Les Reaney was a well-traveled man last year, but now he's happy to be settling down a bit.

About this time last year, Reaney was skating for the Rapid City Rush as the Central Hockey League expansion team continued its season-opening string of 14 straight road games.

Reaney started the season in camp for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers, then joined the Rush on a limited contract the day before Rapid City's first-ever weekend series against the Colorado Eagles on Oct. 17 and 18, 2008.

He made an impact in a short time, scoring five goals and adding 10 assists in eight games with Rapid City before being reassigned by

Edmonton to Springfield of the American Hockey League. From there, it was on to the Dayton Bombers of the East Coast League

"I was with four different teams in the first month of the season. It was tough because, second game with the Bombers, I broke my thumb and was out for a month," Reaney recalled.

He pushed his return to the Bombers line-up where he wound up playing 46 games, scoring 15 goals and 28 assists for 43 points.

"I was supposed to miss two, two and a half months, and I missed two and a half weeks. It was tough. I struggled with mobility with the hand, but it turned out all right," he said.

This year, no longer with Edmonton, Reaney was looking for a new hockey home, and remembered Rapid City.

"I'm happy to be here. Joe and I talked quite a bit over the summer. The rink is phenomenal and I know a few of the guys. It helps to come back to that," he said.

Reaney is again contributing on the ice with five goals and two assists in six games for the Rush.

His first actual home games with the Rush came during preseason contests with the Amarillo Gorillas.

"The crowds were phenomenal," he said. "The place was almost sold out for exhibition games."

The Rush won three of their first four home games of the 2009 regular season, then sustained a pair of road losses last week against Tulsa and Colorado. Reaney knows the season has a long way to go.

"We've seen a lot of good things, but obviously we want to get better on the road," he said. "We had a good opening 40 minutes against Colorado. That was a tough loss. I think we're going to be a great club this year, and we just have to keep it going."

With a number of teams throughout minor leagues closing down because of the economy, Reaney also knows there's a lot of good players on the outside of the game looking in.

In the East Coast League, there's a lot of buddies calling guys and always looking for a place to play. It's tough to find a job in hockey right now," he said. "It's good to have a spot right now, especially in a place like Rapid City."