Rochester Knighthawks General Manager and Vice President of Lacrosse Operations Dan Carey announced today that the team has signed goaltender Rylan Hartley to a one-year contract, 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.
Rochester’s 2020-21 regular-season schedule will be announced at a later date with an anticipated start date slated for the weekend of April 9-11, 2021.