Saskatchewan Rush welcome new faces as training camp gets underway

The opening of Saskatchewan Rush training camp usually includes plenty of introductions between co-head coach and general manager Derek Keenan and his new crop of players.

This year’s camp, however, has been an even steeper learning curve for the architect of the Rush.

“A lot of new faces,” Keenan said. “I was happy we had names on the practice jerseys. It helped me out a lot, because we do have quite a few new guys.”

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The path toward a National Lacrosse League championship began in earnest over the weekend at the Martensville Recreation Centre for the Rush, with 30 players invited to training camp this year.

Along with a crop of 2026 draft picks, six NLL veterans also made their debuts wearing the Rush logo on their chests after a hectic off-season across the league.

Rush captain Ryan Keenan said the team is eager to incorporate their new group of players with professional experience into the fold.

“There’s a lot of new guys with a lot of experience, so we’re going to lean on that,” Ryan said.

“It’s just about building chemistry as quickly as possible. We only have four weekends here, so we’re getting right into a lot of systematic stuff. Guys have all showed up ready to play.”

The Rush added a handful of players through off-season signings and trades, however the bulk of their additions came from the folding of the Philadelphia Wings and Ottawa Black Bears franchises.

Saskatchewan selected three players in that dispersal draft and while that has helped the team’s depth moving forward, it’s meant the NLL’s player pool shrank by more than 40 athletes.

“With losing a couple of teams, that happens,” Derek said. “It’s unfortunate, because there’s jobs lost. At the same time, we think we probably got better, but we think probably everybody got better.”

At 10th overall, the Rush selected transition defender Jake Stevens from Ottawa, who netted 10 points last season, while adding 84 loose balls and 23 caused turnovers.

Stevens, who has been sidelined with a minor injury suffered at a Team Canada camp in October, said the summer was a whirlwind with the future of the Black Bears up in the air.

“Summer was crazy just not really knowing what’s going to happen, when it’s going to happen, if it’s going to happen,” Stevens said.

“They finally announced that we’re having a dispersal (draft) and you don’t know where you’re going.”

Saskatchewan followed that up with two more players from Ottawa in the dispersal draft in left-shot forward Sam Firth at 19th overall and transition defender Reed Kurtz at 22nd overall.

Two other Black Bears forwards were added by the Rush in free agent signing Reilly O’Connor and Connor Kearnan, who was taken by the Oshawa FireWolves 13th overall in the dispersal draft and flipped to Saskatchewan as part of a package for veteran defender Holden Garlent.

According to Kearnan, the Rush have been a franchise he’s had his eye on for years.

“It’s actually the team I wanted to come to,” Kearnan said. “Everything worked out, stars aligned and happy to be here.”

Ottawa Black Bears forward Connor Kearnan was traded to the Saskatchewan Rush in September after he netted 21 goals and 49 points with the team last year. (Ottawa Black Bears/X)

Kearnan is coming off a 21-goal, 49-point season with the Black Bears and will push for his first NLL playoff appearance since 2018 after stints in Ottawa, New York and San Diego.

He believes a return to the post-season could come as early as next spring with the Rush.

“You can just sense that it’s a winning culture,” Kearnan said.

“That’s one thing I’m most excited about is coming to a team that historically is very, very strong. Always making playoffs, always a contender for the championship.”

Stevens added that having Kearnan, O’Connor, Firth and Kurtz alongside him in this new chapter has helped ease him into a new organization.

“It makes coming here a little bit easier, just having some familiar faces,” Stevens said.

“We had a really good group of guys in Ottawa, so obviously hate to see that go. Glad the guys we brought over that are here are awesome, really good friends.”

The Rush are hopeful the injection of new blood into the locker room will aid in a turnaround for the team after a 2025-26 season which saw the team squander a 10-1 start to the regular season.

Saskatchewan went on to lose six of its next eight games, including a 16-13 loss to the Toronto Rock in NLL quarter-finals, bringing its season to an abrupt end.

“We had an unbelievable 10 or 11-game stretch there last year, and then we kind of ran out of gas a little bit,” Derek said.

“We had some injuries that hurt us. Frank (Scigliano) got hurt in Buffalo and I don’t think he was really himself after that. It was kind of an arm injury and he was pretty uncomfortable for the rest of the year.”

More than six months removed from that early exit, the Rush captain said that feeling has stuck with the returning group as they push forward in camp.

“It was definitely a disappointing finish,” Ryan said.

“I think everyone left a little angry and ready to get back out here all summer. I think we know what we’re capable of, how good we are. We showed that beginning half of the year and we got to just get back to that.”

With Garlent, Austin Shanks, Clark Walter and Jerrett Smith no longer with the Rush, training camp will also help determine which minutes will be eaten on the floor by their current group.

On the back end, the Rush coaching staff will have plenty of options to see who can step into Garlent’s role.

“We look at maybe Levi Verch, he’s a bigger body,” Derek said. “(Reed) Kurtz too, who we got in the dispersal draft, we like a lot. Jaxon Fridge, who we got in the trade, we have some guys to fill in that spot.”

The Rush continue training camp in Toronto next weekend with an exhibition game against the Rock on Saturday, before they take over the Temple Gardens Centre in Moose Jaw on Nov. 14 in a pre-season tilt against the Calgary Roughnecks.

Saskatchewan’s regular-season opener goes Nov. 27 in Oshawa, followed by it’s first home game of the 2026-27 season on Dec. 5 against the Vancouver Warriors.