January 7, 2025
By Evan Lepler

For so many years, the Toronto Rush were a pillar franchise in the Ultimate Frisbee Association. 

They were the undefeated champs in 2013, advanced to five consecutive Championship Weekends, and went a remarkable 94-19 from 2013-19. But after four straight seasons below .500 and a franchise-worst 1-11 mark in 2024, the Rush are now making major moves to try and get back in the mix. 

Toronto has signed Toms Abeltins, Tom Blasman, and Arvids Karklins to contracts for the 2025 season, bringing three of Europe’s premier players across the Atlantic to compete in the UFA for the first time. Abeltins and Karklins will become the first two players from Latvia to join the UFA, while Blasman, who hails from The Netherlands, follows in the footsteps of his fellow Dutch teammate, Ben Oort, who previously played for both the Rush and DC Breeze.

While it is not unprecedented for the Rush to import standout talent from overseas, these acquisitions, along with the team’s other plans outlined in their recently announced “Rush Reboot,” are a significant step for a franchise that’s been mired in mediocrity over the past few seasons and now feels determined to fight back toward contention. 

“We’re doing everything that we can to put a winning team in front of a fan base that needs to be reinvigorated,” said Toronto Rush Owner Jim Lloyd. “And we will not stop until that happens.”

In 2024, Abeltins, Blasman, and Karklins all played for the top Belgian club team, “Mooncatchers,” with two of the three receiving recognition in Ultiworld’s recent European Player of the Year Awards article. Karklins earned Offensive Player of the Year honors, and Blasman was tabbed as the Defensive Player of the Year Runner-Up. It was truly a banner year for the whole team, as the Mooncatchers also won the European Ultimate Club Finals (EUCF) for the first time in the program’s history.

The Chicago Union also announced this morning that they were signing another star Mooncatcher, Daan De Marree, adding even more international intrigue to the 2025 UFA season. De Marree also played club ultimate in the United States last year, finishing third in Ultiworld’s USA Player of the Year podium. 

Unlike De Marree, Abeltins, Blasman, and Karklins will be joining a North American team for the first time. For all three Rush signees, joining the UFA is a momentous achievement.

“I am so extremely hyped,” said Blasman, who turns 22 years old this Sunday. “Going to play for the UFA has been a dream of mine since I was small. Since I’ve played frisbee seriously, so probably for about eight or nine years, it has always been in the back of my head that this is what I want to do and achieve within my career, and now it’s happening and I almost can’t believe it.” 

“I’m just super excited to be on a professional ultimate frisbee team around elite players and also battling some of the best players in the world,” said Karklins, who’s currently 25, turning 26 in May. “I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like to be a professional frisbee player and also how do I look playing vs. the sports’ top competition!”

“It’s exciting and also a bit surreal,” said Abeltins, the oldest of the trio at 28. “When I first noticed UFA, I think it was around 2014. At that time I was fresh into the ultimate scene with just 2.5 years of experience. Not long before that I got the chance to be a part of the Latvian U20 Open National Team in WJUC 2012 in Ireland; that opened my eyes to the international scene of ultimate, and that changed the whole perspective of how big the sport was and how much bigger it can be in the future [...] This is a dream come true, and the dream is mostly about playing and, of course, winning at the highest possible level, and I believe the Toronto Rush and UFA suit that dream pretty well.” 

For perspective on how these players might impact the Rush in their rookie seasons, I reached out to Liam Grant, who’s perhaps the most knowledgable ultimate analyst in Europe. (Yes, I’m biased, having worked alongside Liam at several world championship events over the past decade, but truthfully, he really knows his stuff when it comes to European ultimate.) Aside from being delighted that all three players will have this opportunity, Grant immediately made it clear that Karklins is the headliner. 

“Arvids, in my opinion and in the opinion of many, is the most talented player in Europe,” said Grant, “in terms of throwing ability, vertical jump, raw athleticism, and just has all the throws [...] I think his play style is so suited to the UFA [...] He’s been the [European] player that should’ve been playing in the US for the last few years, and I’m surprised it’s taken this long for someone to take him.”

At the World Ultimate Club Championships in 2022, Karklins, then known as Arvids Orlovskis—he since has gotten married and changed his last name—delivered a dazzling performance as one of the top playmakers for the Mooncatchers when the Brussels squad historically advanced all the way to the semifinals. That captivating week in Ohio dramatically elevated his reputation on the international ultimate stage, and Grant thinks he could be an immediate difference-maker for Toronto too.

