THE CANADIAN PRESS
EDMONTON — The Edmonton Rush are looking to Canadian veteran lacrosse coach Derek Keenan to turn their team around.
The National Lacrosse League team hired the Oshawa, Ont., native and former NLL coach of the year Monday.
"This is a tremendous opportunity for me," Keenan said in a statement. "I think Edmonton is one of the top pro sports markets in North America and I believe the Rush are already a big part of the market and the community."
He succeeds Bob Hamley, who was fired as head coach and GM in May following a disappointing 5-11 season.
Keenan joins the Rush after four successful seasons with the Portland Lumberjax. He guided Portland to a West Division title in 2006, the first time an expansion team had won a division crown in its inaugural season, earning league GM and head coach of the year honours.
Keenan led the Lumberjax to the NLL Champion’s Cup in 2008.
He said he’s keen to help the Rush earn their first playoff berth in franchise history, but said some personnel changes are needed, plus he plans to address the team’s style of play.
"I will go at this job with great passion and a strong commitment to bringing the Rush to the top of the NLL," Keenan said. "It will be a challenge but one I am more than ready to take on."
Before joining Portland, Keenan was the GM and head coach of the Anaheim Storm for the 2005 season. His coaching career began in 1999 when he was a player-coach for the Toronto Rock, who captured the Champion’s Cup that season.
.He was an assistant coach with the Rock for the next four seasons and was the team’s interim GM in 2003-04. In all, he was part of Rock teams that won NLL titles in 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2003.
Keenan played for the Buffalo Bandits, earning NLL rookie of the year honours in 1992 and all-pro selections in ’92 and ’93.