The Rapid City Rush are a professional hockey team in the ECHL located in Rapid City, South Dakota. They are members of the Mountain Division and are affiliated with the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) and Calgary Flames (NHL). The Rush started in the CHL in the 2008-09 season and have since seen many changes in their franchise, from ownership and coaches to affiliates.
Start in the CHL
The formation of the Rapid City Rush into the Central Hockey League (CHL) was announced in June 2007, owned by Scott Mueller and minority owners Barry Petersen and Donald Ward. The Rush played their first season in the 2008-09 season and were members of the CHL for six years, winning the Ray Miron Presidents Cup in 2010, only their second season in the league. Through their six seasons in the ECHL, the Rush had an overall record of 217-138-37. The Rush made the playoffs every year they were in the CHL except for the 2008-09 season, their first season in the league. In the playoffs, they saw one championship, one conference final loss, one conference semifinal loss, and two quarterfinal losses.
During their championship run, the Rapid City Rush finished their regular season top of the Northern Conference with a record of 43-14-7. In the playoffs, the Rush swept the Missouri Mavericks 4-0 in the semifinals, and then, in a seven-game series, they defeated the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs 4-3 to go to the Ray Miron Presidents Cup Finals, where they took on the Allen Americans. The Rush beat the Americans in six games, winning 4-2 after an eventful game six.
In game six, the Rush saw themselves down 3-1 entering the third period, but they were able to tie the game up in the third. The Rush ended up scoring with 39.3 seconds left in double overtime to win the game, series, and Ray Miron President’s Cup.
The Rapid City Rush were coached by Joe Ferras during their entire tenure in the CHL (2008-14), and Ferras was also the general manager in the 2013-14 season. Mark DeSantis was the assistant coach from 2009-12.
ECHL Merge
Shortly before the Rush were expected to start the 2014-15 season in the CHL, it was announced that the CHL was ceasing operations. This caused the Rush, along with the Allen Americans, Wichita Thunder, Tulsa Oilers, Missouri Mavericks (now Kansas City Mavericks), Quad City Mallards, and Brampton Beasts, to all become members of the ECHL.
In their first season in the ECHL, the Rush were in the Central Division in the Western Conference, where their division consisted of the CHL teams who had just joined the ECHL. The Rush finished the season with a record of 37-28-7, putting them in second in their division. The Rush made the playoffs but ended up losing in the second round to the Allen Americans in six games after beating the Quad City Mallards in the first round in seven games.
Coaches While in the ECHL
After joining the ECHL, the Rush still had their Head Coach and General Manager, Joe Ferras, and in their first season, the 2014-15 season, Mark DeSantis came back as their Assistant Coach. In the 2016-17 season, Joe Ferras stepped down as Head Coach and was solely the General Manager. Mark DeSantis was promoted to Head Coach and Daniel Tetrault came in as the Assistant Coach. DeSantis did not stick around for long as the Head Coach, as he was replaced by Tetrault in the 2017-18 season. Tetrault coached alongside the new Assistant Coach, Nello Ferrara. Ferrara was the Assistant Coach for two seasons before stepping away from the Rush organization. Jeremy Gates then took over as the Assistant Coach, coaching with Tetrault.
Tetrault was the Head Coach of the Rush for four seasons before he and the Rush mutually decided to part ways. After Tetrault left, the Rush brought in Scott Burt as the Head Coach for the 2021-22 season, signing him to a three-year contract. Jeremy Gates’ time with the Rush ended after three seasons, being replaced by Zac Desjardins. Desjardins was only with the Rush for the 2022-23 season before Peter Drikos became the Assistant Coach for the 2023-24 season. In his first season with the Rush, Head Coach Scott Burt was promoted to Head Coach and Director of Hockey Operations before being promoted to Head Coach and General Manager the next season.
