Forward Colton Leiter has officially signed to play in Norway for the 2023-24 season. Leiter will be joining the Ringerike Ishockeyklubb “Ringerike” of the Eliteserien in Norway.
Leiter’s Time with the Rapid City Rush
Leiter has spent the last two seasons in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush. In the 2022-23 season, Leiter played as both a forward and a defenseman, but spent the majority of the season playing as a defenseman. Leiter played in 54 games where he had four goals and 16 assists for 20 points. He had eight penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -14.
In his two seasons in the ECHL, Leiter played in 108 games where he had 14 goals and 27 assists for 41 points. He had 24 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -20.
Overseas Experience
This will not be the first time Leiter has played overseas. Leiter played in Sweden in the 2020-21 season and started the 2021-22 season in Germany before he joined the Rush.
In the 2020-21 season, Leiter played with Visby/Roma HK of HockeyEttan in Sweden. Leiter played in 18 games with Visby/Roma where he had one goals and six assists for seven points. He had eight penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +6.
Before joining the Rapid City Rush in the 2021-22 season, Leiter played for ESC Kempten of Regionalliga in Germany. He only played in two games where he had one goal and two assists for three points. He had zero penalty minutes.
With Leiter already having some overseas experience, the transition from playing North American hockey to European hockey may be a little bit easier, and may benefit his game more.
Tyson Helgesen
The Rapid City Rush have announced that Tyson Helgesen will be returning for the 2023-24 ECHL season.
Tyson Helgesen joined the Rush in the 2021-22 season after he finished his college season at Mount Royal University. In the 2022-23 season, Tyson played in 66 games where he had two goals and 14 assists for 16 points. He had 117 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -3. In his ECHL career, Tyson has played in 81 games where he has three goals and 18 assists for 21 points. He has 130 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -1. Tyson also played with the Rush in the 2022 ECHL playoffs. He played in 11 games where he had one goal and one assist for two points. He had seven penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4.
Tyson Helgesen has spent some time in the AHL with the Hartford Wolf Pack (2017-18) and the Calgary Wranglers (2022-23). He has played in five games, but has yet to get his first point in the AHL. He has two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +2.
My Thoughts on This Signing
I think this is a very crucial signing for the Rush. Tyson Helgesen is an extremely good defenseman and enforcer for the Rush. The Rush have had problems with other teams pushing them around the last couple of seasons, but it seems as though it is less of a problem when Tyson is on the ice. Towards the end of the season, it did seem like players started pushing specifically Tyson around more which could have been because of how close he was to the ten fighting majors. Hopefully the Rush bring in another enforcer like player so that Tyson does not hit his ten fighting majors too quickly.
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