Edmonton, AB---The Edmonton Rush are pleased to announce their 26-man roster for the 2008 National Lacrosse League season.
These 26 players are remaining from the club's initial two weeks of training camp. From there, a 23-man active roster will be selected and 18-man rosters will be made up for each of the team's 16 games during the '08 season. A three-man practice roster will also be determined.
"We are very excited about the group that we have chosen and we expect these players will all have big roles in leading the team to its first playoff berth," said Rush GM/Head Coach Paul Day.
"I believe we have an excellent mix of veteran talent to go with the enthusiasm that the younger players bring us. During the off-season the goal was to add skilled players up front and to bring more size and speed to the defense. I think we did that with a number of key acquisitions.
"And no team in this league succeeds without strong goaltending and we have an excellent trio of netminders. We have improved in all areas and I am looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish. I think the very loyal and passionate fans of the Rush are in for a spectacular season."
Only seven players remain on the roster from the original lineup that debuted for the Rush during the 2006 season (Rory Glaves, Peter Gut, Darren Hillier, Chris McElroy, Buck Stobart, Randy Daly and Jimmy Quinlan).
Up front the Rush have added such notables as Mike Accursi, who has scored 253 goals during his 10-year NLL career, free-agent acquisition Kyle Goundrey, a former assistant captain with the Calgary Roughnecks, and Sherwood Park native Ben Prepchuk, a one-time 40-goal scorer who was acquired in a trade with Colorado. The Rush also return a terrific core group of shooters in last year's top-three team leading scorers Chris Gill, Jimmy Quinlan and Dan Stroup.
On defense, the club boasts former All-Rookie Team member and '07 Rush Unsung Hero Award winner Rory Glaves, and last season's Rush Transition Player of the Year Chris McElroy. The Rush bolstered its defence by trading for Ian Hawksbee and Mike Grimes just prior to the start of training camp.
Guarding the net will be 2007 Rush Most Valuable Player Curtis Palidwor who will be backed up by newly acquired Matt Disher and 2006 draft pick Kurtis Wagar.
The following is the entire 26-man roster with their 2007 team and key statistics (Note: LB - loose balls; PP - power-play goals):
Goaltenders: '07 Team W-L, Goals-Against Average
Curtis Palidwor Rush 5-7, 10.48 GAA
Matt Disher Minnesota 2-2, 16.15 GAA
Kurtis Wagar Rush 0-0, 11.32 GAA
Defence/Transition: '07 Team Goals-Assists-Points
Rory Glaves Rush 3-4-7, 53 LB
Mike Grimes Arizona 1-3-4, 38 LB
Peter Gut Rush (practice roster)
Kris Hartzell Sher. Park (Sr. B) 0-4-4
Ian Hawksbee San Jose 4-3-7, 124 LB
Darren Hillier Rush 2-2-4, 33 LB
Chris McElroy Rush 8-6-14, 84 LB
Cory Melville Rush 0-2-2, 18 LB
Ryan Polny Spr. Grove (Sr. B) 2-10-12
Chris Seller Arizona 8-5-13, 66 LB
Buck Stobart Rush 1-2-3, 34 LB
Rob Williams Rush 1-4-5, 49 LB
Forwards: '07 Team Goals-Assists-Points
Mike Accursi Rochester 26-51-77, 69 LB
Randy Daly Rush 13-28-41, 64 LB
Chris Gill Rush 37-25-62, 15 PP
Kyle Goundrey Calgary 11-28-39, 59 LB
Steve Hutchins Whitby (Jr. A) 24-27-51
Kevin Olson Burnaby (Sr. A) 41-35-76, 10 PP
Ben Prepchuk Colorado 15-16-31, 36 LB
Jimmy Quinlan Rush 23-32-55, 74 LB
A.J. Shannon Rush 5-6-11, 13 LB
Dan Stroup Rush 29-22-51, 51 LB
Shaun Wilhelm Spr. Grove (Sr. B) 18-29-47
Protected List: Cam Bergman, Chris McKay, Andrew Turner
Physically Unable To Play: Mac Allen
The application for season media accreditation is available at
Edmonton Rush Lacrosse Club. All applications must be received by Monday, January 7, 2008.
FYI - very important -all media inquires between Monday, December 17, 2008 until January 7, 2008 should be directed to Tammy Van Ooyen at 780 410-3868.
tvanooyen@edmontonrush.com
2008 season tickets are now on sale call (780) 732-RUSH or check the Rush website
Edmonton Rush Lacrosse Club for details.