The NLL Draft will be soon upon us. The NLL season is now only a few months away, and it's time to preview them.
The Edmonton Rush made their first apperence in playoff history last season, and made it to the western division finals. The Rush were able to beat the defending champion Roughnecks on the road before falling to the Washington Stealth. The Rush ere one of the most dangerous teams in the NLL last season, getting hot down the stretch and one of the favorites to win the cup.
The Rush have goaltender Matt Disher returning after an up and down season. His reguler season GAA was at the bottom of the pack, but he stepped it up down the stretch. They also had great years from the likes of Gavin Prount, Brodie Merrill and Ryan Ward, their leading goal scorer. Ward was also their leading scorer in the playoffs, coming up clutch with 12 assists.
Edmonton had only one runner in the top 20 scorers, and that was Ward. But after that was Gavin Prount, Andy Secore, and Ryan Powell. Prount, though a solid season, scored the least amount of points in his career. With the Mammoth, Prount scored 91, 78, 93, 89, 92, and 78 points. In his first year in Edmonton only 67 while playing the full season. Prount is 32, maybe we are seeing a decline in him.
Now let's look at Ryan Powell. Powell has always been a good player, but his brother Casey has always been the superstar. Powell last year played his first season with the Rush, scoring 51 points. Powell was aquired by Edmonton in the Portland Lumberjaxx dispersal draft, where Powell had spent the bulk of his career. Powell had some really good seasons with the Lumberjaxx before moving to the Rush, so maybe he is starting to get on a roll. The Rush would love some better contribuations from Powell and Prount to get that championship.
There is a lot of parody in the west this year. Washington will still be good, as will Calgary, and Colorado has improved. The Rush will be among that class, and have a good of shot as any at the Champions cup this season.
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