ECHL: Rapid City Rush Add Two New Players and Bring Back Charles Martin

The Rapid City Rush have announced that defenseman Billy Roche and forward Rhett Kingston will be joining the team for the 2023-24 ECHL season.

Billy Roche

Billy Roche joins the Rush after spending the 2022-23 season in the SPHL with the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in Roanoke, Virginia, and playing DIII hockey with Curry College in Milton, Massachusetts. Roche played three games with the Rail Yard Dawgs, where he had one goal and zero assists for one point. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1. At Curry College, Roche played in 29 games, where he had six goals and four assists for ten points. He had six penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +7.

Roche spent the four seasons before that playing for Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts. Roche was an alternate captain in the 2020-21 season and the captain in the 2021-22 season. He played in a total of 65 games, where he had eight goals and 22 points for 30 points. He had 48 penalty minutes, and in the 2021-22 season, he had a plus/minus of +4.

Rhett Kingston

Rhett Kingston spent the 2022-23 season in the SPHL with the Fayetteville Marksmen in Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the Macon Mayhem in Macon, Georgia. He also spent a little bit of time in the ECHL with the Savannah Ghost Pirates. While in the SPHL, he played in a total of 49 games, where he had 23 goals and 14 assists for 37 points. He had 99 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -24. With the Ghost Pirates, Kingston played in three games where he did not register any points or penalty minutes. He had a plus/minus of 0.

Kingston spent the previous four seasons playing DI at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and DIII at State University of New York College at Plattsburgh (SUNY-Plattsburgh) in Plattsburgh, New York. Kingston played 56 games with Western Michigan University, where he had 12 goals and nine assists for 21 points. He had 43 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +11. Kings on played three games with SUNY-Plattsburgh where he did not register any points. He had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2.

I think the addition of these two players will benefit the Rush. Both players are coming off of pretty good seasons in the SPHL and have a lot to give to the Rush for the 2023-24 ECHL season.

Charles Martin

The Rush have also announced that defenseman Charles Martin will be coming back for the 2023-24 season. Charles Martin returns to the Rush after joining them towards the end of the 2022-23 ECHL season. Martin played 19 games for the Rush, where he had one goal and eight assists for nine points. He had ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4.

Martin joined the Rush after finishing his fourth season of playing DIII at the University of Wisconsin-Superior in Superior, Wisconsin. In his final season in Superior, Martin played in 28 games where he had three goals and 15 assists for 18 points. He had 30 penalty minutes. Through four seasons in Superior, Martin played in 94 games where he had six goals and 30 assists for 36 points. He had 88 penalty minutes.

Charles Martin joined the Rush late in the season and did not have a lot of time to build chemistry with the team, but seemed to build a lot of chemistry with the team in the short amount of time he was given. He brings a lot to the team with his defensive skills, as well as being able to get the puck to the front of the net when the team is on offense. All three of the players announced this week have a lot to bring to the Rush for the 2023-24 ECHL season.