Rapid City Rush Coach Scott Burt Returns To Team After Cancer Treatment
Rapid City Rush Coach Scott Burt Returns To Team After Cancer Treatment
Rapid City Rush head coach Scott Burt had been away on medical leave while undergoing treatment for a cancerous brain tumor.
The Rapid City Rush are feeling whole again as the team announced Saturday that head coach Scott Burt is returning to the team after a 10-week medical leave. Burt has been battling a cancerous brain tumor, recently completing a round of treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
Burt rang the bell celebrating his last round of 30 radiation treatments on Friday and was announced as being back on Saturday. He will return to Mayo in mid-March for re-evaluation, per the Rush.
Burtie's back!
— Rapid City Rush (@RapidCityRush) February 16, 2025
Head Coach and GM Scott Burt has returned to Rapid City from his medical leave of absence and is ready to return to the bench shortly.
🗞️: https://t.co/stMjmz2rvT pic.twitter.com/wsl8bBSEWo
The head coach watched the Rush’s Saturday “Midnight Madness” game from as a spectator, but could be on the bench as soon as Friday as the Rush hit the road for a critical divisional game against the Utah Grizzlies.
The ECHL has rallied around Burt and his family, showing support in various ways. Many of the league’s teams have donned “Burtie” decals on their helmets in solidarity with the popular former ECHL player.
ECHL teams are sporting "BURTIE" decals on their helmets to honor @RapidCityRush head coach Scott Burt, who has taken a medical leave of absence.
— FloHockey (@FloHockey) December 21, 2024
More from @chrismpeters ⬇️
📰: https://t.co/zWyWExq1fM#ECHL pic.twitter.com/zE5pWttk8W
Through the team, Burt said that he has been keeping up with his assistant coaches and players throughout his medical leave.
“I am excited to be back in Rapid City and with the team after a long ten weeks,” said Burt in a statement released by the Rush. “I stayed connected with the coaches throughout my leave, and personally, I worked to get myself in the best possible position mentally and physically. Peter [Drikos] and Chad [Costello] have done a great job building the team. I look forward to slowly integrating myself back into the group, and I cannot wait for the next opportunity to get back behind the bench.”
The Rush have some work to do to get back into the playoff picture in the ECHL’s Mountain Division, currently sitting in sixth. They have points in seven straight games, however, and have won seven of their last 10.
Now they’ll certainly get a boost with the return of their popular head coach as Scott Burt gets a chance to have some normalcy for the first time in a while.
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