Riley Weselowski is at home in Rapid City, South Dakota.  Currently playing in his sixth consecutive season with the ECHL’s Rapid City Rush, Weselowski is the longest tenured player in Rush history, and is making an impact both on and off the ice. 

“We have great support in Rapid City.  It has that small town appeal and you have the ability to build relationships in the community,” explained Weselowski. 

Having grown up in Pilot Mound, Manitoba, Canada though, it took some time to adjust to his new surroundings.  “When I was first recruited to South Dakota, I was hesitant because it was a different hockey community.  But once we had that championship team, I was instantly hooked.”

‘That championship team’ Weselowski is referring to is the 2010 Central Hockey League (CHL) Ray Miron President’s Cup Championship team, where Rapid City defeated Missouri and Bossier-Shreveport before conquering the Allen Americans 4-2 in the finals, taking home the League crown.  They did it in dramatic fashion by defeating Allen in Game 6 with 39.3 seconds left in double-overtime.

CLICK HERE to view the deciding double-overtime goal

“Winning that championship is the highlight of my career.  Players on that team were more than teammates; we were all friends, and now we will always have that championship in common.”

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Like many Canadian kids, Weslowski got started in hockey early.  He started skating at the age of 3 and began playing hockey at 4.  The arena was an old airport hanger where he sometimes played for 2 or 3 different teams in the evenings.  With the help of his Dad and some excellent coaches along the way, he began to develop into a formidable hockey player.  “My Dad has been my biggest supporter and I owe everything to him.  You also have to have great coaches to be successful.  The coach that changed my career was my AAA Midget coach Rick McConnell.  He showed confidence in me and gave me a chance to play which helped in my transition to Junior hockey.”

While playing Junior A hockey in the MJHL for the Neepawa Natives, Weselowski was recruited heavily by Bemidji State University located in Minnesota.  “There was a Manitoba connection to Bemidji because they recruited Blaine Jarvis the year before, who was a good friend of mine.  There were also seniors Brendan Cook, Andrew Murray, and Myles Kuharski who were from Manitoba as well.  I ended up attending Bemidji State, majoring in Business Administration with an emphasis in finance, and a minor in Sport Management.” 

After his four years at Bemidji State, Weselowski focused on the opportunity to turn pro, and signed with the Idaho Steelheads of the ECHL. “I couldn’t have asked for a better place than Boise, Idaho to begin my career.  The fan atmosphere and arena make it a fun place to play.  The city itself is located next to the mountains, and we had some great views from our apartment deck.”

After a successful rookie season where he registered 2 goals and 11 assists in 54 games as a defensemen, Weselowski started the 2009-10 season back with Idaho before going into the boards awkwardly during a game and breaking his L1 vertebrae in his back.  By the time Weselowski was healthy enough to return after a four month recovery, there wasn’t a roster spot for him on Idaho.  However, some of his best friends from Bemidiji happened to be playing for Rapid City at the time, where he would end up signing.

On that Championship team in Rapid City, the Manitoba connection was reunited with Jarvis, Cook, and Weselowski.  In total, 5 Bemidiji State players were on Rapid City’s championship team.

Once he became more familiar and comfortable with the pro game, Weselowski emerged as one of the League’s top Defencemen.  In 2011-12 he had an unforgettable career season.

He was bestowed the prestigious honor as Top Defenseman in the League winning the Award after an impressive 42 point season in 66 games, including showing +23 for the year and named to the CHL First All-Star team.  Perhaps even more important through was being recognized for Outstanding Community service as the CHL Man of the Year, awarded to the player that best exemplifies strong leadership qualities on and off the ice, while making significant contributions to the community. 

“As a hockey player, there are a lot of opportunities to get involved in the community.  You build relationships in the community because that’s where the support comes from.  People come to games and know the players personally and it creates a unique experience.”  Weselowski enjoys helping out with minor hockey, including being an instructor for the Black Hills Hockey Academy, having fundraisers, and just recently adopted a dog from the humane society.

Weselowski is humble when he talks about his individual accomplishments. “Individual accomplishments are something that I will look back on at the end of my career.  None of the individual accomplishments can compare to the championship we won in Rapid City as a team.”

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Weselowski continues to be a team leader with the Rush, relishing the role as an Assistant Captain. “Being a veteran, young players look to you for leadership so it’s important to relate to them and be vocal in the dressing room.” 

He also helps players understand the value of their union as Rapid City’s PHPA Player Representative.  “After being in professional hockey for a while you become familiar with how the union works.  As a player, you want to have a voice to not only make the union stronger but to help future players.” 

Weselowski’s role as a Player Rep, among other things, is to be the communication conduit between the union and his teammates.  He is familiar with the PHPA and the ECHL collective bargaining agreement, and can quickly help teammates with any off-ice issues they may encounter.  “The players need someone that is knowledgeable and someone that they feel comfortable asking these questions.”

Before the start of the 2014-15 season, it appeared that Weselowski was going to remain in the CHL, until the announcement that the league was consolidating with the ECHL.  All 7 CHL teams would end up joining the ECHL.  “The consolidation was something that we had seen coming for a while.  There was always talk about it so when it finally did happen, it was a defining moment in pro hockey.  I knew I was coming back to Rapid City and the team wanted me to stay here, so my CHL contract was technically terminated, and I then signed a new ECHL contract with the Rush once the consolidation was announced.  Finally we have a solid foundation for hockey development.” 

The foundation resembles that of minor league baseball.  The ECHL is considered AA, the American Hockey League is AAA, while the NHL represents the majors.  However, minor league baseball doesn’t have a players’ association like hockey.  “We have a strong union that provides tremendous support to players that other minor leagues don’t have which is why I am always stressing the value of the PHPA, especially to the younger guys on the team.”

Spoken like a true leader who has made an impact on the game both on the ice and off the ice.