“Arvids is the dude,” said Grant, simply and emphatically. “If he tries really hard, he could definitely carry a team. Arvids also has the best force I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a man get as many hand blocks and foot blocks. He’s just giant.”

While Abeltins and Blasman may not produce the same type of gushing hype that Grant showered upon Karklins, he also made it clear that they are definitely two very solid players that absolutely will bolster the Rush’s 2025 chances.

“Toms is very athletic,” said Grant. “Usually plays D-line and is kinda the rock on the D-line for the Latvian Team Salaspils and for Mooncatchers, and I could see him doing that really well in the UFA. 

“Tom Blasman, a Grut player originally, played with Mooncatchers this year. Struggled to fit in for a while, but then ended up on the D-line and I think that worked out really well for him. He had an exceptional final at the EUCF [European Ultimate Championship Finals] this year when they beat Clapham, [the perennial power from Great Britain.] He was probably the stat leader that game; he definitely threw the game-winning assist, and I think found joy on that D-line of being the guy that was allowed to throw an old risky biscuit every now and again. I think he had a little more freedom on the D-line. I think that suited him.”

It remains to be seen exactly what roles new Toronto Head Coach Jamie Millage will envision for these three this spring, but history suggests that international imports can make a huge impact almost immediately. In fact, the 2024 UFA Rookie of the Year, Montreal’s Tobe Decraene, and the top two runners up for that award, DC’s Elliot Bonnet and Seattle’s Aaron Wolf, all were European additions. Going back further, we’ve also seen foreign players like Justin Foord, Oort, and Akifumi Muraoka all put up big numbers during past stints with the Rush.

With the gradual proliferation of all this international talent sprinkled across the league, more and more young players from all around the world have been following the UFA, hoping for the chance to prove they belong. 

“The thing that is most on my mind moving to North America is that I want to show [everyone] what’s up in the European scene,” said Blasman. “Other teams have taken usually one European player to play with them, but we are going with the three of us, so we can really show North America that Europe can compete with them too.” 

To be clear, finding wins in 2025 against any other divisional opponent will be a daunting task—the Rush were a combined 0-11 vs. the East last year, after all, with their lone victory all season coming over Pittsburgh—but the confident European trio will not shy away from the challenge. 

“With my Euro dawgs, I think we can really turn this franchise around, especially looking at last year’s [record],” said Karklins. “Obviously, it would be a very tall task to repeat what all the Rush legends did when they had their championship runs, and bringing a trophy would be very tough, but hopefully we can start with a winning record, fight to get to playoffs, and then go from there.”

Looking ahead, the East Division in 2025, from top to bottom, could very well be the deepest, most talented division in the history of the league. 

DC is the defending champ, but still returning with unfinished business following their disappointing performance at Championship Weekend. Boston is a franchise on the rise led by the league’s two-time reigning MVP, Jeff Babbitt. New York, with three titles since 2019, is determined to prove that they are still a top contender after losing more in 2024 than the previous four seasons combined. 

And beyond the top three, Montreal and Philadelphia both have legitimate talent too, with the Royal also showing how their European imports can help them more capably compete against the best.

So where does Toronto fit into this hierarchy? It’s impossible to predict now, but as tryouts begin and rosters around the league are gradually unveiled, it feels reasonable to expect that the Rush should be far more competitive moving forward.

“I always aim to compete against the best because that’s how you become better,” said Abeltins. “Also, I don’t believe in the easy way, so knowing that this division is really tough just makes me even more excited about the opportunity and challenge to prove myself and help the team to aim for high results. I believe that my strongest feature is making my teammates better and being a solid, consistent player that you can always rely on. With Mooncatchers, I have mostly been the main D-line handler; that’s my passion, playing D-line. But I have had enough experience playing O-line to say that I’m comfortable playing any position, so we will see how the Rush will decide to use me. I don’t care about stats or highlights; for me, team sport is about winning as a team.”

Lloyd also mentioned that the Rush are still engaged in talks with a couple other potential international signees. These moves, and the potential for more, are a strong signal to the Toronto ultimate community and the team’s proud fan base that the franchise is committed to finding a way to compete at the highest level.

“This is a big investment for our fans,” said Lloyd. “That’s why we’re doing this.”