Stingrays' Warsofsky named assistant coach for Charlotte

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and American Hockey League's Hershey Bears, have announced that head coach and director of hockey operations Ryan Warsofsky has accepted a new position as an assistant coach with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers.

Warsofsky, who served as an assistant coach for three years from 2013-16 before taking over as the seventh head coach in team history prior to the 2016-17 season, led the Stingrays to consecutive appearances in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs including a run to the Kelly Cup Finals in June of 2017.

“I would like to thank Ryan for his passion and commitment to our organization over the last 5 years,” said Stingrays President Rob Concannon. “Over that time, I’ve enjoyed watching him grow into one of the brightest young coaches in hockey. This is a tremendous and deserving opportunity. I will miss working with Ryan and Todd and I wish him and his wife Caroline the best of luck in Charlotte.”

The Marshfield, Massachusetts native guided the club to 40 wins in his first year behind the bench, then guided the Rays to their best regular season in team history this past year with a mark of 48-16-7-1 and 104 points. It was the highest number of wins and points secured during any season in 25 years of Stingrays hockey.

Warsofsky also oversaw the best defensive team in the history of the ECHL last season, breaking records for least goals allowed (153), lowest team goals-against average (2.13) and fewest power play goals allowed (27).

The Stingrays’ penalty kill was the most successful in the ECHL last season, with the team discarding 90.5% of opponents’ power-play opportunities.

Warsofsky finished with an overall record of 88-44-10-2 in two seasons and had his team focused for some of the most important matchups as the Stingrays went 70-29-8-2 in 109 regular season games against South Division opponents over the last two years.

During the playoff run in 2017, Warsofsky led South Carolina to defeats of division rivals Greenville and Florida before winning his first-ever Game 7 as a head coach on the road in Manchester to become the second-youngest coach in ECHL history reach the league’s championship round.

As an assistant coach under former Stingrays player and current Hershey Bears head coach Spencer Carbery, Warsofsky also took part in three additional playoff appearances as well as an ECHL-record 23-game win streak during the 2014-15 regular season, a run to the Kelly Cup Finals in 2015 and a spot in the Eastern Conference Finals in 2016.

Warsofsky entered coaching after a one-year professional career and four years of college hockey that included 71 games split between Sacred Heart University and Curry College.