Edmonton, AB -Edmonton Rush General Manager/Head Coach Derek Keenan announced today that the club has acquired forward Mike McLellan along with a first-round pick in the 2011 National Lacrosse League Entry Draft from the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for forward Gavin Prout.

The draft pick originally belonged to Rochester which the Knighthawks used to acquire Prout from Colorado prior to the start of the 2010 campaign. Right after dealing for Prout, the Knighthawks then swapped him to the Rush.

"This met our criteria going into the trade deadline," said Keenan. "We wanted to stay in the hunt this year and Mike McLellan is a guy who will help us do that. For most of his career he has typically owned the highest scoring percentage in the NLL. He is a very good off-ball player and inside finisher.

"The second part of the criteria was we wanted to get in a better position for the future and with that first-round pick in a very deep 2011 draft, we will get a very good player. Gavin was a good player for us and a big part of the 2010 turnaround season but change was needed."

Coming over in the trade is actually a return of sorts to the Rush for Mike McLellan, who was originally drafted by Edmonton in the second round (14th overall) of the 2005 NLL Entry Draft. He was then traded that season to Arizona.

In 74 career regular-season games, the 29-year-old Toronto native has collected 118 goals and 85 assists for 203 points.

McLellan, who is currently playing his sixth NLL season, totaled seven goals, including three on the power play, and eight assists for 15 points plus 19 loose balls in nine games with Colorado this season. His career-highs for both goals and points came in 2008 as a member of the New York Titans when he hit for 34 goals and 56 points.

The following season, McLellan and the Titans reached the NLL Champion's Cup final where they were beaten by Calgary. During that playoff run, McLellan counted one goal and four assists for five points.

As a rookie with the Titans, McLellan notched 44 points and picked one NLL Rookie of the Week honor.

The six-foot, 180-pounder moved with the Titans franchise from New York to Orlando, and helped the relocated Titans reach the playoffs last season. Once in the post-season, McLellan notched the best playoff numbers of his career, racking up five goals and two assists for seven points.

McLellan was taken ninth overall by Toronto in the 2010 NLL Dispersal Draft of the Orlando franchise, and then dealt to Colorado.

During this past summer, McLellan split his time between the Toronto Nationals of the Major League Lacrosse (field) and the Brampton Excelsiors of Major Series Lacrosse (box).

Prior to turning pro, McLellan was a two-time All-American at Mercyhurst College.

Prout, who sits among the NLL's all-time scoring leaders, rejoins Colorado where he was the club's all-time leading scorer, amassing 542 points in 96 regular-season games. The veteran forward finished second behind Ryan Ward in both regular-season and playoff scoring for the Rush in 2010, and was leading Edmonton with 37 points through 10 games this season.