Johnson brings veteran leadership to Stingrays

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the NHL’s Washington Capitals and AHL’s Hershey Bears, have agreed to terms with forward Nick Johnson for the 2017-18 season. Johnson will make his North American professional debut with South Carolina after playing seven seasons of pro hockey overseas.

Johnson has played for four different professional teams in Europe, including 239 regular-season games over six seasons with HC Plzen in the Czech Republic where he put up 113 points. Johnson had back-to-back 30-point seasons with HC Plzen in 2014-15 and 2015-16. He played 28 games for HC Plzen last season before skating with another Czech team, HC Dynamo Pardubice, and Grizzlys Wolfsburg of the German professional league (DEL).

Stingrays' Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky and Johnson were teammates at Sacred Heart University from 2007-09. In four seasons with Sacred Heart from 2006-10, Johnson scored 107 points (47g-60a) in 130 games. After his senior year, Johnson was named First Team All-Conference by the Atlantic Hockey Association as well as a New England Men’s Division I All-Star.

The native of Windsor, Conn. was also able to consult some of his family about playing with the Stingrays, as brothers Keith (2008-10) and Gregg (2009-10) have previously played for South Carolina. Keith was a member of the 2009 Kelly Cup Championship team, while Gregg joined the following season.