The Rapid City Rush have announced that they have re-signed forward Mason McCarty for the 2024-25 ECHL season.
Junior and Collegiate Career
Mason McCarty started his junior career in the 2013-14 season with the Red Deer Rebels in the WHL. In his five seasons playing in the WHL, McCarty spent three with the Red Deer Rebels and three with the Saskatoon Blades. He spent the 2013-14, 2014-15, and 2017-18 seasons with the Rebels and the 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17 seasons with the Blades. In his three seasons with the Red Deer Rebels, McCarty played in 83 games where he had 39 goals and 38 assists for 77 points. He had 89 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +8. In his three seasons with the Saskatoon Blades, he played in 142 games, where he had 46 goals and 34 assists for 80 points. McCarty had 134 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -38. McCarty played in the postseason in two seasons with Red Deer. He had one goal and three assists for four points in his six playoff games. He had eight penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -6. McCarty was an assistant captain for Red Deer in the 2017-18 season.
After completing his junior career, McCarty played a season in the ECHL with the Rapid City Rush before going to Acadia University. McCarty spent three seasons at Acadia but only played in two as the 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID. In his two seasons, McCarty played in 43 games where he had 16 goals and 16 assists for 32 points. He had 58 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -15. He played in the postseason in both seasons at Acadia University. McCarty played in nine playoff games, where he had two goals and one assist for three points. He had 16 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0.
Professional Career
Mason McCarty’s professional career started in 2018-19 with the Rapid City Rush playing in 15 games. He had six goals and four assists for ten points. He had 18 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4. McCarty then played collegiately in USports before joining the Kalamazoo Wings in the 2022-23 season. McCarty has played with the Kalamazoo Wings, Iowa Heartlanders, Reading Royals, and Rapid City Rush. In his three ECHL seasons, McCarty has played in 83 games where he has 23 goals and 21 assists for 44 points. He has 60 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -7.
In the 2023-24 season with the Rush, McCarty played in 11 games where he had three goals and one assist for four points. He had eight penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -1.
Impact on the 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)
Mason McCarty is on the smaller side standing at 5’10”. But he is an extremely hard worker both on and off the ice. He has yet to have a season where he is an offensive threat, but if he is able to find a spark in his game this season, he could have a huge impact on the Rush this season, especially with the Rush losing most of their top point players from last season. This season is also McCarty’s first season to possibly be on the same roster for a whole season, which could really help his play as he will be with mostly the same guys throughout the season. As long as McCarty continues to put in 100% on and off the ice, he should have a really good season with the Rush, possibly even the best season of his career. The 2024-25 season will be McCarty’s third season with the Rush and fourth season in the ECHL.
