The Saskatchewan Rush vowed after missing the play-offs last year that they would make significant roster changes to get back to being a championship contender…

Today they took a huge step to transform their roster trading forward Mark Matthews, the franchise’s all-time points leader, to the Toronto Rock in exchange for a pair of young players and a first round draft pick…

Rush General Manager Derek Keenan said, “I’ve been doing this job for a long time and difficult decisions are often made, but this one is on a whole different level. Mark Matthews is the best player in franchise history, period.”

Coming to Saskatchewan from Toronto is young forward Zach Manns and defender Adam Jaya in addition to the  Rock’s 2023 first-round pick, 12th overall.

Keenan says that the roster re-vamp is far from over and now that they hold seven picks in the opening two rounds of the draft they won’t hesitate to use those picks to get more young athletic players.