ECHL: Rapid City Rush Trade Keegan Iverson and Acquire Two Defensemen at Future Considerations Trade Deadline

The ECHL Future Considerations deadline was today at 1:00 MST. On February 5, 2023, the Rush made a trade with the Norfolk Admirals that saw Jimmy Soper come to the Rush. In exchange, the Norfolk Admirals got future considerations. This Keegan Iverson trade completes the future considerations from the February Trade.

With the Rush

Keegan Iverson has spent the last season and a half with the Rapid City Rush after being acquired from the Indy Fuel on February 16, 2022. In the 2022-23 season, Iverson spent the season playing as both a forward and a defenseman. He played in 67 games where he had one goal and seven assists for eight points. Iverson had 134 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -5.

In the 2021-22 season, Iverson did see some ice time with the Rush in the playoffs. In seven playoff games, Iverson had one goal and one assists for two points. He had 13 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +1.

Through two seasons with the Rush, Iverson played in 90 games where he had four goals and 13 assists for 17 points. He had an overall plus/minus of -7 and 179 penalty minutes.

Who Will Win This Trade?

I would have to say that this trade will end up benefiting the Rush more as Iverson was not a big producer for the Rush. When Soper came in, he fit in extremely well with the team and got right to work with producing goals and scoring chances for the Rush. Iverson just never seemed to be able to find his groove in Rapid. That being said, Norfolk did struggle a lot this past season, and Iverson could go to Norfolk and end up having a breakout season, which could end up with Norfolk winning the trade.

Acquisitions

Additionally, the Rush acquired Wayne Letourneau to complete the Brad Arvanitis trade from November 2022. Letourneau is a defenseman and will be coming to the Rush from the Adirondack Thunder. In the 2022-23 season, Letourneau played in 55 games for the Thunder where he had three goals and 18 assists for 21 points. He had 16 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +4. Letourneau also played four games for the Thunder in the playoffs where he had one goal and one assist for two points. He had zero penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -4.

The Rush also acquired TJ Fergus to complete the Alec Butcher trade from August 2022. Fergus is a defenseman and will be coming to the Rush from the Reading Royals. Fergus only played three games with the Royals in the regular season where he did not register a point, but he had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. He also played six games for the Royals in the playoffs. He also did not register any points in the playoffs, but had two penalty minutes and a plus/minus of -2. Fergus did also spend some of the 2022-23 season with the Iowa Heartlanders, Savannah Ghost Pirates, and Wheeling Nailers. On the three teams combined, he played 52 games where he had four goals and 16 assists for twenty points. He had six penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0.

Final Thoughts on the Acquisitions

I think both Wayne Letourneau and TJ Fergus will help solve some of the problems the Rush had last season, specifically the defensemen shortage. Both players were rookies last season and had pretty good seasons that they will be able to build upon this upcoming season with the Rush. While both players seem to be pretty good defensemen, they also have shown that they can put up points on the scoreboard. The Rush did struggle offensively at times last season, so these two guys could help prevent the team from going into goal scoring droughts as often. Letourneau and Fergus both seem like good acquisitions for the Rush and should be fun to watch on the ice, but only time will tell.