At this time last season, the big excitement around the team was the influx of financial investment and new European talent in the team, making the whole franchise feel like a bit of a reboot. While the ‘euros’ did play well (when they played), inconsistencies in the squad, coupled with the propensity to fall asleep for periods, meant that the team did not achieve the promise their dark horse status had initially offered.
This year, the investment is still here but instead of going global, RUSH leadership has recruited on a national level, bringing in players from around Canada who might not only get locals excited after watching them represent the national team. Perhaps this will offer better initial chemistry with other players in the squad who all have similar training and shared experiences on Team Canada.
The Captains!
Luc Comire and Phil Turner return as captains for the 2026 season. Phil “The Thrill” Turner is known for his defensive excellence but after leading the way on GOATs O-line last summer, you can expect to see more goals from the 8-year veteran. This positional change must mean that coach Jamie Millage is liking what he’s seeing on the defensive end with the rest of the squad if he’s willing to let go of league's 8th highest Blocker last season. Luc meanwhile will continue to be his regular consistent self. He ranked 2nd for the RUSH last year in completions and throwing yards, averaging 34 completions per game at 95.63% accuracy. Despite only being 27, Luc broke 2,000 completions and 16,000 throwing yards last season; if he keeps up these throwing stats, he’ll retire as one of the best handlers ever to grace the UFA.
The Rookies!
Heading the rookie squad are the three imports from Vancouver: Gagan Chatha, Max Pettenuzzo & Justin Podnar. Gagan is the most experienced of the three, bringing some old UFA experience after playing for the Vancouver Riptide back in 2015-2017. He’s also got the best flick huck you’ve ever seen. Max is a captain for the UVic’s ultimate team, and he’s represented Canada at the u20 and u24 (and beach) levels, so he is no newbie when it comes to playing under pressure and will be sure to make the play to get the fans out of their seats. Podnar also brings national level experience, but most importantly, he brings some height to what is an athletic but perhaps not the tallest RUSH Roster.
Outside of Vancouver, Toronto picked up Evan Bembenista, the Buffalo native from the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. Evan is an endzone monster, getting 12 goals and 8 hockey assists in only 7 games last year. At 6 '4”, this 23 y/o brings height that is hard to guard. They also grabbed the d-line handler Logan Keillor and the mysterious Eric “Ricky” Zhuang from Ottawa, Max Ayad who has played for both the Montreal Royal and Ottawa Outlaws, Spencer “Spenny” Dillon, the Durham Dog, and Noah Nishizaki, the GOAT from Guelph. From the mixed team Union in Toronto, we have their junior captain Kelsi Mallany, as well as the surprisingly quick Eelavan Jeervarajah. To round out the rookie squad, we have long-time Toronto local Kai Huang, and bringing some experience and pizazz, Kevin Chao.
The Returners!
Perhaps the biggest question of the off season was would Marty Gallant return from the East coast. Not only is he a speedy world games athlete coming back, but he’s moving to Toronto, so fans are likely to see an improvement over just the 4 games last year. Other big news is that fan favourite Akifumi Muraoka is returning from Japan after sharing seasons with the RUSH in 2019 and 2024. This defensive monster will layout, intercept, then bomb it down the field, which was enough to earn an all-rookie 2nd team appearance 7 years ago. A bunch of other key guys return this summer. Mainstays Adam Turcotte, Keith McRae, Kelvin Huang, Brandon Adibe, Rui Carvalho, and Ryan Poloz all return, looking to help blend in the incoming rookie class, while Owen Robinson is hoping to end his UFA career brightly after rumors are swirling that he might move to the UK after the season ends.
In the Not-a-rookie-anymore category, we have Araav Sehgal, Harry Norris, and Rowan Jamieson all return after breaking into the first team last year.
Finally, returning to the squad after a break, David Petsinis and Nam Ho Sr. return to the squad after playing in 2022, and Isaiah Masek-Kelly is rumoured to be suiting up for the team again after only playing a single game in 2021 - don’t get it twisted however, Isaiah was a part of the RUSH teams that won championships in the late 2010’s and could be the experienced offensive spark that gets the RUSH a win in crucial games.
TL; DR
Is the RUSH the favourites in this crazy tough Eastern division, amongst three of the best teams in the league (NY Empire, DC Breeze, and Boston Glory) and two classic dark horses (Philly Phoenix & Montreal Royal)? Maybe not. But this is a team that is representing every corner of the country, with a strong young Toronto-based core. They are also going to have chances to face unique oppositions, with a west road trip against Oregon and Seattle, and a season-closer against the Indianapolis AlleyCats.
Their advantage going into the season is that changes have been made to improve chemistry and to promote Canadian talent. The biggest questions will be do they have enough star talent, height, and experience to make the difference when the going gets tough. We don’t have those answers yet, but Coaches Jamie Millage and Travis Puckrin have been tasked with finding a way to turn things around, and in the meantime, this is going to be a fun, young, speedy, athletic team to watch.
