ECHL: Rapid City Rush Sign Two Rookies

The Rapid City Rush have announced that they have signed rookie forward Tyler Burnie and rookie defenseman Aaron Hyman.

Tyler Burnie’s Junior and Collegiate Career

Tyler Burnie is a 6’4″ forward from Midhurst, Ontario. Burnie spent his junior seasons in the OJHL, OHL, and GOJHL. He spent the 2015-16 season in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs and in the OJHL with the Wellington Dukes. With Wellington, Burnie played in 50 games, where he had 16 goals and 17 assists for 33 points and 36 penalty minutes. He also played in eight playoff games with the Dukes, where he scored one goal and four assists for five points with 12 penalty minutes. Burnie also spent part of the 2015-16 season in Kingston, along with the three seasons after (2016-19). He played in a total of 167 games through his four seasons in Kingston, where he had 28 goals and 34 assists for 62 points. He had 116 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -50. He played in the playoffs with Kingston twice playing in a total of 27 playoff games where he had zero goals and four assists for four points. He had 17 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -12.

Burnie then spent the 2019-20 season in the GOJHL with the Caledonia Corvairs in USports and played in 37 games where he had 34 goals and 39 assists for 73 points with 162 penalty minutes. Burnie played in six playoff games with the Corvairs, where he scored one goal and six assists for seven points with four penalty minutes.

After completing his junior career, Burnie joined the Badgers at Brock University, where he spent four seasons. He only played in three seasons, as the 2020-21 season was canceled due to COVID. Burnie played 64 games with Brock, scoring 28 goals, 35 assists, and 63 points. He had 66 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -4. He played in the playoffs with Brock all three seasons, playing in a total of 16 games where he had three goals and six assists for nine points with 20 penalty minutes. In the 2023-24 season, Burnie was named the OUA West Second All-Star Team.

Aaron Hyman’s Junior and Collegiate Career

Aaron Hyman is a 6’5″ defenseman from Calgary, Alberta. Hyman started his junior career in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen. He spent four seasons with the Hitmen, playing in 74 games where he had two goals and ten assists for twelve points. He had 23 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -3. Hyman played in three playoff games with the Hitmen, where he did not register any points or penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of -1. Hyman was then traded to the Seattle Thunderbirds, where he spent the remainder of the 2016-17 season as well as part of the 2017-18 season. He played in 68 games with the Thunderbirds, where he scored two goals and 13 assists in 15 points. He had a plus/minus of -6 and 36 penalty minutes. Hyman played in 20 playoff games with the Thunderbirds, where he scored one goal and six assists in seven points. He had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4. He was then traded again to the Regina Pats, where he played for part of the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons. Hyman played in 58 games with the Pats, where he scored seven goals and 23 assists, scoring 30 points. He had 34 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. He played in seven playoff games with the Pats, where he had zero goals and one assist for one point. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Hyman’s final stop in the WHL was the Tri-City Americans, where he spent the end of the 2018-19 season after being traded from the Regina Pats. Hyman played in 43 games with the Americans, scoring five goals and 21 assists for 26 points. He had 45 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -15. He played in five playoff games with the Americans, where he had one goal and three assists for four points. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8.

Hyman then ended the 2018-19 season in the ECHL with the Kalamazoo Wings. He played in two regular season games with the Wings where he did not have any points or penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of 0. He played in two playoff games with the Wings where he did not have any points and had two penalty minutes with a plus/minus of +1.

After finishing the 2018-19 season, Hyman joined Ryerson University, where he spent five seasons but only played in four due to a COVID cancellation in the 2020-21 season. While at Ryerson, the university went through a name change and is now known as Toronto Metropolitan University. While at Ryerson and Toronto Metropolitan, Hyman played in 79 games, where he had eight goals and 32 assists for 40 points. He had 40 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -1. He played in the playoffs with Toronto/Ryerson in three of the seasons, playing in eight games where he had zero goals and one assist for one point with six penalty minutes.

Impact on the 2024-25 Rapid City Rush (Opinion)

With Rapid City losing a lot of their 2023-24 roster, these two guys will not only and new blood to the roster, but they are also adding fresh blood to the roster as both Burnie and Hyman will be rookies for the 2024-25 season. Both Hyman and Burnie also bring a lot of size to the Rapid City Rush roster for the season standing at 6’4″ and 6’5″, respectively.

Burnie should be a huge help for the Rush on offense as he has shown he can find the back of the net and help setup teammates find the back of the net after he averaged 1.14 and 1.22 points per game in his last two seasons at Brock University.

Hyman should be a huge help for the Rush on the blue line as he adds a lot of size to Rapid City’s defense and can be a pretty physical player at times. Rapid City has lost a lot of their size and physicality from last season so adding a physical player with a lot of size like Hyman should be a huge help for Rapid City, especially when playing against the other physical and hitting Mountain Division teams.