Rapid City Rush defensemen Tyson Helgesen and T.J. Fergus are both heading overseas for the 2024-25 season. Tyson Helgesen has signed to play with the Ferencvarosi TC in Budapest, Hungary of Erste Liga. TJ Fergus has signed to play with SC Riessersee in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany of Oberliga for the 2024-25 season.
Helgesen Collegiate Career
Tyson Helgesen had a bit of a different start to his collegiate career than most. Helgesen played juniors with the Spokane Chiefs in the WHL and then played for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL. Helgesen played four games with the Wolf Pack where he did not have any points and had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1.
Helgesen then joined Mount Royal University in the 2018-19 season, where he played all four years of his collegiate career. Helgesen only played in three of the four seasons as the 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID. Helgesen played in 76 games at Mount Royal University, where he had three goals and 24 assists for 27 points with 58 penalty minutes. He played in 13 postseason games with them throughout the three seasons he played in where he had two assists for two points with 22 penalty minutes.
Helgesen Professional Career
After finishing his collegiate career, Tyson Helgesen signed with the Rapid City Rush in the ECHL to finish the 2021-22 season. He played in 15 regular season games, where he had one goal and four assists for five points. He had 13 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +2. Helgesen also got to play in 11 playoff games with the Rush where he had one goal and one assist for two points. He had seven penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4.
Helgesen then re-signed with the Rush for the 2022-23 season and 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. During the 2022-23 season, Helgesen also spent some time in the AHL with the Calgary Wranglers, playing in one game where he did not have any points or penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of +1.
Tyson Helgesen re-signed with the Rush for the 2023-24 season as well and ended up playing in 70 of the 72 regular season games with the Rush. He had five goals and 15 assists for 20 points during the season. He had 147 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -13.
Helgesen Loss Impact on the 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)
Losing Tyson Helgesen will be a huge loss for the Rush in the 2024-25 season. Helgesen massively helped the Rush with the physical aspect of the game as he hit opposing players and pushed them around a bit to help the Rush gain possession of the puck. Helgesen also was not scared to drop his gloves to stand up for a teammate or to try and help his team gain some momentum. But, Tyson Helgesen brought more than just the physicality to the team. He was also one of Rapid City’s leaders, donning an “A” on his jersey for the Rush in the 2023-24 season. Helgesen was a great leader for the Rush and was a significant part of their leadership team and knew how to keep spirits high on the bench and get the team going when things were not going their way or to keep the energy up on the bench when the team was finding success.
Rapid City is going to need to find more players who play physically for the 2024-25 season, as they have now lost almost all of their physical players from last season, and they are also going to need a couple of returners to step into a leadership role or find new guys who have leadership qualities and skills.
TJ Fergus Collegiate Career
TJ Fergus started his collegiate career in the 2018-19 season with Acadia University. Fergus only played in three of the four seasons he spent at Acadia as the 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID. In his three seasons played at Acadia University, he played in a total of 59 games where he had three goals and seven assists for ten points. He had 74 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. Fergus played in the postseason one year with Acadia, playing in a total of seven games where he did not have any points or penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of -2.
Fergus Professional Career
After completing his fourth season at Acadia University, Fergus signed with the Florida Everblades in the ECHL to finish off the 2021-22 season. He played in seven games with the Everblades where he had zero goals and two assists for two points. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1.
Fergus then bounced around for the 2022-23 season playing for the Iowa Heartlanders, Savannah Ghost Pirates, Wheeling Nailers, and Reading Royals. He played in a total of 55 games between the four teams where he had four goals and 16 assists for 20 points. He had eight penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Fergus played in six playoff games with the Royals where he did not have any points. He had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2.
Fergus then signed with the Rapid City Rush for the 2023-24 season and played in 36 games where he had two goals and 14 assists for 16 points. He had ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6.
Fergus Loss Impact on 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)
Fergus spent a lot of the 2023-24 season with the Rush injured, so it is hard to know how much of an impact his loss makes. But, from the time he was playing with the Rush he did have a pretty big impact on the team. He was in the top five amongst defensemen in points on the team and was a great defenseman for the Rush when he was on the ice. Fergus had arguably the best season of his career thus far, even though it was cut pretty short due to an injury. With Rapid City already losing multiple defensemen overseas, the loss of Fergus could be a lot larger than if the Rush only lost a couple of defensemen.
