Rutkowski Becomes Fifth Senior To Turn Professional With Rapid City Rush

Rapid City, SD. - The ECHL's Rapid City Rush announced the signing of Ferris State senior defenseman Joe Rutkowski to a standard player contract, and Rutkowski debuted for the Rush against the Utah Grizzlies tonight (March 6).

Rutkowski is the fourth senior from the 2019-20 class to sign today, joining Nate Kallen, Cameron Clarke and Zach Yoder. Rutkowski was one of the better shot-blocking defensemen in the Western Collegiate Hockey Association (WCHA) as a senior and led the league for much of the seaspn.

With the signing, Rutkowski becomes the fifth member of his class to turn pro, and Ferris State's 28th alum active in professional hockey in the 2019-20 season, joining Brandon Anselmini, Chad Billins, Jason Binkley, Kyle Bonis, Justin Buzzeo, Cameron Clarke, Brendan Connolly, Simon Denis, Cory Kane, Ryan Lowney, Gerald Mayhew (NHL), Frankie Melton, Troy Milam, Troy Milam, CJ Motte, Pat Nagle, Derek Nesbitt, Zach Redmond, Blair Riley, Kyle Schempp, Austin Shaw, Garrett Thompson, Jared VanWormer, Charles Williams, Zach Yoder, and Cooper Zech. 

The Crystal Lake, Illinois native was assigned the number four and joins 2019 graduate Ryker Killins on the Rapid City Blue line. At the time of this release, Rutkowski was in the midst of his professional debut agains the Utah Grizzlies.