Recent Seasons
After the Rush had some success in their first ECHL season, they started to go downhill. The team was consistently finishing near the bottom of their division, and they struggled to get 30 wins in a single 72-game season, and the off-ice stuff was starting to go downhill as well. During the 2018-19 season, the team ended up being sold to Spire Sports and Entertainment’s Jeff Dickerson and TJ Puchyr. After attempting to turn the team around with the current coaching staff at the time and not being successful, Spire Sports brought in Coach Scott Burt to coach the Rush. In his first season with the Rush, Coach Burt was able to take them to the playoffs, where they ended up losing in the second round. This was the first time the Rush made the playoffs in seven seasons and only the second time they made playoffs in their eight seasons in the ECHL.
But, the Rush have struggled a little bit the last two seasons, missing the playoffs by only a few points both seasons. The Rush have finished sixth in the Mountain Division the last two seasons after missing the playoffs by three points in the 2022-23 season and missing the playoffs by five points in the 2023-24 season.
Since joining the ECHL, the Rush have made two playoff appearances and have an overall record of 308-332-67 in the eight regular seasons they have played in.
Affiliation History
The Rapid City Rush joined the ECHL in the 2014-15 season but didn’t have an NHL or AHL affiliation. But in the 2015-16 season they joined an affiliation with the Springfield Falcons (AHL) and the Arizona Coyotes (NHL). The Rush were affiliated with the Coyotes until 2017, but they were only affiliated with Springfield for one season as their AHL affiliate changed to the Tucson Roadrunners in the 2016-17 season. After their affiliation with the Coyotes, the Rush became affiliated with the Iowa Wild (AHL) and the Minnesota Wild (NHL) for the 2017-18 season before being an independent team in the 2018-19 season. The Rush then went back to their former affiliate, the Tucson Roadrunners (AHL) and Arizona Coyotes (NHL) from 2019-22. In 2022, the Rush then changed affiliates again to the Calgary Wranglers (AHL) and Calgary Flames (NHL), who they are currently affiliated with.
Players in the NHL
The Rapid City Rush have been around for 16 seasons, and they have had seven former players have made it to the NHL level. The first Rush player who made his NHL debut was goaltender Marek Langhamer on February 20, 2017, with the Arizona Coyotes. He would make one other appearance during the 2017-18 season, both of his NHL appearances were in relief.
Langhamer spent two seasons in Rapid City, where he played in 15 games for 903 minutes on ice and a record of 10-4-1 with two shutouts. With Rapid City, Langhamer faced 493 shots, making 456 saves, and had 37 goals against for an average of 2.46 goals against and a save percentage of .925.
Goaltender Adin Hill was the second Rush player to make his NHL debut on October 17, 2017, with the Arizona Coyotes. Hill spent part of one season in Rapid City, where he played in five games for 301 minutes on ice and a record of 1-3-1 with one shutout. With Rapid City, Hill faced 164 shots, making 146 saves, and had 18 goals against for an average of 3.59 goals against and a save percentage of .890. The BC native has spent eight years in the NHL, playing with the Arizona Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, and Vegas Golden Knights. He’s put up a record of 61-51-8 with a 2.68 GAA, .910 SV%, and seven shutouts. Hill is 12-6 with a 2.09 GAA and a .932 SV% in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff Games and won the Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights in 2023.
Defenseman Dakota Mermis made his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes on November 2, 2018. He spent part of the 2015-16 season with the Rush, playing in five games and scoring one goal and two assists for three points. Mermis has spent seven seasons in the NHL, putting up four goals and eight assists for 12 points in 72 games as he’s spent time with the Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, and Minnesota Wild.
Forward Michael Bunting made his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes on December 8, 2018. He also spent part of the 2015-16 season with Rush, playing in seven games and scoring two goals. Bunting has played in 268 NHL games putting up 76 goals and 105 assists for 181 points while spending time with the Arizona Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Carolina Hurricanes, and Pittsburgh Penguins.
