Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has re-signed goaltenders Rylan Hartley and Craig Wende to one-year contracts for the 2021-22 season, pending league approval.
Acquired by Rochester in the third round of the 2019 NLL Expansion Draft, Hartley completed his rookie season with the Knighthawks in 2019-20, posting a 1-3 record and 171 saves with a 14.70 goals-against average and a .767 save percentage in five appearances. He made his professional debut on Jan. 19 against Philadelphia before earning his first win in a 47-save effort in Rochester’s 13-12 victory over the New York Riptide on Feb. 29.
Originally a second-round selection (15th overall) of the San Diego Seals in 2018, Hartley also spent the previous five summers with the Junior “A” Orangeville Northmen. In 43 games with the team, the Orangeville, Ontario, native has posted a 22-15-2 record to go along with a 7.09 goals-against average and a .795 save percentage. In 2019, he backstopped the Northmen to a Minto Cup title after leading all netminders in wins (16) and saves (550) while ranking third with a 6.15 goals-against average.
In 2018, the 5-foot-11, 165-pound netminder led the league in wins (12), goals-against average (6.63), saves (585) and save percentage (.817) en route to earning the Dennis McIntosh Award as the League’s MVP.
Wende completed his first season with the expansion-era Knighthawks and second in the NLL in 2019-20, boasting a 1-3 record with a 13.17 goals-against average and a .776 save percentage while leading all Rochester netminders with 194 saves. He backstopped the Knighthawks to their first-ever win in franchise history with a 42-save effort in the 13-12 win over the defending NLL champion Calgary Roughnecks on Jan. 18, 2020.
He made his pro debut during the 2018-19 campaign with the Georgia Swarm, making 12 saves in one contest.
Prior to joining the Swarm, the 6-foot-1, 218-pound goaltender spent three seasons with the Toronto Monarchs (ALL) from 2017-19. In 35 career games with the Monarchs, the Kitchener, Ontario, native posted a 19-9-0 record while making 621 saves. Additionally, he totaled 44 assists and one goal. In five playoff contests, Wende showed a 2-2-1 record along with six assists.