NLL Insider

With the Edmonton Rush stuttering off to another 0-4 start it can’t be easy to stay positive about the season — unless, of course, you’re the consummate team player Randy Daly. The Edmonton forward discusses what’s wrong with the Rush, what’s right with the Rush, and how he feels about his name not making the headlines.

In the offseason there was some excitement surrounding the Edmonton Rush and some of the players you picked up, but now you’re off to an unfortunately familiar start. What is it that’s plaguing you guys and keeping you from getting those wins?
I don’t think it’s necessarily the personnel or players we have on the team, I think it’s just a matter of there having been so many changes that we haven’t really come together as the team that we should be right now. I know that sounds like a very vague answer but that’s really what it is. We have to learn to play as a complete unit and outside of the game against Colorado, which I know we lost, I don’t think we’ve done that very well. I wish there was one definitive answer outside of that but truly to me that’s the thing that stands out the most. We need to start playing as a unit and we need to start trusting one another and just coming together as a team. Outside of that I think there’s a number of other things that you could probably point a finger at but they’re nothing more than excuses.

In the off-season the Rush picked up a number of new players and obviously that’s great, but as a fairly new team do you ever feel like that stuff sets you back a little in terms of team chemistry?
There’s always that chance that you might jeopardize the team chemistry that you’ve built but I think if you’d asked anybody in the offseason before we played a game what they thought about the changes everybody would have thought they were very positive, and you know what? I still do. I still believe in the changes that the coaching staff have made and they’ve brought in some very talented guys like Mike Accursi, I know Chris Sellers is gone but he was a very talented guy as well. It really comes down to a matter of the players just coming together quicker — sooner than later, really.

What kind of a mentality are you guys approaching each game with?
Obviously there’s a bit of a sense of urgency, but I don’t think there’s any panic setting in yet. The guys still realize that there’s a lot of talent in that room. I think the guys right now are just focused on the next game and trying to get that win, we’re trying to get the ball rolling. I think once we get the ball rolling and people start to relax good things, better things will start to happen for us.

Do you think this team has what it takes to turn things around this season?
I firmly believe so. I think we’re a lot better than what we’ve shown so far. I wish I had an answer for you. I definitely believe in the personnel we have on the team, we just need to get that first win under our belts. I’ve had the unfortunate pleasure of playing on a few losing teams and one thing that sort of stood out during those times is that players start to try and do too much. People start to try and put a team on their back and right the ship but I think people just need to stay the course, do what they know how to do and just believe in the rest of the team to follow suit. I think we have guys who are trying to do too much right now and as a result people start to grip their sticks a bit more and tend to overthink things.

What do you feel like the real strengths of this team are? What can you build on to create a winner?
We have a fairly athletic team, I think we really just need to get the feet moving and let the ball move. I keep coming back to it, I think we need to just play simple lacrosse. I think if we play simple lacrosse the true talents of this team will shine through. We have a talented offensive team that has more than likely underperformed at this point, and then we’ve got some guys like Chris Gill, Dan Stroup and Mike Accursi who score bucketloads of goals. I think once things start to go in a bit easier you’ll find that offensively this team will start to score in groups of goals. The thing I like about our defense is that there isn’t really one person who stands out in the pack, it’s really a group effort. Again I’m going to come back to moving our feet. Once those guys sort of get their anchor set back there we’ll start to see them fly up the floor and hopefully we’ll become a good transitional team because I think that’s what the coaching staff has really tried to build. I think that’s the thing that’s really going to lead us through.

This is a league where fans have occasionally been put in the position where one month their favourite team is there, and the next month they’re gone or they’ve moved to California or wherever, and I think some people are looking at this team and looking at the attendance figures that are dropping a bit and they’re starting to worry about what the state of the Rush will be a few years from now. Have you guys been given any indication that this franchise could be in trouble?
No, absolutely not. I mean that’s the one unwavering thing. I’ve been involved in a few teams now and we have, in my opinion, probably the greatest ownership and office staff in the league. I’ve been involved with Colorado and they were fantastic there too, but Bruce Urban is as passionate about the game as anybody. He’s at every game and he wants to win probably just as bad as the players do. The fans themselves have been super. We can’t really complain about them. I hate to harp on it but we’ve given them seven wins in just over two years now and we still have ten thousand fans per game or something around that mark anyway. We can’t really complain about the support that we’ve gotten and it really comes back to us to perform. Edmonton really just wants a winner, and if they don’t get a win they want a great effort, they want to see a good game so I think that’s what we need to start providing. The organization has built themselves a stable groundwork and once the wins start coming you’ll only see things get better from there.

In talking to some guys that you’ve played with, they say you’re the guy out there busting your butt every shift and you’re such a good player and a team guy, but a lot of what you do can’t be quantified, it’s a lot of the intangibles. Do you ever get frustrated that it’s not your name in the headlines?
You know what, everybody wants to be a star but I’ve never been that guy, even throughout my whole lacrosse career, even playing in the summer league so I don’t mind being the guy that just pitches in here and there. I love hearing that, that I’m a team guy, that I work hard, I approach every year — especially in the NLL, I know I’m not going to be a John Grant, a John Tavares — I approach it with the same approach. I do what my team needs me to do and I try to pitch in wherever I can. I don’t need the press as long as I hear that my teammates and my coaching staff are happy with me that’s good enough recognition for me.

In spite of the 0-4 and maybe some of the negative attention the team gets, is Edmonton where you want to be playing?
I have no desire to be anywhere else, regardless of our struggles. Like I said, they’re a first-class organization, a great bunch of guys to play with and over the last three years they’ve become a family so regardless of whatever happens on the floor it will always be the place I want to play.

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