The ECHL season is getting ready to start, and the Rapid City Rush are only six days away from dropping the puck for the 2024-25 season.
Rapid City ended the 2023-24 season with a record of 30-38-4, but they did end their season on a three-game win streak with a sweep over the Wichita Thunder. After missing the playoffs for a second consecutive season, the Rush are looking to have a successful 2024-25 season.
Key Departures
The Rush lost almost half their team from last season and will have almost an entirely new team in 2024-25. Arguably, the biggest losses for the Rush are their top five players who led the team in goals, assists, and points. Those five players consist of Alex Aleardi (31G 48A 79P), Blake Bennett (35G 28A 63P), Logan Nelson (17G 39A 56P), Brett Gravelle (23G 29A 52P), and Keanu Yamamoto (19G 29A 52P). The Rush also lost defensemen Tyson Helgesen and Jarrod Gourley. Helgesen was a big body on the ice who was able to hit and push other guys around and was not afraid to drop his gloves to stand up for his teammates. Gourley was also a very physical player and was also a threat on offense for the Rush. The Rush also lost forwards Riley Ginnell and Jake Stella, along with defensemen TJ Fergus and Zach Taylor. Rapid City will need other players to step up both on offense and defense, as well as players who are able to play a more physical game and are willing to fight when needed.
Looking Forward
After losing a lot of depth on the offensive side, Rapid City was able to pick up quite a few new forwards, most notably Ryan Wagner. Wagner has spent the majority of his career in the AHL. In his seven AHL seasons, Wagner had 34 goals and 48 assists for 82 points in 294 games played.
The Rush will see Maurizio Colella, Brett Davis, Mason McCarty, and Garrett Klotz return to the ice. They will also see Simon Boyko return to the ice after spending a short amount of time with the Rush last season. It is also a return for Parker Bowman, who joined the Rush late last season after completing his collegiate career at Nipissing University.
The Rush will see new faces with Tyler Burnie, Jack Jeffers, Joe Widmar, Deni Goure, Connor Mylymok, Trevor Janicke, and MacGregor Sinclair. Rapid City has a variety of places that they have received new players from. Burnie and Janicke are coming from collegiate hockey, and Goure is coming out of the OHL. Jeffers, Mylymok, Sinclair, and Widmar all have prior experience in the ECHL.
Defending Their Ice
Rapid City will see Billy Constantinou and Zack Hoffman back on the blue line, and they will also see Charles Martin back as he has been assigned to the Rush by the Calgary Wranglers.
Over the offseason, the Rush acquired Aaron Hyman, Holden Wale, and Brenden Rons from their respective colleges/universities. Brady Pouteau is joining the season after spending the 2023-24 season overseas, and Grayson Valente and Matt Araujo are joining the team from the SPHL.
Between the Pipes
Rapid City will not be seeing any new faces between the pipes to start the season. The Rush re-signed Christian Propp. Matt Radomsky and Connor Murphy have contracts with the Calgary Wranglers, but the Wranglers have assigned both to the Rush. These three goals played in 61 of the team’s 72 games last season. Radomsky would lead all Rush goaltenders with a record of 16-22-2 with a 3.91 GAA, .889SV%, and two shutouts in 41 appearances last season.
Wranglers with the Rush
Rapid City has already received quite a few players from their AHL affiliate, the Calgary Wranglers. Rapid City has received familiar faces in defenseman Charles Martin and goaltenders Connor Murphy and Matt Radomsky.
The Rush have also received rookie defenseman Holden Wale along with rookie forwards Deni Goure, Trevor Janicke, and Connor Mylymok. Mylymok played 11 games with the Idaho Steelheads last season, where he had three goals with 36 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Wale has spent the last three seasons at the University of Windsor in USports, Goure spent the last five seasons with the Owen Sound Attack in the OHL, and Janicke has spent the last five seasons at the University of Notre Dame. Janicke was an assistant captain for Notre Dame in his final two collegiate seasons.
Expectations
I think this season will be an exciting season for the Rush. Not only is the team getting a lot of guys with speed and skill, but they have also acquired quite a few guys who add a lot of size to the team. This season, the Rush only have five players under 6’0″ and have eight players who are 6’3″ or taller. These bigger guys are also bringing a lot of physicality to the team, which should help, as the Rush were pushed around a lot last season. Overall, the team the Rush has built for this season should allow for a very fun and entertaining season for Rush fans, from their speed to their physicality.
