Nate Kiser anchors Stingrays’ defense

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Invariably the loudest cheer for any member of the starting lineup for the Charleston Stingrays at home comes is when veteran defenseman Nate Kiser is introduced at the North Charleston Coliseum. Game announcer Ted Byrne intones one detail that stands out when Kiser is part of the starting lineup.
Byrne’s introductions of the starting lineup follows a format of “starting at (insert position) from (insert home town) and then (insert jersey number and players name).” Most of the time the “from” part of the pregame introduction includes cities located in states and provinces with names such as Granby, Quebec, Brooklyn Park, Minnesota or Collingwood, Ontario. In other words the average listener immediately envisions hockey country. Nate Kiser’s introduction comes with a bit of a twist as the hometown location is announced as Hanahan, South Carolina; which is a small suburb of Charleston. While Kiser’s official records show his home town as Southgate, Michigan (near Detroit), Kiser has adopted the low country as home, and now lives here. In turn, South Carolina fans have adopted big Nate as a fan favorite. The rugged Kiser who stands 6’ 1″ and weighs 210 lbs, is a favorite for three reasons: First he is a solid reliable and dependable defenseman who has anchored the Stingrays’ blue line for five seasons. Second, while not quick to drop his gloves, he is a tough and feared battler who generally is among the team leaders in penalties and fighting majors each season. Third, he has a blistering slap shot and while he does not score a lot of goals, fans know when he gets a chance, the big, booming and hard slap shot is coming. No one has to yell “shoot the puck” when he gets a chance to fire.

Said another way, what South Carolina Stingrays’ fans really like about Kiser is that he is not a one dimensional player. Importantly, his fights seem to come at the right time, and for the right reasons based on a combination of his natural toughness, intensity and game awareness. Despite having being involved in altercations in the double digits each year, Kiser seldom takes penalties or provokes altercations simply because of a need to support a tough guy image. While quick to protect his smaller forwards and goaltenders, fans don’t automatically expect Kiser to drop the gloves when he plays. This now may be partially because, after five seasons in the ECHL, his reputation may prevent some potential altercations. In recognition of his leadership, the 26 year old defenseman was named as one of the team’s alternate Captains for this season. He was recognized after posting career high numbers last season. During the 2007-08 season, he was the team’s leading scorer from the blue line scoring five goals and registering 22 assists. He racked up 169 penalty minutes. Included in those minutes were the ones that stemmed from 16 fighting majors. So far this season he has scored five goals, assisted on eight others, and has been assessed 148 penalty minutes including ten fighting majors. Overall, in 386 professional games with South Carolina and the Dayton Bombers in the ECHL, and with Syracuse, Portland and Albany of the AHL, Kiser has scored 24 goals, 84 assists, and racked up 1,153 minutes in penalties. Kiser’s play and leadership are extremely important as the Stingrays enter the stretch run for the ECHL playoffs. Clinging to second place with only a one point lead over Charlotte in the South Division of the American Conference, injuries and call ups have forced the Rays to play with a four-man defensive rotation over the past few games. Kiser’s game smarts and ability to avoid major time in the penalty box is necessary to keep the defensive crew as fresh as possible especially until defensive reinforcements arrive. The 15,000 people who live in Hanahan, the rest of the low country, and especially Stingrays’ fans are more than glad to claim him as a “native son of South Carolina.” Note – Unfortunately for the Stingrays Kiser may also join the team’s walking wounded after their northern road trip. PHN has learned that the big defenseman will undergo elbow surgery next week. Kiser who had surgery on the same elbow last year has been playing through problems with the joint. Thus, the Stingrays are scrambling to find some help on defense.  Right now the Rays who started the year with arguably one of the best blue line components in the league have Brad Farynuk and Sasha Pokoluk on injured reserve and Zack Takir and Johann Kroll playing up in the AHL.  The prognosis for when Kiser can return will be known based on the extent of the surgery which is scheduled for Tuesday     Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com