MATT RADOMSKY WINS 2025 BLAINE JARVIS HEART AND SOUL AWARD

(RAPID CITY, S.D.)—The Rapid City Rush, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Calgary Flames, announced on Friday that Matt Radomsky is the 2025 recipient of the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award, the organization’s highest individual honor.

The Rush presented the award Radomsky, completing his second season as a goaltender, during a pregame ceremony on the ice.

On the ice, Radomsky leads Rapid City in games played and wins. Off the ice, ‘Rads’ was the Rush’s nominee for the ECHL Community Service Award, having logged well over 35 hours of his time to various community initiatives.

“To me, Matt Radomsky is the ultimate team player,” said Rush Head Coach and General Manager Scott Burt. “He shows up to work every single day and always has a smile on his face. It seems like he has never had a bad day. He has done everything that we have asked him to do, whether it is playing a three-in-three to not playing at all during a weekend, or appearances at schools and in our community. He has done everything. This award he is receiving is so fitting for him.”

Blaine Jarvis played two seasons with the Rush and was a crucial member of the 2009-10 CHL Championship team. A fan favorite, Jarvis tragically passed away in an accident on January 31, 2016, at the age of 31. The Rush organization created the ‘Heart and Soul Award’ in his honor and first presented it to Danny Battochio in 2016.

Radomsky is the ninth man to win the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award. The award has left a lasting impact on all prior winners, including the four we caught up with prior to this year’s announcement.

One of the great stories of perseverance in Rush history, Adam Carlson capped off a bounce-back 2022-23 season by winning the award. ‘Ace’ missed the entire 2021-22 season with a knee injury, instead contributing in a coaching role and goaltending mentor.

He began his award-winning season at just 1-7.

“Burtie and I had a conversation at New Year’s, and it was basically, ‘Adam, if you do not figure it out, Rapid City is no longer going to be home.’ It was a wake-up call. I remember that conversation vividly,” Carlson said. “Huge testament to Burtie and his coaching style because it was the exact message I needed to hear. It turned out to be one of the best conversations I have ever had. I look back on my career being retired for what, two years now? It feels like it has only been a week.”

From New Year’s on, Carlson became a rock in net, going 14-8-1 with a 2.91 goals-against average and capping it off with the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award. He retired at the end of the season, going out on a high note.

“I fell in love with the game again,” Carlson recalled. “I was thankful to be back on the ice in Rapid City and just enjoyed the entire year and all the guys I was with. I guess all I did that year was truly sit back and enjoy the great game of hockey in this town. I enjoyed every second of it, from fishing every single day in the rivers and the Black Hills, to competing to get a W every single night. I think I just fell in love with the game, the lifestyle, and the city, and that turned me into a good candidate win the award.”

Logan Nelson won the award in 2022, at the conclusion of his first full season in Rapid City. After spending the COVID-affected 2020-21 campaign in the SPHL with the Birmingham Bulls, Scott Burt gave Nelson an opportunity with the Rush which resulted in the fan-favorite leading the team in scoring.

Nelson was a teammate of Riley Weselowski and Danny Battochio during the 2016-17 season, his first stint in Rapid City.

“I have seen those two guys—who have won the award—operate as a teammate and away from the rink as human beings,” Nelson said. “It was always really good to be around them. They made everyone feel welcome. They were not only the best players on the ice, but in the community, knowing people by name.”

Now a first-year forward with the Tahoe Knight Monsters, ‘Nelly’ has played more games with the Rush than any other professional organization. Even after choosing to depart last summer, Nelson has always spoken highly of the place he once called home.

“Rapid City is such a small town,” Nelson said. “They love their hockey team, and they take care of the people who want to be there. I was very appreciative to have been looked at in that light, but I think we had a lot of guys on that team who could have won the award. It was exciting for me and my family to be looked at that highly in the community.”

Cedric Montminy picked up the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award in 2019 as a rookie to North American professional hockey. After his former team in Germany folded, Montminy found an opportunity to try out with the Rush. He took it and ran.

Not long before the pregame ceremony, then-head coach Daniel Tetrault pulled Montminy aside and explained the significance to him.

“It was about who Blaine was, how he was with the guys, how he was in the community and how they saw him, and why they chose me based on all of those factors,” Montminy said. “I was really honored to be named the recipient of the Blaine Jarvis Award. A little surprised, even. Blaine left a big impact in the community. The award is still in my basement next to my Rush jersey. I am going to keep it for the rest of my life.”

Montminy led the 2018-19 Rush squad in points, also playing alongside Weselowski and Battochio. After three years in Rapid City, Montminy served as the Trois-Rivieres Lions’ captain for another three. He currently plays semi-professional hockey in his home province of Quebec.

“I have a lot of great memories from that season,” Montminy said. “Starting with the group of guys we had; it was an awesome core with Riley Weselowski and Garrett Klotz. They were great for me. Our group was really tight, and I think that made that year so special for me.”

Riley Weselowski and Blaine Jarvis were best friends. From college teammates at Bemidji State University in Minnesota to winning a CHL championship together in Rapid City, no other winner of the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award has a bond equal to Weselowski, who won in 2017.

“I was very fortunate to win the Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award,” Weselowski said. “Jarvy was one of my best friends and a huge member of the Rapid City Rush on our championship team. Every team needs a Blaine Jarvis, an unsung hero-type player. Every time you needed a big play, whether it was a blocked shot, a goal, or a big hit, Blaine was there for the team. Without question, there would not have been a championship that year without him.”

As the story goes, Jarvis convinced Weselowski to join him in Rapid City during the championship season. What Weselowski thought was just a temporary stop in his hockey journey turned into nine seasons with the Rush and the all-time leader in games played.

Weselowski, whose number 6 was retired by the Rush on October 29, 2022, is in his third season on the Kansas City Mavericks’ coaching staff. He remains connected to the area through his Black Hills Hockey Academy, mentoring kids in several midwestern states over the summer.

“Just to win an award that is associated with such a close friend is something that meant a lot to me,” Weselowski said. “I have it sitting at home in my office. It is a glass award with a sketch of Blaine’s face on it. It is a great memory of him that I have. It was a huge honor for me to win it and, to be honest, one of my favorite awards I have ever won. The Blaine Jarvis Heart and Soul Award is the perfect name for the award, just with the type of person and player he was. Any team that has a player like him on it is fortunate to have a guy who can contribute the way he did.”