Rapid City SD – The Rapid City Rush come home Friday with a 2-0 record, a captain tied for the league scoring lead, and four goaltenders, one of whom signed Thursday.
Most of the faces are new.
Head coach and general manager Dave Smith opened the season with 26 players: 15 forwards, eight defensemen and three goaltenders.
Twelve of them are on American Hockey League contracts with the Calgary Wranglers, Calgary’s AHL affiliate, which means Calgary can call them up at any time.
Eleven players on the season-opening roster spent last season with another ECHL team.
Here is who is on the team, followed by the rules that decide who actually plays on a given night.
The Roster
Roster accurate at time of publication. An asterisk (*) marks a player on an AHL contract with the Calgary Wranglers. Ages and hometowns are as listed by Elite Prospects
Goaltenders (4)
For the first time since the 2018-19 season, the Rush have an entirely new set of goaltenders.
- Owen Say* (25, London, Ontario) — A second-year pro whose rookie season with the Wranglers ended with an injury on Jan. 10. He won his ECHL debut in the opener with 26 saves on 29 shots, then won again in relief the next night.
- Semyon Konopsky* (20, Vologda, Russia) — Rookie. At 6-foot-5, he is the tallest player on the roster. Made his first professional start Oct. 17 before Say relieved him in the third period.
- Shane Farkas (26, Penticton, British Columbia) — Rookie. Went 51-22 with a 2.45 goals-against average and 11 shutouts at Mount Royal University and was named U Sports Goaltender of the Year in 2024. He opened the season on the reserve list as the team’s only ECHL-contracted goalie.
- Brett Mirwald (23, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan) — The newest Rush player. He was claimed off waivers Thursday after Allen released him Wednesday. In his first pro action with Allen last spring, he went 5-0-1 with a 1.58 goals-against average, a .950 save percentage and back-to-back shutouts to start his career. He was the Western Hockey League’s Goaltender of the Year in 2024 and Canada West Goaltender of the Year as a sophomore at the University of British Columbia.
Defensemen (8)
- Jake Ratzlaff (24, Rosemount, Minnesota) — Back for a second season. Led the team with a +13 rating as a rookie. He played linebacker at the University of Wisconsin before switching to hockey.
- Eric Parker (25, Calgary, Alberta) — Re-signed. Acquired from Wheeling last March, where he had seven points in 40 games as a rookie and played about 20 minutes a night, part of it on the top pair. Played in every game after joining the Rush.
- Hunter Donohoe (26, South Surrey, British Columbia) — Re-signed. At 6-foot-5, he scored his first professional goal last March 29 against Tahoe.
- Andrew “Andy” Noel (25, Maynard, Massachusetts) — New. The Ferris State product split his rookie season between Cincinnati and Utah, totaling 13 points and 106 penalty minutes in 51 games.
- Ben Wozney (25, Richmond, British Columbia) — New. Smith described the 6-foot-4 defenseman as big and mobile. Opened the season on the 7-day injured reserve.
- Tyler Inamoto* (27, Barrington, Illinois) — Came over from Fort Wayne with Feist. A 2017 draft pick of the Florida Panthers, he played his college hockey at the University of Wisconsin and was an alternate captain his last two seasons. Had 11 points in 41 ECHL games last season, plus nine games in the AHL.
- Tyson Feist* (25, Dawson Creek, British Columbia) — Came over from Fort Wayne with Inamoto. A former captain of the WHL’s Kelowna Rockets, he split last season among Indy, Bakersfield and Fort Wayne, with 16 points in 40 ECHL games and 13 AHL games. Scored the go-ahead goal in the third period of the Oct. 17 win.
- Kyle Walker* (26, Leduc, Alberta) — The Rush acquired his ECHL rights from Reading in August, and he signed a two-way deal with the Wranglers. A five-year player and two-time captain at Mount Royal University in Calgary, he had 78 points in 128 college games, then made his pro debut with Reading and played three AHL games for the Wranglers last April. Assigned to Rapid City Oct. 8, after training camp opened.
Forwards (15)
- Ryan Wagner (30, Park Ridge, Illinois) — Team captain. Had three goals and two assists on opening weekend, including the game-winner Oct. 17, and is tied with Young for the ECHL scoring lead. His 50 assists in 2024-25 rank among the best single-season totals in franchise history.
