Bell embracing opportunity in Saskatchewan
Feb 16, 2024The Rush have had multiple players breakout this season, with the latest being Keegan Bell.
Born in British Columbia, being drafted by the Vancouver Warriors in 2019 might have felt like a dream come true, but little did Bell know, it was just the start of his National Lacrosse League journey.
The 6’5 righty had a ton of success growing up, from minor lacrosse championships in both box and field lacrosse. At the NCAA ranks, Keegan was a standout at Tusculum University, scoring 44 goals in 14 games during his senior year.
A transition to professional lacrosse is never a straight line. On March 7th, 2020, the Port Coquitlam product made his NLL debut… in Saskatchewan against the Rush. At 23 years old, playing in front of 11,632 fans might have felt like the greatest thing in the world despite the 10-goal loss, although the story would come full circle four years later.
Stops in Vancouver and Calgary didn’t work out, but the fitness enthusiast never stopped believing. When he wasn’t playing NLL games, he was working on his craft in the Arena Lacrosse League. Switching between playing forward and defence, Bell tallied 109 points in 28 games over two seasons with Sea Spray LC.
When Derek Keenan and Jimmy Quinlan came knocking during the offseason, Bell knew the opportunity to play in Saskatchewan doesn’t come around often. And despite being a healthy scratch from games two through four, when the opportunity arrived after Holden Garlent’s injury, Bell jumped to action.
“I had the confidence in myself that I could play at this level. Obviously, you never want a guy on your team getting hurt, but it's that next man-up mentality and I knew I needed to step in and prove myself,” said Bell.
Against Panther City, Bell was tasked with defending the likes of Will Malcom, Mathieu Gautier, Callum Crawford, and Jonathan Donville, gaining huge praise from his coaches after the 10-9 win. To keep the momentum rolling, Keegan and company rolled into Rogers Arena, his old stomping grounds and pulled out a 13-9 win on the road against his former team.
“The boys were super behind me, helping me out on the floor and just everything this stretch. Like the whole day in Vancouver was unbelievable with everybody being here and then just the support from the team and everyone was awesome.”
And scoring your first two NLL goals against the team that let you go? Priceless.
“It was pretty special. Especially playing here for a couple of years. Then getting the chance in Sask to come out and put the jersey on against them. Getting the first two here really meant a lot,” commented Bell.
While technically considered a rookie at the age of 26, Bell’s presence has made an impact around the arena. His energy is infectious, work ethic with the best and a desire to learn under some of the league’s top leaders.
“I still got lots of stuff to improve on. But ultimately, it's been a pretty special couple weeks being able to get in the lineup again and hopefully cement myself in.”
