With two first-round picks in this year’s National Lacrosse League Draft, the Saskatchewan Rush was looking towards the future.
The Rush’s first pick came seventh overall, where they selected left-handed forward Marshall Powless out of Six Nations.
A highly touted player who declared early for the draft, Powless earned 2019 Ontario Junior B most valuable player honours. He played two games in the Arena Lacrosse League in 2020, amassing 11 points.
There are questions about Powless’s strength, but the kid is already drawing comparisons to current Rush player Jeff Shattler.
The Rush’s second pick came 12th overall, where they went with defender Connor McLelland from the Brampton Excelsiors and Marquette University.
A three-time member of the Big East Conference All-Academic Team, the Rush will have to wait for McLelland as he opted for his fifth-year senior with eligibility extended due to the pandemic.
In Round two, the Rush took transition Bobby Kidd from the Langley Thunder Junior A program and Young Harris University at 26th overall. Kidd also declared early this year and held an All-Great Lakes Valley Conference Second Team spot.
The third round saw the Rush take another lefty forward in Clark Walter at 43rd overall. The Rush’s second pick of the third round, 46th overall, was traded to the Toronto Rock for a third-round pick in the 2021 draft.
The Rush got what might have been one of the late steals of the draft with forward Kelson Borisenko in the fourth round from the Manitoba Blizzards and Manhattan College. While he lacks Junior A experience, he’s tallied 333 career points as a Junior B player.
Saskatchewan would go to a right-handed forward in the fifth round with Erik Maas from the New Westminster Salmonbellies of the BC Junior A League.
The Rush was end their draft keeping with tradition, draft Saskatchewan’s own Wyatt Haux.
On a side note, it was a historic night for lacrosse in Saskatchewan in general. Goaltender Laine Hruska of Warman, Sask., was drafted in the first round, 13th overall, by the Georgia Swarm to because the first ever Saskatchewan lacrosse player to be drafted in the first round.
Shawn Slaght has been a sports reporter across the Canadian prairies for over 10 years and has experience covering everything from junior hockey to World Cup skiing to all levels of lacrosse. He is the Saskatchewan correspondent for All Lacrosse All The Time.
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