ECHL: 2024-25 End of Season Review | Rapid City Rush

While the Rapid City Rush had a rough 2024-25 season, there were still a few highs that went with the lows in their season.

End of Season Stats

The Rapid City Rush ended their 2024-25 season after another failed attempt at making the playoffs with a record of 31-32-6-3. The Rush earned 71 points but sat 17 out of a playoff spot. In overtime and shootouts, Rapid City ended their season 6-6-2-3. At home, the team finished with a record of 18-13-2-3 while having a record of 13-19-4-0 on the road. Rapid City finished sixth in the Mountain Division, tenth in the Western Conference, and 19th in the league.

Team Performance

One of Rapid City’s biggest struggles throughout the season was its special teams. The Rush could flip it around towards the end of the season on the powerplay as they finished the season 49 for 249 on powerplay, scoring on 19.7% (13th) of their chances. But their struggles with killing off penalties continued as they allowed 44 power-play goals against them, going 168 for 212 on the penalty kill for a success rate of 79.2%. Their penalty kill finished 21st in the league. Rapid City gave up ten shorthanded goals to their opponents in the 2024-25 season. They also found success when they were shorthanded. Rapid City finished the season second in shorthanded goals scored with their ten, tied with the Adirondack Thunder, Iowa Heartlanders, Indy Fuel, and Orlando Solar Bears.

Another area Rapid City struggled in was playing a full 60 minutes and laying back in the second period. While Rapid City’s overall stats had them outscored 218-265 during the season, their worst differential was the second period. Rapid City only scored 78 goals in the second period while allowing 101 goals, and they were outshot 825-910 in their second periods.

One highlight of Rapid City’s season was its ability to build off early leads. Rapid City struggled in many areas, but when they could find the back of the net first, they had a record of 19-7-3-1. However, with Rapid City’s offensive issues, they could only strike first in 30 of their 72 games, which is only 42% of their games. Rapid City was also 16-3-1-1 when leading after the first and 20-1-2-1 when leading after the second. On the other end, the Rush were 6-19-1-1 when trailing after the first and 3-30-3-0 when trailing after 40.

The Rush had unique stats regarding shots in games. While many teams win when they get more shots, Rapid City was the opposite. The team had a record of 6-19-4-0 when they outshot their opponent and 24-12-2-2 when outshot by their opponent.

Division Play

The Rapid City Rush saw lost of ups and downs in their divisional play this season, ultimately ending with a record of 25-29-6-3 against Mountain Division teams. Rapid City struggled against quite a few of the Mountain Division teams putting up a record of 2-5-0-1 against the Kansas City Mavericks, 2-4-0-0 against the Tahoe Knight Monsters, 3-5-0-0 against the Tulsa Oilers, and 2-5-1-1 against the Wichita Thunder. Rapid City’s most evenly played teams were the Allen Americans with a record of 3-3-2-0 and the Utah Grizzlies with a record of 5-4-0-1.

On the upside, Rapid City was dominant against the Idaho Steelheads, putting up a record of 8-3-3-0 against the Steelheads and were able to sweep them in Idaho for the first time in Rush history. Additionally, this winning record marked the first time the Rush had a win percentage over .500 against the Steelheads since the 2019-20 season, when they recorded a record of 6-1-2-1.

Top Players

While the Rush struggled a lot on offense throughout the season, they still had quite a few players who found themselves amongst the top of the league.

Ryan Wagner

Rush Captain Ryan Wagner finished the season with 29 goals and 50 assists for 79 points in 72 games. Wagner finished the season tied for third in the league in points. He had four shorthanded goals during the season, tied for second in the league with Brett Davis and South Carolina Stingrays forward Micah Miller. Wagner led the league in power-play assists with 24 and power-play points with 30. He also finished fifth in the league in shots with 240.

Deni Goure

Rush rookie forward Deni Goure finished his season with 23 goals and 32 assists for 55 points in 69 games. Goure finished third among rookies in points and fifth among rookies in assists. Goure’s ten powerplay goals were good for second in rookie powerplay goals, with Chongmin Lee from the Bloomington Bison and Kyler Kupka from the South Carolina Stingrays. He was also tied for second in rookie power-play points with Bryce Brodzinski from the Norfolk Admirals, both having 20 points.

Goure finished fifth among rookies in shots with 173. He led rookies in shootout goals with four and was tied with the Toledo Walleye’s Brandon Hawkins for second in the league. Goure was tied for first among rookies in shootout winning goals with Wheeling Nailers’ Jack Beck, Bloomington Bison’s Patriks Marcinkevics, and Kalamazoo Wings’ Drake Pilon, all of whom had two.

Billy Constantinou

Rush defenseman Billy Constantinou finished his season with 15 goals and 25 assists for 40 points in 71 games. Constantinou led defensemen in game-winning goals with five and was 14th among defensemen in points.

Chaz Smedsrud

Rush rookie forward Chaz Smedsrud finished his season with 12 goals and 29 assists for 41 points in 68 games, ranking him 17th among rookies in points. Smedsrud was able to find a lot of offensive success with the Rush after joining the team from the Allen Americans early in the season.

Final Look

While the Rush did not have a great season, there is much to look forward to in the upcoming season. A huge focus for the Rush this offseason is to find strong offensive players and players who will shoot the puck. Rapid City had a lot of players who could pass well this past season, but they did not have many players who wanted to take the shot. Another focus for the Rush is defense. The Rush struggled defensively in the 2024-25 season, costing them many games. The Rush really struggled to be aggressive on the puck, which is something they will need to focus on in the upcoming season, as a more aggressive forecheck and backcheck will not only help them defend better, but it could also help them score more.

Rapid City will have a new head coach in Dave Smith this season after head coach Scott Burt was let go. This could create a very different style of play for the Rush in the 2025-26 season, allowing a new identity for the Rush.