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The Saskatchewan Rush have sat atop the National Lacrosse League’s standings for months, but captain Ryan Keenan feels there’s more work to be done.
The team lost 13-9 to the Toronto Rock last week, Saskatchewan’s third loss in four games as the Rush enter the stretch drive of the NLL season.
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“We’re obviously looking to rebound and get back on track,” Keenan said. “It hasn’t been a very good stretch for us the last three or four weeks here.”
Today, the Rush will look to get back into the win column as they begin a three-game home stand to cap off the regular season with a date against the three-time defending NLL champion Buffalo Bandits.
Keenan, in the midst of a career-best season, will be leading the charge for a Rush team which has several opponents hot on their heels in the race towards playoffs.
Tied with the Vancouver Warriors with an 11-4 record on the season, Saskatchewan sits just one game up on the Colorado Mammoth, two wins ahead of Toronto and three wins clear of Buffalo — all teams they’ll have to face before their first game of the NLL post-season.
“I think that’s probably a good thing for us to play the best and get us ready during the playoffs,” Keenan said.
“This week, no question is a big one. We don’t want to be losing two in a row and we don’t want to be losing to the same team twice in a season.”
The Rush, who lost to Buffalo in last year’s NLL Finals series, fell to the Bandits in their lone meeting of the season so far back on Feb. 27 in an 11-10 overtime loss which ended Saskatchewan’s nine-game win streak.
Keenan had four goals and an assist in that game, part of the most productive season of the Rush captain’s career so far.
With three games remaining on the schedule, Keenan leads Saskatchewan with 33 goals and 82 points in 15 games and ranks eighth in both categories across the entire NLL.
“He grinds harder than almost any guy on our team,” said Rush forward Zach Manns. “I’m happy that he’s producing like he is, it’s good to see.”
Already tying his career high in goals, Keenan is on pace to record 98 points which would be the best of his career and has a shot at reaching the 100-point plateau for the first time, an offensive breakout which has come nearly a decade after being drafted first overall by Saskatchewan back in 2016.
“I think it’s just being comfortable in our offence,” Keenan said.
“Being with a group that now has a lot of experience together, there really haven’t been many changes for a few years now.”
One of four Rush players — alongside Robert Church, Mike Messenger and Matt Hossack — to win Saskatchewan’s last NLL title in 2018, this is the third season Keenan has led the team as captain.
It’s a role Manns has watched the 31-year-old grow into since he arrived in Saskatchewan in 2023.
“He’s been our best player, and he’s our best leader,” Manns said.
“He wears the ‘C’ on his chest for a reason and I think he’s really improved as a captain just in the last couple years since I’ve been on the team.”
Taking over as captain from NLL veteran Ryan Dilks, Keenan admitted the transition wasn’t always easy being looked at as one of the team’s go-to leaders.
“It probably took a bit of time,” Keenan said.
“It was a quick change over the few years ago when a number of our veteran leaders either signed elsewhere or were traded away. Being pushed into that role, it’s never something you just pick up.”
Three years later, he credits the enthusiasm from young players in the lineup as helping him to become a better leader, players like Levi Anderson, who said it’s refreshing to have a captain like Keenan who leads by example on and off the floor.
“He not only leads by example but he communicates well with the guys,” Anderson said.
“He’s just a good leader to learn from. When push comes to shove, he’s in the right place, making the right passes, says the right things. He’s the guy you want to follow.”
Winning a championship as a core member of the Rush remains Keenan’s biggest goal with NLL playoffs approaching, a feeling which has only grown since Saskatchewan’s Game 3 loss last spring in Buffalo.
“I’m still just having a lot of fun and enjoying it,” Keenan said. “Having that drive to win, it’s definitely still there.”
The Rush and Bandits hit the floor at SaskTel Centre at 7 p.m. tonight.
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