Sean Collins former SC Stingray playing in NHL

NORTH CHARLESTON, SC – Sean Collins, a former member of South Carolina Stingrays (ECHL) for part of the 2007-08 season, recently played three games with the Washington Capitals after his call-up last week from the Hershey Bears (AHL).
The Capitals, hit hard by injuries this season, have relied heavily on Hershey to fill the gaps caused by the numerous injuries. The call-up of Collins, 25, a 6 foot 1 inch, 212 pound defenseman, comes just seven short months after he finished his stint with the Stingrays at the end of the 2007-08 playoffs. Collins, a native of Troy Michigan, chose an increasingly popular route for US born players who aspire to play in the National Hockey League. As a 17 year old junior player, Collins initially spent time in the North American Hockey League (NAHL), then moved on to the Tier One United States

Hockey League’s (USHL) Sioux City Musketeers. These two junior leagues are often used as stepping stones to college scholarships and NCAA Hockey. After playing four years at Ohio State where he was the team captain his senior year, Collins began a full 2007-08 season with Hershey. He suffered a bad concussion early in the season and, after a lengthy layoff, was assigned to the Stingrays in February, 2008 to play himself back into shape. Collins spent the balance of the season with the Stingrays, playing in 31 regular season games and 20 playoff games, helping the team make a deep run in the Kelly Cup playoffs that led them all the way to the American Conference finals. The Stingrays lost in the conference finals to the eventual ECHL Kelly Cup Champions, the Cincinnati Cyclones. This assignment gave him time to fully recover a lot of ice time which would have been more limited in Hershey, and gave him a chance to work on all phases of his game. Collins made the Hershey roster this year reporting for camp about 10 pounds lighter, fully recovered, and having invested wisely in his own development instead of self pity while in South Carolina. His work in the AHL with the Bears didn’t go unnoticed, thus the call-up to Washington. Importantly, his playing time in Washington has increased in each game. Collins has played a regular shift in all three games and has not been on the ice for any goals against the Capitals. Most recently in the Cap’s win against Boston, Washington Head Coach Bruce Boudreau had Collins, who wears number 62, was on the ice for 16:48 minutes, an d is currently playing a regular shift averaging 21 shifts per game. Collins may yet get caught in the numbers game as the Capitals injured reserve list is shrinking down from ten players to eight. His performance however may have muddled the succession planning within the Capitals organization where there are a number of top flight defense prospects within the system. Meanwhile, Collins has achieved what many players dream about, the chance to be in the big show. Collins did it in a remarkably short period of time after ending last season in the ECHL and playing just thirteen games in the AHL this season. Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
Photo courtesy of the Washington Capitals