This year, the investment is still here but instead of going global, RUSH leadership has recruited on a national level, bringing in players from around Canada who might not only get locals excited after watching them represent the national team. Perhaps this will offer better initial chemistry with other players in the squad who all have similar training and shared experiences on Team Canada.
The Captains!
Luc Comire and Phil Turner return as captains for the 2026 season. Phil “The Thrill” Turner is known for his defensive excellence but after leading the way on GOATs O-line last summer, you can expect to see more goals from the 8-year veteran. This positional change must mean that coach Jamie Millage is liking what he’s seeing on the defensive end with the rest of the squad if he’s willing to let go of league's 8th highest Blocker last season. Luc meanwhile will continue to be his regular consistent self. He ranked 2nd for the RUSH last year in completions and throwing yards, averaging 34 completions per game at 95.63% accuracy. Despite only being 27, Luc broke 2,000 completions and 16,000 throwing yards last season; if he keeps up these throwing stats, he’ll retire as one of the best handlers ever to grace the UFA.
The Rookies!
Heading the rookie squad are the three imports from Vancouver: Gagan Chatha, Max Pettenuzzo & Justin Podnar. Gagan is the most experienced of the three, bringing some old UFA experience after playing for the Vancouver Riptide back in 2015-2017. He’s also got the best flick huck you’ve ever seen. Max is a captain for the UVic’s ultimate team, and he’s represented Canada at the u20 and u24 (and beach) levels, so he is no newbie when it comes to playing under pressure and will be sure to make the play to get the fans out of their seats. Podnar also brings national level experience, but most importantly, he brings some height to what is an athletic but perhaps not the tallest RUSH Roster.
Outside of Vancouver, Toronto picked up Evan Bembenista, the Buffalo native from the Pittsburgh Thunderbirds. Evan is an endzone monster, getting 12 goals and 8 hockey assists in only 7 games last year. At 6 '4”, this 23 y/o brings height that is hard to guard. They also grabbed the d-line handler Logan Keillor and the mysterious Eric “Ricky” Zhuang from Ottawa, Max Ayad who has played for both the Montreal Royal and Ottawa Outlaws, Spencer “Spenny” Dillon, the Durham Dog, and Noah Nishizaki, the GOAT from Guelph. From the mixed team Union in Toronto, we have their junior captain Kelsi Mallany, as well as the surprisingly quick Eelavan Jeervarajah. To round out the rookie squad, we have long-time Toronto local Kai Huang, and bringing some experience and pizazz, Kevin Chao.
The Returners!
Perhaps the biggest question of the off season was would Marty Gallant return from the East coast. Not only is he a speedy world games athlete coming back, but he’s moving to Toronto, so fans are likely to see an improvement over just the 4 games last year. Other big news is that fan favourite Akifumi Muraoka is returning from Japan after sharing seasons with the RUSH in 2019 and 2024. This defensive monster will layout, intercept, then bomb it down the field, which was enough to earn an all-rookie 2nd team appearance 7 years ago. A bunch of other key guys return this summer. Mainstays Adam Turcotte, Keith McRae, Kelvin Huang, Brandon Adibe, Rui Carvalho, and Ryan Poloz all return, looking to help blend in the incoming rookie class, while Owen Robinson is hoping to end his UFA career brightly after rumors are swirling that he might move to the UK after the season ends.
In the Not-a-rookie-anymore category, we have Araav Sehgal, Harry Norris, and Rowan Jamieson all return after breaking into the first team last year.
Finally, returning to the squad after a break, David Petsinis and Nam Ho Sr. return to the squad after playing in 2022, and Isaiah Masek-Kelly is rumoured to be suiting up for the team again after only playing a single game in 2021 - don’t get it twisted however, Isaiah was a part of the RUSH teams that won championships in the late 2010’s and could be the experienced offensive spark that gets the RUSH a win in crucial games.
TL; DR
Is the RUSH the favourites in this crazy tough Eastern division, amongst three of the best teams in the league (NY Empire, DC Breeze, and Boston Glory) and two classic dark horses (Philly Phoenix & Montreal Royal)? Maybe not. But this is a team that is representing every corner of the country, with a strong young Toronto-based core. They are also going to have chances to face unique oppositions, with a west road trip against Oregon and Seattle, and a season-closer against the Indianapolis AlleyCats.
Their advantage going into the season is that changes have been made to improve chemistry and to promote Canadian talent. The biggest questions will be do they have enough star talent, height, and experience to make the difference when the going gets tough. We don’t have those answers yet, but Coaches Jamie Millage and Travis Puckrin have been tasked with finding a way to turn things around, and in the meantime, this is going to be a fun, young, speedy, athletic team to watch.
