ECHL: Rapid City Rush Announce 2024-25 Qualifying Offers

The Rapid City Rush have announced the players who have received qualifying offers for the 2024-25 season. Teams are allowed to give out a maximum of eight qualifying offers, with no more than four of the offers being given to players with veteran status. Rapid City’s qualifying offers include four forwards and four defensemen.

Forwards

Blake Bennett – Blake Bennett was a rookie in the 2023-24 season and played in all 72 games for the Rush. He had 35 goals and 28 assists for 63 points. He had 38 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8. Bennett did spend some time with the Rush at the end of last season, playing in 15 games. Bennett has played 87 games in the ECHL, all with the Rapid City Rush. He has 36 goals and 32 assists for 68 points. He has 44 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8.

Brett Gravelle – Brett Gravelle played for the Rapid City Rush in the 2023-24 season, as well as the two seasons prior. In the 2023-24 seasons, Gravelle played in 72 games where he had 23 goals and 29 assists for 52 points. He had 14 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +2. In Gravelle’s three seasons in the ECHL, He has played in 190 games, where he has 65 goals and 76 assists for 141 points. He has 34 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +13. Gravelle has signed to play overseas with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL for the 2024-25 season.

Jake Stella – Jake Stella joined the Rush in the 2023-24 season after finishing his collegiate career at UMass-Lowell. Through 11 games played with the Rush Stella had two goals and one assist for three points. Stella has signed to play overseas with the Tingsryds AIF of HockeyAllsvenskan for the 2024-25 season.

Keanu Yamamoto – Keanu Yamamoto played for the Rush the past two seasons. In the 2023-24 season, Yamamoto played in 72 games where he had 19 goals and 29 assists for 48 points. He had 24 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -13. Through his two ECHL seasons with the Rush, Yamamoto has played in 143 games, where he has 37 goals and 56 assists for 93 points. He has 52 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -28. Yamamoto has signed to join Brett Gravelle with the Dundee Stars of the EIHL in the 2024-25 season.

Defensemen

Billy Constantinou – Billy Constantinou joined the Rush after being claimed off of waivers from the Maine Mariners. Constantinou played in 24 games with the Rush in the 2023-24 season. He had two goals and ten assists for 12 points, as well as two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. Prior to joining the Rush, Constantinou played in 29 games for the Mariners and four games for the Cincinnati Cyclones. In his 33 games played, he had one goal and 11 assists for 12 points. He had 12 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -12. Constantinou has played in the ECHL for three seasons, where he has played in 167 games. He has 16 goals and 69 assists for 85 points, as well as 84 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -56.

Tyson Helgesen – Tyson Helgesen has been in the ECHL for three seasons, all of which he has played with the Rapid City Rush. In the 2023-24 season, he played in 70 games where he had five goals and 15 assists for 20 points. He had 147 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -13. In his three ECHL seasons, Tyson has played in 151 games, where he has eight goals and 33 assists for 41 points. He has 277 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -14.

Charles Martin – Charles Martin ended the 2022-23 season with the Rapid City Rush after finishing his collegiate career with the University of Wisconsin-Superior. Martin then resigned from the Rush and played for them throughout the 2023-24 season. In the 2023-24 season, he played in 42 games where he had three goals and 21 assists for 24 points. He had 22 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +5. Through his time in the ECHL, Martin has played in 61 games where he has four goals and 29 assists for 33 points. He has 32 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +9.

Zach Taylor – Zach Taylor joined the Rush late in the season, where he played seven games after finishing his collegiate season at Brock University. He had one goal and six assists for seven points with the Rush and had four penalty minutes with a plus/minus of +4. Taylor has signed to play overseas in Slovakia with the HK 32 Liptovsky Mikulas for the 2024-25 season.

Qualifying Offers Info

Players who were on the season ending roster but did not receive a qualifying offer can still sign with the team as teams do NOT have to give qualifying offers to any players that signed a contract for the 2024-25 season before July 7.

Four of Rapid City’s eight qualifying offers players have already signed to play overseas for the 2024-25 season. Even though these players (Yamamoto, Stella, Gravelle, and Taylor) have all signed overseas for the season, Rapid City will retain their rights for the 2024-25 ECHL season.