The South Carolina Stingrays have announced that they have signed Charlie Combs to a contract for the 2024-25 season. Combs returns to the ECHL after spending the last three seasons overseas, including two years in the EIHL and a year in Denmark. During his two years in the EIHL, the 28-year-old forward put up 46 goals and 50 assists for 96 points in 84 games with the Dundee Stars and Glasgow Clan; he would be named to the EIHL All-Second Team in 2022 when he put up 30 goals and 35 assists for 65 points in 52 games with the Stars. Combs would spend the 2022-23 season in Denmark, where he put up 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 45 games before returning to the EIHL the following year. The St.Louis, Missouri native has 17 games of ECHL experience under his belt, which came with the Wichita Thunder during the 2020-21 season, where he put up three goals and two assists for five points. For the Stingrays, they get a guy who has proven he can score while playing overseas and will look to bring his scoring touch to the Stingrays lineup in his first full year in the ECHL.
Prior to going pro, the 5’6, 194lb forward spent time in the NAHL, USHL, BCHL, and NCAA. Combs would play 56 games in the NAHL during the 2015-16 season, putting up 21 goals and 14 assists for 35 points. The following season, he would play 18 games in the USHL with the Dubuque Fighting Saints and Muskegon Lumberjacks, where he had two goals and three assists for five points in 17 games. His final stop before making the jump to the NCAA would be with the Wenatchee Wild of the BCHL, where he had 66 goals and 46 assists for 112 points in 86 games. He would play four years at the NCAA level, spending three years with Bemidji State University and Michigan State University, where he played in 131 games, putting up 42 goals and 28 assists for 70 points.
“I’m super excited to be a Stingray,” said Combs. “I’ve had a couple of buddies who have played in the organization, and they all had positive experiences. I’ve had great conversations with Coach Nightingale, and I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
-Combs on signing with the Stingrays (Via South Carolina Stingrays Press Release)
Charlie is the younger brother of Jack Combs, who spent nine seasons in the ECHL, putting up 189 goals and 246 assists for 435 points in 350 games as he played with the Alaska Aces, Trenton Devils, Colorado Eagles, Cincinnati Cyclones, Stockton Thunder, Greenville Swamp Rabbits, Wichita Thunder, and Allen Americans. He had five seasons with 20+ goals, and in his final season in the ECHL, he put up 36 goals and 59 assists for 95 points in 70 games with the Americans. Jack spent last season as an assistant coach at Lindenwood University.