On March 31, 2021, goaltender Ivan Prosvetov made his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes. Prosvetov spent part of the 2019-20 season with the Rush, playing in five games for 301 minutes on ice and a record of 4-1-0 with one shutout. Prosvetov faced 171 shots while with the Rush saving 159 and having 12 goals against for a goals against average of 2.40 and a save percentage of .930. The Russian goalie has played in 24 NHL games of the course, putting up a record of 8-9-2 with a 3.70 GAA and .881SV% while spending time with the Arizona Coyotes and Colorado Avalanche.
Defenseman Dysin Mayo made his NHL debut with the Arizona Coyotes on October 21, 2021. Mayo played in 25 games with the Rush for part of the 2016-17 season, scoring one goal and 15 assists for 16 points. The 27-year-old has played in 82 NHL games, all with Arizona, and has scored four goals and eight assists for 12 points.
The most recent player to make his NHL debut was goaltender Erik Kallgren, who made his debut on March 10, 2022, with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Kallgren spent time with the Rush in the 2019-20 season, playing in three games for 178 minutes on ice with a record of 2-1-0. He faced 105 shots while with the Rush, where he had 97 saves and eight goals against for a goals-against average of 2.70 and a save percentage of .924. Kallgren has played in 24 NHL games, all coming with the Maple Leafs while putting up a record of 11-6-5 with a 3.04 GAA, .892 SV%, and one shutout.
Numbers in the Rafters
Through their 16 years as a franchise, the Rapid City Rush have had three names sent to the rafters. Those three players are #6 Riley Weselowski, #17 Scott Wray, and #30 Danny Battochio. On October 29, 2022, Riley Weselowski saw his number become the third to head up to the rafter at The Monument Ice Arena. Weselowski spent two stints with the Rush, 2009-2015 and 2016-2019. He played five seasons with the Rush in the CHL, playing in 274 games where he had 22 goals and 102 assists for 124 points. He had 233 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +75. Weselowski was still with the Rush when they became an ECHL team and played in an additional 243 games where he had 17 goals and 54 assists for 71 points. He had 207 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -33. In total, Weselowski played 517 games in a Rush jersey where he had 39 goals and 156 assists for 195 points. He had 440 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +42. Weselowski was the Captain of the Rush from 2017-19.
Scott Wray got to watch his number become the first Rush number to be lifted to the rafters on April 4, 2015. Wray spent five seasons with the Rush in the CHL from 2009-2014. During that time, Wray played in 314 games, where he had 106 goals and 130 assists for 236 points. He had 359 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +34. Wray was the captain of the team from 2010-2014.
Rush goaltender Danny “Batman” Battochio saw his number go to the rafters on March 30, 2018. Battochio spent four seasons with the Rush in the CHL and then spent an additional four seasons with the Rush in the ECHL for a total of eight seasons with the Rush. During his time in the CHL, Battochio played in 154 regular season games for 8,527 minutes on ice and had a record of 86-43-13 with seven shutouts. Battochio faced 4,226 shots, making 3,857 saves, and had 369 goals against for a goals-against average of 2.60 and a save percentage of .913. In the ECHL, Battochio played in 100 games for 5,477 minutes of ice time and had a record of 45-39-8 with six shutouts. He faced 2,725, where he had 2,487 saves and 238 goals against for a goals-against average of 2.61 and a save percentage of .913. In total, Battochio played in 254 games with the Rush for 14004 minutes on ice and earned a record of 131-82-21 with 13 shutouts. He faced a total of 6951 shots with 6344 saves and 607 goals against for a goals-against average of 2.60 and a save percentage of .913.
Battochio was a big part of the 2010 championship team playing in 16 games for a total of 946 minutes on ice with a record of 12-4-0. He faced a total of 479 shots where he had 436 saves and 43 goals against for a goals-against average of 2.73 and a save percentage of .910. Battochio also earned CHL Rookie of the Year and was named to the CHL All-Rookie Team in the 2009-10 season.
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