- Logan Nelson (33, Rogers, Minnesota) — A veteran Smith brought back to support Wagner. Nelson ranks third on the franchise’s all-time points list, with 200 points in 212 games for Rapid City. An NHL draft pick. Scored an empty-net goal in the opener.
- Alec Butcher (32, Anchorage, Alaska) — Also brought back as a veteran leader. He and Nelson were Rush teammates in 2021-22, and both had their best pro seasons in Rapid City. Wagner, Nelson and Butcher bring 1,547 combined professional games. Butcher opened the season on the reserve list.
- Seth Fyten (25, Sundre, Alberta) — Returning. A physical forward Smith credits for his work on the penalty kill and forecheck. Came over in a trade with Savannah before last season and had 18 points and a plus-7 as a rookie, including eight points in his final 11 games. Played five seasons at Bowling Green State.
- Rasmus Ekström (22, Stockholm, Sweden) — Re-signed. Led all Rush rookies in scoring last season with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 47 games and was the second-youngest player on the roster. Before turning pro, he had 84 points in 102 games over two seasons with the WHL’s Spokane Chiefs. He is the eighth Swedish player in Rush history.
- Will Portokalis (24, Mississauga, Ontario) — Returning. Led Toronto Metropolitan University in scoring last season with 33 points in 28 games, then turned pro and played three games for the Rush in April. Spent three seasons in the OHL, mostly with Mississauga. Opened the season on the reserve list.
- Ryan Mahshie (27, Stoney Creek, Ontario) — A 6-foot-3 power forward who arrived in June as the future considerations owed from the March trade that brought Parker to Rapid City. Had 17 points in 45 games with Wheeling last season and has also played for Orlando, Allen and Worcester. He played three college seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for a coach he knows well: Dave Smith.
- Kenny Belanger Jr. (22, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) — Signed in the offseason after a freshman season at Nipissing University. His father, Ken Belanger, played 248 NHL games over 10 seasons with Toronto, the New York Islanders, Boston and Los Angeles. Opened the season on the 7-day injured reserve.
- Alex Campbell* (25, Châteauguay, Quebec) — Joined the Calgary organization this offseason after 46 games with Adirondack last season. Scored twice in his Rush debut. An NHL draft pick.
- Alex Young* (25, Calgary, Alberta) — The Rush acquired his ECHL rights from Atlanta, where he led the Gladiators with 59 points (27 goals) last season. A 2020 draft pick of the San Jose Sharks, he played at Colgate and Arizona State. Two goals and three assists on opening weekend, including the go-ahead goal Oct. 17.
- Ryan Hofer* (24, Winnipeg, Manitoba) — A 2022 draft pick of the Washington Capitals who played in their system with the AHL’s Hershey Bears and the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. Had 17 points in 45 ECHL games last season. Scored in the season opener.
- Braden Birnie* (25, Weyburn, Saskatchewan) — Returning, now on a two-way AHL/ECHL deal with the Wranglers. Signed with the Rush last March out of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he played four seasons and wore a letter. In his last college game, he assisted on the overtime winner that clinched the inaugural United Collegiate Hockey Cup. He had six points in nine games with Rapid City, then finished the season with five games for the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks.
- Quinn Olson* (25, Calgary, Alberta) — Returning after a 50-point season for the Rush (17 goals, 33 assists in 61 games). A 2019 third-round pick of the Boston Bruins, he played five seasons at Minnesota Duluth, two as an alternate captain.
- Marko Sikic* (23, Kitchener, Ontario) — Came over from Cincinnati, where he had 24 points (11 goals, 13 assists) in 54 games last season. Signed a two-way AHL/ECHL deal with the Wranglers in August.
- Ryder Boulton* (20, Atlanta, Georgia) — Hockey runs in the family. His father, Eric Boulton, played in the NHL for Buffalo, Atlanta, New Jersey and the New York Islanders, and Ryder was born in Atlanta in 2006, during his father’s years with the Thrashers. His brother, Sawyer, also plays professionally. The 5-foot-10 rookie, who played junior hockey with Brantford in the OHL last season, fought Kansas City’s Hudson Wilson, about four inches taller, in the first period of the opener, his first professional game.
