Rush Coach Trevor Kleckner talked about another strong weekend for the Rush, and a lot more. The team showed how they develop stars like Chuck Norris, and what they are looking for from their players going forward.

Kleckner on the weekend against Atlanta “Obviously both teams had very successful weekends against the Madhatters as both the Elite and Premier team moved to 4-0 on the year.

For the Elite team, what has been continually impressive, is their ability to defend hard. Through four games only allowing two goals against is a big deal, no matter who you are playing. Obviously they face a much tougher opponent in the Jr. Canes on Friday night as they’lll need to turn the page quickly and focus on them. 

For the Premier team, it was impressive for them to get the second win against Atlanta after giving them a little life on Saturday night. They had gotten off to a great start through two and a half periods, but got into some penalty trouble leading to multiple Power Play Goals against. After that it’s tough to follow up with a full 60 minute game on Sunday, but the guys did a great job correcting their mistakes on the penalty kill and got the win.”

2. How has Chuck Norris grown as a person on and off the ice and talk about the goals he scored on sunday.

“Chuck is one of the most exciting young players in our organization and it’s been a pleasure to see him develop . It was exciting for us and for him to earn a tender in the off-season in the NCDC, but we’re happy he’s back with the Rush where he belongs. He has an incredibly high ceiling of talent and that’s why we’re taking our time with his development. A lot of coaches would see his talent and just start throwing him into Premier games to gain experience. Sometimes for players that can be overwhelming and it can impact their confidence negatively. Right now for him the most important thing is for him to be playing games. If we think he has proven himself throughout the week of practice or after an Elite game on Saturday night, then he’ll be in the Premier lineup. He is a key example of how the Rush truly develop players through our Elite team and then onto Premier.”

3. What have you liked about your goalies this year?

“Between both teams I believe we’re very deep at the goaltending position. We feel comfortable we could put any three of them in net, at both Premier and Elite, and any of them are more than capable of getting the win. Obviously it’s early in the season and we have some very tough competition ahead with the Jr. Canes this weekend and the Raleigh Showcase the following weekend. It will be exciting to see who can take the reins and solidify themselves as the starter in net.”