Leach re-signs with Stingrays

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, announced they have agreed to terms with defenseman Joey Leach for the 2018-19 season.

Leach embarks on his sixth professional season and his fourth year with the Stingrays organization. The 26-year-old spent most of his 2017-18 campaign in South Carolina and scored a career-high 26 points (5g-21a) in 61 contests while racking up a +18 rating. Leach also saw action in five games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolfpack.

During the 2016-17 season, Leach split his time between South Carolina and Hershey, playing 35 games with the Stingrays and 18 with the Bears before helping South Carolina in 22 playoff games during the team’s run to the Kelly Cup Finals. He managed 20 points (4g-16a) in South Carolina and posted three assists for Hershey before adding a goal and five assists in the postseason.

The native of Wadena, Saskatchewan has played in 265 career ECHL games with South Carolina, Fort Wayne and Bakersfield, totaling 90 points (17g-73a). He has also contributed seven assists in 45 career AHL games for Hartford, Hershey, Lake Erie and Oklahoma City.

A third-round selection of the Calgary Flames in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Leach played four years of junior hockey in the Western Hockey League with the Kootenay Ice where he was an offensive threat from the blue line, scoring 77 points in his final two seasons. He made his professional debut on the back end in 2012 with the AHL’s Barons.