Fergus signs with Rush

RAPID CITY, S.D. – The Rapid City Rush, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Calgary Flames, announced the signing of second-year defenseman T.J. Fergus for the 2023-24 season.  

Fergus was acquired by the Rush in a season-ending future considerations trade with the Reading Royals to complete the August 2022 exchange for Alex Butcher. In his first full season as a professional, he played 55 games in the ECHL with four different teams in 2022-23. He began the year with the Iowa Heartlanders before joining the Savannah Ghost Pirates. After appearing in 12 games with Savannah, Fergus joined the Wheeling Nailers and saw his best output with one team, earning 11 points (1g-10a) in 21 contests. He played his final three games of the year with the Reading Royals and appeared in six games in the 2023 Kelly Cup Playoffs.  

A native of Oakville, Ontario, Fergus, 26, first broke into the professional ranks with the Florida Everblades in 2021-22 following four years of Canadian college hockey with Acadia University, earning his first two professional assists in seven contests.

Before playing in USports, he skated for four years in the Ontario Hockey League with the Barrie Colts, Hamilton Bulldogs and Erie Otters, the latter of which he captured an OHL championship with in 2017.

Fergus comes from a hockey family. He is the son of 12-year NHL veteran Tom Fergus, who played 726 NHL games with the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks. His sister, Katie, played four years of NCAA college hockey with Robert Morris University.