Rapid City Welcomes Return of Pelle

RAPID CITY, SD – The Rapid City Rush are proud to announce the return of Rush rookie scoring leader, Jon Pelle. Pelle played in 50 games for Rapid City last season after joining the Rush on November 29th, the team’s home opener.

“Our focus since the end of the season has been to bring back the core of our hockey club from last year and Jon was one of the main cogs,” said Head Coach Joe Ferras. “He’s a complete professional with the way he prepares and competes every night, he has the ability to make the players around him better.”

Last year, Pelle started the season in Denmark with the Frederikshavn White Hawks of the AL-Bank Ligaen where he notched 8 goals and 5 assists in 20 games. He then joined Rapid City and was a force for the Rush with 23 goals and 23 assists for 46 points in 50 games played.

“Last season, I really enjoyed my time here in Rapid City,” said Pelle. “Everybody from the ownership, to Coach Ferras, to my teammates, made Rapid City a very comfortable place to play. I know that Coaches Joe and Mark are working very hard to put a championship caliber team on the ice next season. It is something that the incredible fan base here in Rapid will be very proud of.”

The 5’8” 170-pound Pelle returns to Rapid City after finishing 3rd on the team with 23 goals despite playing in only 50 games. He ended the season tied with fellow rookie Derek LeBlanc for the most multi-goal efforts with 5, while his 3 game winning goals tied for second most on the team. One of Pelle’s most outstanding games came against the Amarillo Gorillas in a 2-1 shootout win on February 11th. Pelle scored the Rush’s lone goal in regulation time and then sealed the team victory in the shootout. At the time, the Rush were 0-9 in contests that went past regulation and were 0-6 in shootouts.

“Scoring 23 goals in his rookie campaign in only 50 games is definitely something that Pelle can build off,” continued Ferras. “I am expecting Jon to bring a ton of leadership to the locker room and be a go-to-guy for this hockey club.”

Prior to making his professional debut, Pelle skated 4 seasons at Harvard University. While skating for the Crimson, he amassed 39 goals and 58 assists for 97 goals in 135 games, missing only one contest in his four years. The West Islip, New York native was named Harvard’s Best Rookie in 2004-05 and was selected to the ECAC All-Tournament Team in 2007-08. Pelle also was named to the All-Academic Team and graduated with a degree in Government.

“Obviously it was a great find for us last year by Joe [Ferras],” said Assistant Coach Mark DeSantis. “He came in and did more than what you ever thought he would do for us and clearly, he didn’t play like a rookie. He is definitely a big asset for the Rush and it was huge getting him back for this season. We’re looking forward to the 2009-10 season knowing that he could potentially be a 30-goal scorer for us this season.”

Pelle joins a Rush roster that includes forwards Rich Hansen, Derek LeBlanc and Colt King along with defenseman Luke Fritshaw and goaltender Miguel Beaudry.