ECHL: Rapid City Rush Trade for Defenseman from the Bloomington Bison

The Rapid City Rush have announced that they have received 5’11” rookie Mitchell Smith from the Bloomington Bison in return for future considerations. Smith is a 22-year-old defenseman from Saginaw, Michigan. This season, Smith played in 16 games with the Bison, where he had one goal with two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -8. He signed with the Orlando Solar Bears in the 2023-24 season, but due to an injury, Smith was unable to play.

Prior to starting his professional career, Smith played juniors in the OHL, where he spent four seasons with the Saginaw Spirit. In 190 games with the Spirit, Smith had 37 goals and 81 assists for 118 points with 120 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -38. He also played in 11 playoff games with the Spirit where he had four goals and six assists with eight penalty minutes and a -1. Smith was named to the OHL Second All-Rookie Team in the 2019-20 season and wore an “A” for the Spirit in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons. Smith will be able to make his debut with the Rush this week against the Maine Mariners.

The Rush will be back in action on Thursday, February 13th, as they take on the Maine Mariners at home, with the Mariners making their way out to Rapid City for the first time ever. The two teams will continue the series on Friday, February 14th, and wrap it up with a special Midnight Madness game on Saturday, February 15th. Puck drop will be at 7:05 pm MT on Thursday and Friday and will be at 11:59 pm MT on Saturday.