Blueliner has played entire 143-game ECHL career in the Upstate By: Mark Binetti, Greenville Swamp Rabbits GREENVILLE, S.C. – The Greenville Swamp Rabbits, proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings, announced today that defenseman Bobby Russell is set to return for his fourth season with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits in 2024-25, marking the entirety of his ECHL career to date.Russell joins Max Coyle, Joshua Karlsson, Jacob Modry, and Logan Britt on the Swamp Rabbits blue line for this season. Additionally, he supplements Austin Saint, Colton Young, Ben Poisson, Arvid Caderoth, and captain Ben Freeman at the forward position.Russell completed his third season with the Swamp Rabbits in the 2023-24 campaign. Despite battling injury midseason, the 6’0”, 190-pound blue-liner matched career-highs for goal-scoring and total points, igniting the goal lamp five times as part of 17 points accrued in 39 games. Russell added another pair of goals in four Kelly Cup Playoff games.“I love being in Greenville. Ever since my first year, I was comfortable right away with the city and the culture of our team, which has been great and only continued to get better every year,” Russell said of his return to Greenville for a fourth season. “Battling injury was tough last season, but I felt like when I was healthy, I put together a great season. Because of that, one of my biggest takeaways from the season is when you sit out, whether for injury or other circumstances, it makes you take a step back and see the bigger picture and learn what needs to be done to be at the top of your game when you do eventually return. My goal this year is to continue to be a leader, help defend well, and provide offense, but I’m most excited about building on what we’ve established here. Last year was awesome, and you could see at times that we had something special. We were close, but we need to build on what we’ve had since my first season as we strive to win a Kelly Cup.”“I think it's great any time you can maintain continuity with a player that brings an impact like Bobby does. He knows the standard we're driving for and loves Greenville, so there's a lot of alignment in the most important areas of building a team and a culture with him,” said Kyle Mountain, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations regarding the return of his fourth-year blue-liner. "It certainly hurt having him out of the lineup, given the way he was playing. He has a ton of passion for the game, and it made him even hungrier to work his way back to compete and help the team. That has bled into his summer training and I look forward to him coming back fully healthy and ready to take his game to the next level. I think Bobby has really matured as a player and as a locker room presence, so I expect him to reach new heights on both fronts. He's eager to come back and contribute on the ice, but just as importantly, he has expressed the importance of coming back and being a contributor in the room, especially to some of the younger or newer faces in the group. With each year brings raised expectations, and Bobby is ready to meet those challenges.”A native of Langley, British Columbia, Russell, 24, has played the entirety of his ECHL career with the Greenville Swamp Rabbits. Over his previous three years in the Upstate, he’s amassed 12 goals, 36 assists, and 48 points in 143 games and chipped in an additional three goals and six points in 10 Kelly Cup Playoff contests. During his rookie season in 2021-22, Russell was twice called up to the American Hockey League, earning an assist in one game with the Ontario Reign and nine contests with the Charlotte Checkers. Before turning professional, Russell skated parts of five seasons in the WHL with the Spokane Chiefs and Kootenay Ice, totaling 55 points (14g-41ast) in 178 games. About the Greenville Swamp Rabbits … Acquired by Spire Sports + Entertainment (SS+E) in 2020, the Greenville Swamp Rabbits hockey team has been providing family-friendly, live entertainment at Bon Secours Wellness Arena since 2010. Formerly, the Greenville Road Warriors and the Swamp Rabbits are the highest-level professional minor league franchise in South Carolina. The Swamp Rabbits are the proud ECHL affiliate of the NHL's LA Kings and the AHL's Ontario Reign. Greenville is an ECHL Premier ‘AA’ Hockey League member. GREENVILLE SWAMP RABBITS HOWLINGS
