New South Carolina Stingrays coach on a mission to bring a championship back to Charleston
· Yahoo Sports
Oct. 17—No franchise has been to the ECHL postseason more times than the South Carolina Stingrays.
Visit freshyourfeel.com for more information.
In 34 seasons, the Stingrays have been to the Kelly Cup playoffs 29 times, won 140 postseason games and advanced to the finals six times.
Only Florida has been to more Kelly Cup finals (8) than the Stingrays, and only the Everblades (191) and Toledo (154) have more postseason victories on their collective resumes.
But as good as South Carolina has been for the past three decades, success in the playoffs has eluded the Stingrays of late. South Carolina has won just one playoff series — last season against Atlanta — since advancing to the Kelly Cup finals during the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season.
Over the past five seasons, the biggest hurdle for the Stingrays has been South Division rival Florida. The Everblades have become the gold standard in the league, winning four Kelly Cup titles in five years and advancing to the conference finals five straight seasons.
It's one of the main reasons South Carolina president Rob Concannon went out and hired new head coach Jesse Kallechy, a former Everblades assistant coach.
"You have to tip your cap to Florida and what they've been able to do the last five years," Concannon said. "I feel like they are our biggest rival, and I'm sure they'd say the same thing. All good teams have to worry about themselves, but you can't lose sight of what Florida's been able to do.
"The way the playoffs are set up, you've got to get out of the division to get to the conference finals. If we are going to get to where we want to be, and that's playing for championships, we will have to go through Florida."
Kallechy, 36, understands the expectations that surround the Stingrays organization — beat the Everblades and advance to the Kelly Cup finals. Instead of deflecting those expectations, he has embraced them since arriving in the Lowcountry this summer.
"I wouldn't want to be with an organization where there wasn't any pressure or expectations," Kallechy said. "I've been in markets that want to win, and being in those markets made me a better coach and a better person. I think coming here to South Carolina, those expectations are not any different.
"I think expectations on the outside are nowhere near what my expectations are going to be. No one is going to demand more from our team than me. I want to win, period."
Kallechy has a unique inside perspective on how to dethrone their South Division rivals, having been a member of the Everblades coaching staff during back-to-back runs at a league championship.
"If we're being honest, we need to build a team that can beat the Florida Everblades," Kallechy said. "If you want to win a championship, you've got to get out of your division, so we need to build a team that first and foremost can win the South Division.
"If you are able to win the South Division, that will open doors for a conference championship and hopefully to a Kelly Cup. If you can't win your division, it's irrelevant."
Kallechy has proven he can win in the postseason. Most recently, he guided the Fort Wayne Komets, where he compiled a 121-69-26 record in three seasons, to a first-place finish in the Central Division and led the club to the Western Conference finals.
"Jesse is the most experienced head coach we've brought in," Concannon said. "He's been a head coach in the ECHL and SPHL. He also has been in our division and knows what it takes to win."
Now, Kallechy will be tasked with dethroning the Everblades. He knows that beating his old bench boss — Brad Ralph — won't be easy.
"He's the best coach in ECHL history," Kallechy said. "The Everblades have built one of the, if not the, strongest dynasties in ECHL history. It's a tough task ahead — they build a team every year that can win in the playoffs.
"Our goal will be to build a team that can not only beat the Everblades but win a championship. You know the Everblades are going to be big, they are going be heavy, they are going to have good goaltending, so you have to find a way to counteract those problems."
Kallechy immediately began reshaping South Carolina's roster over the summer, one that will look much different than what the Stingrays have seen in recent years.
The Stingrays' 25-man opening day roster has skated in 2,460 games in the ECHL and 3,888 games in all levels of professional hockey, both in North America and overseas. Signing experienced players and veterans was a large part of the vision for the Stingrays when making this roster.
"You look at teams that have won in this league, and there hasn't been a lot of rookies," said Kallechy. "You go back to the conference finals last year with Fort Wayne, Florida and Kansas City, everybody was older, experienced teams, and not that young guys can't contribute, but older guys have been through the battles a little bit. Those are the kind of guys that we feel like were going to be ready for the challenges that come."
South Carolina's 2026 season opening roster
Forwards (15): Zack Andrusiak**, Charlie Combs, Alex Dostie, Alex Gaffney*, Justin Hall*, Kyle Jackson, Tyler Kopff, Jalen Luypen, Landon McCallum, Cam Morrison, Ludwig Persson, Josh Prokop*, Ryan Sandelin, Tyler Weiss, Josh Wilkins**
Defensemen (8): Justin Bean, Noah Beck, Jérémie Biakabutuka, Aidan Hreschuk, Rhett Parsons, Luke Prokop, Connor Moore**, Romain Rodzinski
Goaltenders (2): Garin Bjorklund, Ben Kraws
* Indicates player is an ECHL rookie ** Indicates a player is an ECHL veteran
Reach Andrew Miller at 843-937-5599. Follow him on X @APMILLER_PandC