The Rapid City Rush have announced that Brett Gravelle will be returning in the 2023-24 season for his third season with the Rush.
Gravelle started the 2022-23 season with the Rush on injured reserve, but came back and played 50 games for the Rush. He had 13 goals and 19 assists for 32 points. He had four penalty minutes and a plus/minus of 0. Through Gravelle’s time with the Rush, he has played in 117 games where he has 40 goals and 46 assists for 86 points. He has 20 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +10. Gravelle also had a minor injury during the season that did require surgery after the season was over, but he did play through the end of the season.
Gravelle also played with the Rush in the playoffs in the 2021-22 season. He played in all 11 games where he had three goals and ten assists for 13 points. He had two penalty minutes and a plus minus of +1.
The 2023-24 season will be Gravelle’s third ECHL season. His ECHL career had a strange start as he started with the Iowa Heartlanders, but he only played one game with them, In that one game, he had two goals and one assist for three points. He did not have any penalty minutes and had a plus/minus of +1. In total, Gravelle has played in 118 ECHL games where he has 42 goals and 47 assists for 89 points. He has 20 penalty minutes and a plus/minus of +11.
My Thoughts on This Signing
I think Gravelle is a great player for the Rush to bring back. He has been really good for the Rush in both seasons he has been with them. In the 2021-22 season, Gravelle was the Rush’s leading goal scorer in the regular season, led the team in assists in the playoffs, was third overall in points in the playoffs, and was second overall in points in the regular season. After coming back from his injuries in the 2022-23 season, Gravelle did not look like the same player from the 2021-22 season, but had glimpses of the Gravelle from the 2021-22 season. If his surgery does fix the injury he had this past season, we should see Gravelle have a pretty good season with the Rush. If not, he should still have a positive impact on the team, but he may not have as many points as if he was healthy.
