RUSH TRADE RIZK TO FORT WAYNE, ACTIVATE KERBASHIAN AND DAY CHIEF

(RAPID CITY, SD) – The Rapid City Rush announced a flurry of movement today, beginning with the trade of forward Jean-Michel Rizk to the Fort Wayne Komets for future considerations. Additionally, forward Kale Kerbashian has been activated from the reserve list and forward Winston Day Chief has been activated from the 21-Day Injured Reserve.

“With players getting healthy and coming off of 21-Day IR, we needed to move a player to remain compliant with the CBA,” said Rush Head Coach and GM Joe Ferras. “We decided we had options and moved J.M. Rizk to the Fort Wayne Komets.”

Rizk played in 28 games for the Rush this season, recording 3 goals along with 8 assists for 11 points. Rizk returns to the Fort Wayne Komets for the first time since the 2012-13 ECHL season. Rizk won a CHL Championship as a rookie with the Komets in their final season in the CHL. He was drafted by the Minnesota Wild in the 2004 NHL Draft (7th Round-#195 overall).

Day Chief returns to the Rush roster in a time where offense is needed most in this playoff push. In the first year of his ECHL career, Day Chief is just shy of a point-per-game pace with 12 points (5 goals, 7 assists) in 13 games played. The third year pro from Standoff, Alberta became the 24th player in franchise history to play 100 games in a Rush uniform, and in his career in the Black Hills has 87 points (40 goals, 47 assists), in 108 games played. Along with the addition of Kerbashian, who has recorded a point in every game he’s played with the Rush, the Boys from the Black Hills receive a major boost on the forward lines heading into a very busy four-game-in-five-night stretch this week.

“To get both Kale and Winston back in the lineup at this critical juncture of the season is huge for our hockey club,” Ferras continued. “They provide secondary scoring for our lineup and both are highly capable of creating offensive chances for us on a nightly basis.”

The Rush begin this busy week with showdowns against the Missouri Mavericks tonight and tomorrow night, with puck drop for both games slated for 6:35 p.m. MST. Following Wednesday night’s tilt, the Rush will travel to Wichita to play the Thunder on Friday night, and back to Independence to take on the Mavericks on Saturday evening.

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