Jeff Shattler, the Most Valuable Player in the Saskatchewan Rush’s run to the 2018 NLL Cup, has been signed to a new one-year contract, pending league approval.
Rush General Manager Derek Keenan announced the deal today, citing Shattler’s high level of competitiveness as a major factor in the 15-year veteran’s return to a lineup chasing its fourth league title.
“We are happy to have Jeff Shattler on board for another season with the Rush,” said Keenan. “Jeff’s the kind of athlete and lacrosse player who will likely go out of this league on his own terms. That’s how good he is and how fit he is.
“As a permanent resident of Saskatchewan now, the work that he has done and will continue to do with the Indigenous youth in our communities is invaluable.”
Since joining the Rush, the 36-year-old has opened the Shattler Lacrosse Academy, served as Director of Player Development and Coach for the Standing Buffalo Dakota Nation Fighting Sioux lacrosse program, and worked with Queens Lacrosse, the first all-girls team in Regina’s Queen City Minor Box Lacrosse League.
On the turf, Shattler continues to flash a high-level of production, highlighted by his 73-point season with the Rush in 2019. During those 18 regular-season games, Shattler earned his fifth 30-goal campaign, finishing 15th in the league with 34 goals and tying a Rush franchise single-season record with five game-winning goals.
The 6-foot, 205-pound forward signed a free agent with the Rush prior to the 2018 season, and he immediately became a major factor in the Saskatchewan lineup. In his first year with the Rush, Shattler notched 60 points on 24 goals and 36 assists, and then took his game to another level in the playoffs where he earned eight goals and seven assists for 15 points in four games. Shattler was named the NLL Cup MVP as he scored seven of his eight playoff goals in the final two games of the Championship Final against Rochester, including four in the decisive Game 3 which the Rush won to earn their third NLL title.
In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Shattler put up 11 goals and 16 assists for 27 points in 10 games.
Shattler’s combined regular season and playoff numbers put him amongst the NLL’s all-time leaders in several categories:
*Games Played – 260, 3rd
*Game-Winning Goals – 24, T-4th
*Loose Balls – 1,460, 7th
*Assists – 576, 9th
*Goals – 374, 11th
*Points – 950, 11th
Shattler spent 11 seasons with the Calgary Roughnecks prior to joining the Rush. He was a part of the Roughnecks’ second NLL championship team in 2009, and was named the league’s Most Valuable Player and Transition Player of the Year in 2011. Shattler was originally selected 10th overall in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft by the Buffalo Bandits.
On the international scene, Shattler won silver medals with the Iroquois Nationals at the 2011 and 2015 World Indoor Lacrosse Championships, and was named to the All-World Team in 2015.
