Former Harvard standout Jon Pelle, a member of the 2010 Central Hockey League (CHL) champion Rapid City Rush, has signed to play the 2010-11 season with the Cardiff Devils of the Elite Ice Hockey League in the United Kingdom, the team announced.

Head coach Gerad Adams said Pelle signed with Cardiff earlier this year, but the team delayed announcement of the deal until after completion of the Central Hockey League playoffs.

"When doing our homework on Jon, all the feedback was extremely positive about him as a person and player. We feel that over the last few years we have lacked a player with a natural instinct for goal and we have brought in Jon to address that," stated Adams. "Jon comes with a reputation of being in the right place at the right time, combining that with a great work-rate and a desire to win. There are certain qualities that are needed to be a Cardiff Devils player and all the indications are that Jon will be a great fit."

Adams has made no secret of looking for the right attitudes in his players for the coming season, making sure he gets players who have both the know-how and desire to win. He continues:

"It is nice to bring in a new face to the league and someone who is still young and hungry. Jon is a proven winner having won a championship whilst in University and is now celebrating winning the Presidents Cup with Rapid City Rush in the CHL (along side former Devil Derek Campbell) – he is really eager to bring that winning feeling to Cardiff."

The Rush clinched the CHL Ray Miron President’s Cup finals with a 4-3 double-overtime victory over the Allen Americans on Tuesday to win the best-of-seven series 4-2.

Pelle scored 44 goals and had 46 assists in 88 regular season games with the Rush in 2008-09 and 2009-10.

He helped form one of the team’s strongest lines during the postseason run to a title for the Rush. Pelle, along with Derek LeBlanc and Rich Hansen, gave Rapid City a scoring punch, especially early in the playoffs. That same line played together during much of the Rush’s inaugural season.

Pelle scored four goals and had 16 assists during Rapid City’s playoff run, including a third-period power-play insurance goal in a 4-2 victory over Allen in Game 4 of the finals.

Pelle, of West Islip, N.Y., will reportedly attend the Cardiff Business School while playing for the Devils.