JOHNS ISLAND, SC– With ECHL play opening this weekend and with a Stingrays roster packed with a blend of familiar and new exciting players, fans are once again optimistic about the “Rays.” This optimism is based in part on the long-term track record of Stingray success. The franchise has only missed the playoffs once in sixteen ECHL seasons. This track record however brings an automatic set of high expectations for a franchise known for its excellence on and off the ice.
The Stingrays appear to have built a strong competitive team based on a solid group of returnees from last year’s division champions and added great experience and strength to the defense. Also, despite losing one experienced goal tender to Europe they were able to sign an excellent replacement . The current 2007-08 roster shapes up as follows:
Coaches:
Jared Bednar returns for his second season as Head Coach and General Manager, a role he excelled in last year as he juggled signings, call-ups and injuries that at one stretch required the team to play with just four pure defensemen. The team under Bednar closed extremely strong last season and he proved that he could step up into the Coach and GM roles after his promotion . He is joined by Cal MacLean as Assistant Coach. MacLean a fan favorite on the ice retired after last season and recently signed on with the Stingrays in this new capacity.
Goaltending:
Last year’s tandem of Davis Parley and Josh Johnson and who complimented each other so well will change due to the departure of Parley to play in Europe. The team however, once again appears solid in goal, at least until the inevitable call-ups occur.
Josh Johnson, 24, returns for his second year and hopes to build on his 23-13-1 record last year. He is joined by Bobby Goepfert, 25, who was a rookie with the Augusta Lynx last year. His 16-15-1 record last year is not reflective of his outstanding work especially in the playoffs. Stingray fans will remember that he was almost single handedly responsible for their close call with elimination in the early round of last year’s playoffs, The Stingrays went down 2 games to none against Augusta primarily because of Goepfert’s performance against them. An injury eventually caught up with him and the Stingrays overcame the 2-0 disadvantage to move on.
Defense:
The defense lineup perhaps a reflection of Bednar’s own playing days on defense, also appears on paper to be very strong. Only one rookie, Johann Kroll, an Ohio State University graduate will be on the blue line. Veteran Nate Kiser coming off his most point productive year last season will be playing his fifth season for the Rays. A rugged player who has amassed 930 penalty minutes in slightly more than 300 games in his pro career he will serve as one of the team’s alternate captains.
Another major off season acquisition will serve as the Ray’s Team Captain. Brad Farynuk, 26, has already made an impression with his leadership and has been awarded the “C”. He begins his third year as a professional. He divided his time last year between Stockton of the ECHL and Springfield of the AHL. Scott Romfro, a four year Stingray veteran who played in every game the team played last year will also provide steady mature leadership. This group will also be joined by former Stingray Victor Dovgan, who at 20 is already playing his third pro season. A popular player two seasons ago he is back after a one year stint playing in his native Russia. Rounding out the experienced defensive corps are newly signed Zach Tarkir, a second year ECHL pro and another familiar face to local fans Sasha Pokulok, who spent most of last year with the Hershey Bears and with some time spent in South Carolina.
Forwards:
The offense will feature four players who played a vital part in the Stingrays Division Championship and run to the conference finals. Travis Morin who led the Stingrays in scoring last year (34-50-84) will serve as the other alternate captain. He proved to be in his rookie season an exciting player, leading the ECHL with six shorthanded goals and the Stingrays scoring in both the regular season and the playoffs. Other returnees from last year’s conference finalists include Pierre-Luc O’Brien, with 57 points on 13 goals and 44 assists, second year pro Trent Campbell, who led all Rays with a +26 plus minus rating, Paul McIIveen, 22, a second year pro, and Matt Scherer who as a rookie played in 55 regular season games also add depth. Tommy Maxwell also returns after playing in 18 games before a call-up.
Newcomers include three rookies. Michael Dubuc, 20, a 6-2, 180 lbs left winger who spent four years in the QMJHL, Jeff MacDermid, who played college hockey in Canada and Maxime Lacroix, 21, another QMJHL veteran.
Experienced newcomers include veteran Paul Kelly a center, who will play his fourth season as a professional He joins the team from the Tulsa Oilers of the Central Hockey League. He is coming off a 53 point season including 26 goals. At 6-2 and 230 lbs he will also add size to the frontline. Jeff Rainville 24, who played last year in France played college hockey at Lake Superior State College in Michigan. They are joined by Keith Johnson ,23, who played last season with the Utah Grizzlies where he led the team in playoff scoring.
Thus, initially it appears the Stingrays will start the season with strong goaltending , an experienced defense and a nucleus of returning forwards that should be reinforced by the addition of several veterans and rookies. After an exciting 2007-08 season that saw the Stingrays go deep into the playoffs in search of their third Kelly Cup, fans will quickly find out if the 2008-09 version of the low country’s hockey team can build on last year’s success.
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