Already Acquainted
The roster is mostly new to Rapid City, but plenty of these players have shared a locker room before.
- Logan Nelson and Alec Butcher — Rush teammates in 2021-22, when both had the best seasons of their pro careers. Smith brought both back this year.
- Tyler Inamoto and Tyson Feist — A defensive pairing in Fort Wayne last season. They arrived in Rapid City together.
- Andrew Noel and Marko Sikic — Teammates in Cincinnati last season.
- Eric Parker and Seth Fyten — College teammates at Bowling Green State University.
- Eric Parker and Quinn Olson — Junior teammates with the Okotoks Oilers in Alberta.
- Shane Farkas and Kyle Walker — Both played college hockey at Mount Royal University in Calgary.
- Ryan Mahshie and Dave Smith — Smith coached Mahshie for three seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
- The Calgary connection — Parker, Olson and Young were all born in Calgary, home of the Rush’s NHL and AHL affiliates, and the Rush list Fyten as a Calgary native too.
Not on the season-opening roster after training camp: forwards Timofei Khokhlachev, Deagan McMillan and Jordan Stock, who was in camp on a professional tryout, and defenseman Grant Docter, also on a tryout.
Smith’s assistant coaches are Kohl Hedquist and John Mitchell.
The New Rules
A new collective bargaining agreement between the ECHL and its players’ union took effect this season. Several rules shape what the roster looks like from week to week.
Active Roster: 21 Now, 20 Later
Teams can carry 21 players on the active roster for the first 30 days of the regular season, and no more than 19 of them can be skaters. After that, the limit drops to 20 players, with no more than 18 skaters.
Teams dress 18 players for a game: 16 skaters and two goalies. Rapid City opened the season Oct. 16, so the cutdown comes in mid-November.
Reserve List: three spots, one for a goalie
Players on the reserve list are under contract but do not count against the active roster.
This season, teams can keep up to three players on reserve, and at least one of them must be a goaltender.
That rule helps explain why the Rush carry so many goalies. Say and Konopsky are on AHL contracts and can be recalled by Calgary at any time. If one leaves, Farkas would likely move to the active roster, and the team would still need a goalie in reserve.
Injured Reserve
Teams can place an unlimited number of players on the 7-day injured reserve and one player on the 3-day injured reserve.
A player on IR must stay there for the minimum number of days. Teams often use it in camp and early in the season to hold onto an injured player without using an active roster spot. The Rush have not said what injuries Wozney and Belanger have.
Veterans: Four per Team
Each ECHL team can have no more than four veterans, generally a skater with 260 or more regular-season professional games, on its active roster and reserve list combined.
Goaltenders do not count toward the limit, and neither do players on NHL or AHL contracts assigned to the ECHL.
Salary Cap and Minimums
For 2026-27, each team’s weekly salary cap is $18,610 for the first 30 days of the season and $18,000 for the rest of it. That cap covers the whole roster. Teams must also spend at least $13,680 a week. Rookies earn a minimum of $610 a week, and returning players earn at least $660. Before the new agreement, the cap was $14,600 a week.
Players are paid only during the season. The league covers furnished housing, utilities and medical and dental benefits.
Puck drop for Friday’s home opener is 7:05 p.m. MDT at The Monument Ice Arena. For Tickets contact the Rush at 605-716 -7825 or at
Sourcing
Rapid City Rush news releases on the 2026-27 opening night roster (Oct. 15), Oct. 17 game notes and recap, and the signings of Brett Mirwald, Shane Farkas, Andrew Noel, Ben Wozney, Jake Ratzlaff, Eric Parker, Hunter Donohoe, Kenny Belanger Jr., Rasmus Ekström, Braden Birnie, Seth Fyten, Will Portokalis and Ryan Mahshie, the acquisitions of Kyle Walker and Alex Young, the 2025 assignment of Quinn Olson, and the March 13 trade with Wheeling; Elite Prospects and Wikipedia player pages for Ryder and Eric Boulton; ECHL season-opening rosters (Oct. 15, 2026) and daily transactions (Oct. 22, 2026); ECHL Frequently Asked Questions page; Elite Prospects roster, transaction and franchise-record listings; FlamesNation; Albuquerque Journal; Post and Courier.
Leave a Reply