| South Carolina Stingrays | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | North Charleston, South Carolina |
| League | ECHL |
| Conference | Eastern |
| Division | South |
| Founded | 1993 |
| Home arena | North Charleston Coliseum |
| Colors | Navy blue, red, white, silver |
| Owner(s) | Todd Halloran (majority)[1] Zucker family (minority) |
| Head coach | Brenden Kotyk |
| Media | The Post and Courier ECHL.TV (internet) |
| Affiliates | Washington Capitals (NHL) Hershey Bears (AHL) |
| Website | stingrayshockey |
| Championships | |
| Regular season titles | 1 (1996–97) |
| Division titles | 7 (1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2000–01, 2013–14, 2015–16, 2022–23) |
| Conference titles | 6 (1997, 2001, 2009, 2015, 2017, 2021) |
| Kelly Cups | 3 (1997, 2001, 2009) |
 Current season | |
The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Carolina Ice Palace, also located in North Charleston, serves as a practice facility and backup arena. Established in 1993, the team has been owned by a group of local businesses since 1995. The team was affiliated with the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League from 2004 to July 2012, when the Capitals announced their affiliation with the ECHL's Reading Royals. On June 26, 2014, the Washington Capitals announced an affiliation agreement with the Stingrays for the 2014–15 season.[2]
The Stingrays are the first professional ice hockey team in South Carolina.[3] With the relocation of the Johnstown Chiefs to Greenville, South Carolina in 2010, the Stingrays became the oldest continuously operational ECHL franchise to remain in its founding city (the Wheeling Nailers have been in Wheeling since 1992 but are a relocated franchise).
The Stingrays have finished with the best record in the ECHL once, and qualified for the playoffs in all but two seasons. With Kelly Cup championships in 1997, 2001 and 2009, the Stingrays are tied with the Hampton Roads Admirals and the Alaska Aces for most league championships. Over thirty former Stingrays have gone on to play in the National Hockey League, with three playing for Stanley Cup-winning teams; Rich Peverley with the Boston Bruins in 2011, and Braden Holtby and Philipp Grubauer with the Washington Capitals in 2018.
The team had initial success at the box office; during its first season (1993–94) the team averaged 9,151 fans a game — one of the largest attendances in minor league hockey.[4] Despite ongoing success on the ice, that level was not sustained; average attendance since 2003 has been less than half that number.[5]
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
2018 Ownershipwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Capitals announce ECHL affiliation with Stingrays". NHL.com. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Firstwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Stott, Jon C. (2006). Hockey Night in Dixie: Minor Pro Hockey in the American South. Heritage House Publishing Company Ltd. p. 70. ISBN 1-894974-21-2.
- ^ "South Carolina Stingrays Standings and Attendance". hockeydb.com. Retrieved July 11, 2022.