Edmonton, AB - The Edmonton Rush introduced the 2006 player roster and unveiled its game jersey to fans today at West Edmonton Mall’s Ice Palace.

Without even hitting the floor, the players for the Rush have an advantage with their black and silver warrior extreme jerseys.  The visual identity of the NLL’s hot new franchise represents the speed, grit and intensity of the game.  The Rush players in their new jerseys represent the intensity of a force to be reckoned with.

The player roster definitely has a local connection to the City of Edmonton.  Of the 23 players, 11 currently reside in the city and eight have plans to relocate to the city.  The Rush will have 19 players in the city during the 2006 NLL Season.   The number of 19 players residing in the location of a NLL team is the 3rd highest in the league.   The players relocating to the city demonstrates to administration and fans the commitment of the players to continue the strong tradition of community involvement of its sport teams.

“I was ecstatic to hear that the City of Edmonton was finally awarded a NLL team and thought it may be a chance to play lacrosse at the next level.” states Sterparn  “And now to be given the opportunity to play for the team is beyond my wildest dreams.”

“When we started building the roster we hoped that a number of local players would make this team but determined that a place of origin would not be a factor.”  states A.J. Jomha, Director of Lacrosse Operations/Assistant Coach.  “Therefore we were pleasantly surprised by the number of local players that ended up making the roster.”

With the number of players in the city, the Rush will have a strong presence in the community to promote the game of lacrosse.

A particular surprise to the roster is local Sherwood Park Outlaws player Stuart Sterparn.  With over 19 years of lacrosse experience, Sterparn started his journey at the Open Tryout Camp in October, where 50 players from across Canada and North American competed for an invite to the Tryout Training Camp.  His fast hands and sharp left hand shoot guaranteed him an invite to the Tryout Training Camp and to compete with 35 players for the opportunity to make the team and today, Sterparn was introduced as a player to the Rush’s 2006 player roster.

The Main Training Camp today gave General Manager/Head Coach Paul Day the opportunity to begin working with the players to develop the game plan for the season.

“We are taking this day to identify areas that we need to develop and most important to begin developing team chemistry.” states Day.

Following the training camp session, the players took the opportunity to meet with the fans to sign autographs.  The players graciously appreciated the support from the fans.  It gave the players a sense of the excitement the city has for the city’s newest professional sports team.

The Edmonton Rush game day tickets and mini packs are now on sale, just in time for Christmas!  Mini packs start at $36, game day tickets from on $15 and season tickets are still available, as low as $80.

Professional lacrosse invades Edmonton with the inaugural season of the Edmonton Rush of the National Lacrosse League.  The Edmonton Rush takes on the San Jose Stealth on January 6th at Rexall Place. Professional indoor lacrosse combines the physical play of hockey with the high scoring, fast pace and play-making style of basketball.  Purchase tickets at (780) 732-RUSH or Ticketmaster.