ECHL

How Rapid City's Tyler Coulter Evolved Into Such A Lethal Scorer

How Rapid City's Tyler Coulter Evolved Into Such A Lethal Scorer

Rapid City Rush forward Tyler Coulter jumped levels — maybe a couple — over the summer. Here's how.

Feb 24, 2021 by Mike Ashmore
How Rapid City's Tyler Coulter Evolved Into Such A Lethal Scorer

Tyler Coulter wasn’t content with settling.

Settling in one place after a crazy last few years? Sure. But settling after coming off the best year of his pro career? No.

The 24-year-old Rapid City Rush standout took advantage of the long offseason, getting on the ice an estimated “200-plus times” over a nine-month stretch. The 6-foot-1, 210-pound forward used that time to get leaner and work on the speed aspect of his game, focusing on some work with skills coaches that would get him primed for the 2020-21 campaign.

“Ty Lewis plays in Colorado with the Eagles, he’s signed with the Avalanche, and his dad is a skating coach, and we’re both very fortunate to work with him,” Coulter told FloHockey.

“And then Riley Dudar in Winnipeg, he runs a very, very good skills program where they bring in video from the NHL and show what makes a player successful. They try to break it down its roots, and you’re just working on very small puck skills. It’s amazing what small things can translate into in a game.”

For example, Coulter knows his game is at its best when he’s working down low behind the goal line, and one of the things he was able to work on this offseason was simulating actual game situations instead of just doing drills on his own, which has paid huge dividends so far this year.

“Something that’s really helped me is being able to buy time away from defensemen, so we really worked this summer on having someone run into you to mimic a defenseman and being able to use them to push off to get you a little more time and space to either get a shot or make a better pass,” he said. “In the summer, it didn’t really seem like much of anything, but when you get out in front of the net with those 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5 defensemen, a little bit more time and space can go a long way out there.”

Evidently so. 

Coulter has emerged as one of the top young players in the ECHL with a breakout year so far with the Rush; he’s on a point-per-game pace with 11 goals and 14 assists in Rapid City’s first 25 games this season, and he has been a clear bright spot on a team that’s struggled at times as a whole.

Understanding exactly how it’s all happened perhaps goes deeper than just his work ethic from this summer, however. Coulter developed into a premium scorer in his four full seasons playing junior hockey for his hometown Brandon Wheat Kings in the Western Hockey League before ultimately making the jump to pro hockey in the 2017-18 season with the ECHL’s Jacksonville Icemen, which kicked off a whirlwind few years to get him to where he is now.

“It’s definitely been an interesting start,” Coulter said with a chuckle.

“I was 20 years old, still lived at home, playing juniors in my hometown for five years, and then I kind of got thrown into the fire of the (ECHL) in Jacksonville. Maybe it was just not necessarily being physically ready to play yet, but it’s always tough trying to be that 10th forward and trying to break into the league, and I thought maybe school was the place for me to go and develop.”

So, he instead went the university route, going to The University of Calgary for an 11-game stint before ultimately deciding that wasn’t what he was looking for either at the time. Missing the pro hockey lifestyle, especially after playing for Kelly McCrimmon in Brandon, Coulter had intended to return to the Icemen for the 2018-19 season, but instead found himself splitting that year between two teams in Sweden.

“I really enjoyed the life experience there, but I think it really revamped my game as well, just being able to play on the ice with a little bit more skill,” he said. “I’m fortunate that I had a connection with (current Rush head coach) Daniel Tetrault with him being a Wheat King when I was younger, and I got the chance here.”

Coming off a 24-goal season, it was a no-brainer for Tetrault to bring Coulter back for a second season, which has provided him with some much-needed stability after several years of trying to find the right fit.

“It’s nice being in the same spot for a couple years,” he said. “It’s kind of a funny part of hockey, going to a new place, you get to meet a hundred new people — teammates, the staff and everyone in and around the rink. But, coming back here and knowing everyone’s name, it was an unfamiliar feeling.”

Perhaps it isn’t one he should get used to just yet, however. Given his skill set and that he’s still just 24 years old, surely Coulter is on the radar for an opportunity at the next level, which would be his first. 

If an American Hockey League team does come calling, it’s something Coulter says he would welcome, although he’s focused on helping the Rush make the slow climb back up the standings for now.

“It’s on your mind at the start of every season,” he said. “I think that’s what makes a lot of guys in this league competitive, is we’re all fighting for those few jobs at the next level, and it’s the same for those guys who are the next level and fighting to move up. But, it’s been really, really good here this year too. We have a really competitive team, and I know we might have gotten off to a slower start than we imagined, but I can definitely see the guys in our room — a lot of them are coming off of American League deals — and it’s made our team better having those guys around, guys that make every day competitive and guys that do want to move up.”


Mike Ashmore has 17 years of experience covering professional and college sports. You can follow him on all social media channels at @mashmore98.