The Rapid City Rush have announced that they have signed forward Ryan Wagner from Park Ridge, Illinois, for the 2024-25 season.
Junior and Collegiate Career
Ryan Wagner started his junior career in the USHL with the USNTDP (United States National Team Development Program). Wagner also spent time with the US National U17 and U18 teams in the 2013-14 season, his lone junior season. Between the three teams, Wagner played in 83 games, where he had 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points with 42 penalty minutes. With the NTDP team, Wagner had a plus/minus of +3. Wagner also played five games in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup, where he had one goal. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +2.
After spending some time with the US Development team, Wagner joined the University of Wisconsin, where he played for four seasons. Wagner played in 143 games at Wisconsin, where he had 36 goals and 52 assists for 88 points. He had 76 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -27.
Professional Career
After completing his collegiate career, Wagner signed with the Chicago Wolves to finish his 2017-18 season and then re-signed with them in the 2018-19 season. He played in 56 games with the Wolves where he had four goals and four assists for eight points. He had ten penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8. Wagner played in 14 Calder Cup Playoff games with the Wolves.
Wagner then joined the Colorado Eagles in the 2019-20 season, playing in 24 games, scoring six goals and four assists for ten points. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. He also spent part of the season in the ECHL, where he played in 23 games with the Utah Grizzlies, putting up nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points.
Wagner then spent the next three seasons with the Eagles, playing in 151 games. He had 21 goals and 33 assists for 54 points. He had 82 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +23. Wagner played in the playoffs all three seasons with the Eagles, playing in a total of 18 playoff games. In those 18 games, Wagner had six goals and two assists for eight points. He had 11 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. Wagner was an assistant captain for the Eagles in all three seasons.
Wagner spent the 2023-24 season back with the Chicago Wolves and played in 63 games. He scored three goals and seven assists for ten points, had 28 penalty minutes, and had a plus/minus of -20.
Impact on the 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)
With the amount of AHL experience Wagner has, he could end up spending quite a bit of time in the AHL with the Wranglers, but he could also spend most of his time in Rapid City with the Rush. Whether he spends his season in the ECHL or AHL, Wagner is an incredible pickup for the Rush. Wagner is on the shorter side, standing at 5’8″, but his personality on the ice is not that of a small player. He can be a very physical player who is not afraid to hit guys, even if they are bigger than him. On the offensive side, Wagner has an incredible eye for the puck and can score or set up teammates to score really well. He also is not afraid to crash the net and get traffic in front of the net to allow for gritty goals. Wagner has a lot of leadership experience in his career, both at the collegiate and professional level, and he could very well be a part of Rapid City’s leadership group this upcoming season.
The 2024-25 season will be Wagner’s eighth professional season and first season with the Rush.
