The second of a three-step process to retain a player’s rights has been completed as the South Carolina Stingrays have released their 2024 season-ending roster to the league. The roster consists of 12 forwards and five defensemen. These 17 skaters will have their rights protected by the Stingrays.
Roster
Forwards: Ian Mackey, Jack Adams, Ryan Leibold, Austin Magera, Ben Hawerchuk, Jackson Leppard, Ivan Lodnia, Kyler Kupka, Jonny Evans, Josh Wilkins, Ethan Strang, Jarid Lukosevicius
Defensemen: Josh Thrower, Spencer Meier, Connor Moore, Bryce Montgomery, Peter Diliberatore
Austin Magera: Magera had a breakout year in his first full season as a professional player. The 25-year-old played 70 games notching 29 goals and 74 points, which both led the team. Of his 74 points, Magera tallied 21 of them on the powerplay (7g-14a). This season, Magera was named to the ECHL All-Rookie Team and ECHL Second All-Star Team and was rewarded with the John A Daley Trophy for Rookie of the Year. Not only was he a solid offensive player, but he was solid defensively, too. Magera led the team in plus/minus with a plus-21 rating. Prior to joining the Stingrays in the 2022-23 season, he played his college hockey at Sacred Heart University. In his freshman year, Magera showed signs of being a good, young player as he was named to the NCAA (AHA) All-Rookie Team and the NCAA (AHA) Third All-Conference Team. In five years at Sacred Heart, Magera played 154 games, tallying 47 goals and 116 points.
Jack Adams: Adams completed his first season as a professional where he impressed on and off the ice. Adams was named the 2023-24 ECHL Community Service Award winner for the time he put into the community around Charleston. He shinned on the ice just as much as he did off the ice as he collected 27 goals and 35 assists in 71 games played for the Stingrays. He was second on the team in goals and third in assists and points.
Connor Moore: Stingrays fans will be very happy with the protection of Moore’s rights. Moore has spent all four of his professional years in Charleston. During the 2023-24 season, Moore racked up 29 assists and 35 points, which were both tied for second among the Stingrays defensemen. Moore was named as the Stingrays’ representative at the 2023-24 All-Star Game. He has seen action in 213 regular season games, tallying 90 assists and 104 points with an impressive plus-38 rating.
Missing Pieces
The Stringrays do not have any goalies listed on their season roster, but South Carolina fans should not worry about that. Garin Bjorklund and Mitchell Gibson could not be added to the season-ending roster as both contracts are owned by the Washington Capitals. Bjorklund has one year left on his three-year contract and may see time back with the Stingrays next season. Gibson finished off his contract this season and will be a Restricted Free Agent in the offseason. Being the workhorse he was this past season, playing 42 games, I would expect him to be re-signed and sent back to South Carolina to develop further.
ECHL Season-Ending Roster Guidelines
Season-Ending Rosters may include up to 20 players. Season-Ending Rosters cannot include any players who did not sign an ECHL contract in 2023-24.
Each team is entitled to reserve rights to a maximum of eight players from the list of 20 by extending a qualifying offer no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on July 7. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four can be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2023-24 Season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded. Teams are not required to extend a qualifying offer to players who sign a contract prior to July 7.
The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.
A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player or to a goaltender who has played more than 180 regular-season games will retain the rights to that player until 11:59 p.m. ET on July 22. After July 22, if the veteran player or goaltender is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran or goaltender shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player’s rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player’s rights and the Professional Hockey Players’ Association. The member with the player’s rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.
If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by 11:59 p.m. ET on August 8, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.
