular season matches with the Rush.

    The Rush took Game 1 convincingly at the SaskTel Centre 16-9 on May 26, and the Knighthawks returned the favour with a 13-8 victory in Game 2 in Rochester on June 2.

    Game 3 on Saturday was a back-and-fourth affair until the Rush’s final surge to pull out victory. The Saskatchewan side wasn’t going to be denied.

The Crush Dance team entertains the crowd at the SaskTel Centre.

    While the Rush are an exciting and athletic team, they are also a club that is easy to cheer for. All their players are very down to earth including captain Chris Corbeil, top scoring threats Mark Matthews and Robert Church, fan favourite Jeremy Thompson, Kyle Rubisch, Cornwall, Ryan Keenan, goalie Evan Kirk and the list goes on from there.

    Former Roughnecks star Jeff Shattler joined the Rush this season and was immediately accepted into the fold by the Rush organization and the fans for being a beauty character on top of a great player. He cemented his status as a favourite picking up NLL playoff MVP honours with the Rush winning it all.

    Head coach and general manager Derek Keenan is the ultimate player’s coach and success has followed him wherever he has gone in the sport.

Rush Nation has backed the Rush since they arrived in Saskatchewan.

    The 56-year-old has been a part of nine NLL championship wins as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and he has made a total of 13 trips to the league final. 

    Along with assistant coaches Jeff McComb and Jimmy Quinlan, the Rush have the best coaching staff in the NLL.

    Urban made all of this possible by bringing in the right people to coach his club and the right people to run the business side of the operation.
    That helped the Rush franchise become part of Saskatchewan culture with the numerous appearances the team makes across the province.

Mark Matthews raises the National Lacrosse League Cup.

    People have continued to pack the SaskTel Centre for games, and team merchandise has flown off store shelves.
    The Rush logo is showing up in all corners of the province.

    While there will be changes with the Rush set to lose a couple of players in the NLL expansion draft and regular turnover that happens in professional sports, the club’s run to the top likely isn’t over yet.

    Most of the players on the team are in the prime of their careers. The organization is solid in coaching and in the front office.

    The brand new National Lacrosse League Cup might be in for a longer stay in Saskatchewan.

Sight of Dahlgren, Wasserman set Game 3 tone

Kaleb Dahlgren, left, and Jacob Wasserman, centre, sparked the fans.

    The pre-game appearance of two members from the Humboldt Broncos junior A hockey team set the tone for the Saskatchewan Rush and Rush Nation on Saturday night.

    While the Rush put on spectacle during pre-game introductions to get fans into games at the SaskTel Centre, the biggest cheers went to Kaleb Dahlgren, 21, and Jacob Wasserman, 18, when they were introduced as heroes of the game before Game 3 of the NLL championship series. Dahlgren was a right-winger for the Broncos and Wasserman was a goalie.

    Both were on the team bus that was involved in a tragic crash on route to a Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League playoff game in Nipawin on April 6 that resulted in the deaths of 16 players and team personnel.

    The loud cheers for Dahlgren and Wasserman went on for almost a minute.

    Of course, the Rush went on to claim the back-and-forth contest 15-10.

    The Rush were on board right from the start looking to do their part to help those involved in the Broncos bus crash. A day after the crash, the Rush hosted the Colorado Mammoth in a regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre.
    That April 7 game marked the first big community gathering in the province since the tragedy involving the Broncos. The Rush equipment staff quickly put Broncos logos on the helmets of all the Rush players, and stations were set up to raise funds to help aid those involved with the Humboldt club.

Chris Corbeil and the Rush players wore Broncos logos on their helmets.

    The Rush jumped ahead 10-4 early in the fourth quarter in that clash with the Mammoth and cruised to an 11-8 victory.

    The highlight occurred in the break between the third and fourth quarters when the crowd of 14,971 spectators broke into a chant of “Let’s Go Broncos.”

    During post-game media scrums, Rush captain Chris Corbeil said his team was playing for “our” community, the people of Saskatchewan and Canadians everywhere, and he hoped they did everyone proud.

    The contest provided a first real opportunity for people in Saskatchewan to gather together and collectively start helping each other through the tragedy and healing.

    The Rush took part in various events to help the Broncos as the season went on and visited Broncos players and families at their homes often bringing team merchandise as gifts.

    The Rush were stellar with their efforts in this area.

    On side note, Wasserman returned to the building on Saturday where it appears he might have picked up his lone win of his goaltending career in the WHL. On Feb, 23, Wasserman was called up to play for the Regina Pats against the Saskatoon Blades in a WHL regular season clash at the SaskTel Centre. He made 23 saves going the distance in goal for the Pats, who downed the Blades 7-5.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

-------

    If you like what you see here, you might want to donate to the cause to keep independent media like this blog going. Should you choose to help out, feel free to click on the DONATE button in the upper right corner. Thank you for stopping in.