The Edmonton Rush spent a decade building professional box lacrosse from scratch in a market that lived and breathed hockey. It was a slow build that ended in the best way possible. This is how the franchise came together, struggled, matured, and finally reached the top.
Expansion and the First Faceoff
The National Lacrosse League awarded Edmonton a franchise on May 5, 2005, and the Rush played their inaugural season in 2006. Home was Rexall Place, the storied arena that had hosted big-league sport in the city for decades. Under founding head coach Paul Day, the early Rush were competitive but raw — a young roster learning the pro game while the club worked to grow an audience for indoor lacrosse in a hockey town. Expansion seasons are rarely kind, and Edmonton's were no exception, but the foundation was being poured.
Finding an Identity
The middle years were about identity. The Rush leaned into a defence-first, goaltending-driven style that would eventually become their signature. Coaching passed from Paul Day to Bob Hamley, and then, in 2010, to Derek Keenan, who took on both bench-boss and management duties. Keenan's arrival was the hinge point of the whole franchise: he was named NLL Coach of the Year in 2010 and again in 2014, and he assembled the core that would carry Edmonton to a title. Under Keenan the Rush stopped being a team that hoped to compete and became one that expected to.
The Battle of Alberta, Indoors
Edmonton shared its province with the Calgary Roughnecks, and the two clubs gave Alberta its own indoor version of a provincial rivalry. Games between the Rush and Roughnecks carried an extra edge, drawing lacrosse fans on both ends of the Highway 2 corridor and giving the young franchise a natural measuring stick within the league's Western Division.
The Climb
Through the early 2010s the Rush graduated from plucky underdog to genuine contender. They drafted and developed shrewdly, anchored their defence around elite transition and goaltending, and reached the league final in 2012 and again in 2014 before finally breaking through. Those near-misses were painful, but they hardened the group and set the stage for what came next. Each playoff run added scar tissue and belief in equal measure.
Champions, and Then Goodbye
In 2015 everything came together. Edmonton posted a 13-5 regular season, rolled through the Western Division, and won the franchise's first and only Champion's Cup, defeating the Toronto Rock in the final. It was the ultimate high — and, poignantly, the end. On July 20, 2015, ownership announced the team would relocate to Saskatoon for the 2016 season.
As reported at the time by CBC News, owner Bruce Urban cited the lack of a long-term arena deal at the incoming Rogers Place, along with signage and branding limitations at Rexall Place, as reasons for the move. The franchise became the Saskatchewan Rush — a story we continue on our Legacy page.
Why the History Matters
Edmonton's decade of professional lacrosse left a real footprint: a championship banner, a generation of local players inspired by the game, and a template for how a small-market indoor club can win. Explore the season-by-season records and the people who made it happen to see the whole picture. For broader context on the league's evolution, the NLL's recorded history is a useful companion.