At least on the ice, for a team called the Rush, you might expect a bit of a hotter start to their season.

Things off the ice are about as good as it gets right now, with an unprecedented amount of interest in advance of "Wheel, Snipe, Celly Night" on Nov. 12. The special night will feature extremely popular Shoresy star Terry Ryan, a former teammate of Rush head coach Scott Burt.

🚨 BLACK HILLS - are you READY for SATURDAY?! 🚨@terryryan20 - former NHLer & now actor on the @hulu hit show "Shoresy" - is heading to Rapid City THIS WEEKEND!! Grab tickets for our Meet & Greet to ask him anything!
🎟️ https://t.co/zByvZZ5k8F pic.twitter.com/jBYhdesxub

— Rapid City Rush (@RapidCityRush) November 8, 2022

But alas, some struggles out of the gate are nothing new in Rapid City, and also nothing to be worried about, if recent history means anything.

Burt, the team's second-year bench boss, watched the exact same scenario unfold just last year - his group is off to a 2-5 start this year that has them tied for the bottom spot in the Mountain Division - but was able to turn things all the way around to the tune of a 36-25-6-5 record, a second-place finish in the division and a playoff-series win.

"We had the same kind of start that happened last year for us, with guys getting to understand the systems, guys getting to understand each other," Burt said. "The biggest thing for me is with the new affiliation (with the Calgary Flames) we have this year. They've provided us with nine players we've got down here right now, so it's nine different personalities that need to work with the group.  

"What's crazy is every guy that has been sent down has connected great, so we're all on that same page there, but there's a little disconnect on the ice right now. Once we figure that out, and guys buy into what we preach down here, we'll start picking up the points we need."  

Happy with his team's chemistry, Burt shared some thoughts about the team's early-season play.

"We're playing in spurts right now, and it's hindering us right now," he said. "Every little mistake we make is in the back of the net, and when guys aren't scoring, or are having a slow start, they're all gripping their sticks and trying to make that perfect shot, where we just need to get pucks to the net. It's all about working to get out of what we're in right now."

One area where Burt has been able to rely upon to help dig out of this early season hole is his veteran leadership group, with returning players such as Logan Nelson, Kenton Helgesen, Max Coatta, Keegan Iverson and many others, who helped them get out of it last season. They're able to set an example for how to do it once again.

"We have a whole group of guys that are here, we all just have to continuously, every day, work together and become a team," Burt said. "It's not that we're not playing well right now, it's just that things aren't going our way, so we just have to continue to push in the right direction."

we know the weather wasn't in our favor last night, but we have you covered if you stayed warm at home! check out our "Sights of the Game" from the TKHY Eye Care Centre 🏒 pic.twitter.com/ZB7uYyb1nr

— Rapid City Rush (@RapidCityRush) November 10, 2022

One of the more unique stories in attempting to help them do so has to be the return of stalwart goaltender Adam Carlson, who is back after missing all of last year with a preseason knee injury. He was, however, with the team behind the bench as an additional assistant coach for the majority of the year.

"'Carly' ended last year ready to go and then found out he had to have that knee surgery, and he spent all of last year working to get back," Burt said. "Unfortunately for him, he just ran out of time to get back. So, he dedicated himself to that coaching side last year to try to help us out, and we came to an understanding and an agreement that he's going to get into some games, and we'll slowly get him going to see where he's at and how his knee is.  

"He's a good teammate, and he works his tail off, so having him here with (Danill) Chechelev and (Brad) Arvanitis has really helped out. Down the line, when Adam is all said and done, I think he wants to get into the coaching side of things on the goalie side. Right now, he has the opportunity to play and work with our young goalies. It's been working out for him and our goalies as well."

Without question, Burt has a lot on his plate to try to manage as far as his hockey club goes, so being reunited with Ryan, a former NHLer and incredible character who has gained even more notoriety with his role as the curiously-named Ted Hitchcock on the popular Hulu series and Letterkenny spinoff, will be a welcome distraction of sorts for both him and the group.

"I did watch it, and I did text him," Burt said. "I said, 'That's your name,' and he said, 'Yeah, it just rolls off your tongue.' And I'm like, 'Oh boy.' Of course it does. It is fitting, and I'm sure he probably came up with that name himself, I don't know."

Burt and Ryan actually lived together during their time as teammates in the Western Hockey League's Red Deer Rebels and then played together again with the Idaho Steelheads, back when that franchise was in the West Coast Hockey League.

For Burt, watching Ryan, who has always been an extremely popular podcast guest and now host, as well as a multiple-time book author and now beloved actor, has been extremely rewarding.

"What's great about all that, is that's him," Burt said. "Everything that you see, everything you read about, it's the truth with 'TR.' He's an actor, he's worked his tail off to get to where he is and it's a perfect role for him. He started out as an assistant and a set dresser and all that kind of stuff, and he worked with Jason Momoa.  

"He'd done a lot of acting stuff around the Newfoundland area, local stuff there, but this role is perfect. It's why he's buddies with the guys from Spittin' Chiclets and he has his own deal now.  If you know the hockey community, you've heard about TR. Having him here, this will help him, too, so it's promoting him. He likes doing the PR stuff, and he likes to be seen and to be heard, so something for him that gets him in our community, that's him. Terry Ryan has so many stories."

On the flip side of that, Burt often is asked for stories about Ryan, often telling a well-known one about how the latter fought Tie Domi just to say he did to one of his friends back home.

More rare tales involve ones from Burt about when the two lived together and did "some crazy things" during their time in Red Deer.

"I think it was the first time that he and I were on snow machines, and we'd do some different stuff, like go for drives on Sundays," Burt recalled. "He got his big ticket, and we went out and bought a F-150, and he ended up painting the back, and we got speakers and a stereo system for this thing and souping it up. We had our fun.

"We were with Arron Asham, B.J, Young, Mike McBain, Jesse Wallin - we had a whole crew of guys that were all top-notch players in the Western League and moved on to play pro hockey. It wasn't just us guys, but we had fun, and hence, we did pretty well with our run to lose out in the semis in the West.  

"We had some good times together, that's for sure. So now, it's actually pretty cool, because these guys are young enough and are at that stage where they've seen Shoresy and know Chiclets, and they've heard this guy, so for him to come here and meet some of our players will be pretty cool."