Stingrays sign Saracino

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 agreed to terms with forward Nick Saracino for the 2020-21 season.Saracino, 28, joins South Carolina after serving as the captain of the Wheeling Nailers last season where he scored 23 points (8g-15a) in 31 games. The Stingrays acquired Saracino’s rights from the Nailers as future considerations in a trade that originally sent defender Steve Johnson to Wheeling on Oct. 11, 2019.The St. Louis, Missouri native has also suited up in 78 AHL games during his career with the Iowa Wild and Binghamton Devils as well as 119 ECHL contests with Wheeling and the Worcester Railers.Saracino scored 37 points in 27 games in his first season with Wheeling during 2018-19 and earned a lengthy call-up to Binghamton where he appeared in 38 games and scored 10 points (6g-4a). He was honored as the ECHL Plus Performer of the Month in December of 2018 and was also named ECHL Player of the Week twice.Saracino started his pro career in Iowa with the Wild at the end of the 2015-16 campaign and spent his first full season there during 2016-17, appearing in 33 games. Before turning pro, Saracino played collegiately at Providence College for four years from 2012-16. During his junior season in the spring of 2015, he helped the Friars capture an NCAA National Championship while leading the team in scoring with 38 points in 40 games.Overall, Saracino played in 145 NCAA contests and scored 116 points (46g-70a). He also spent two seasons in the United States HockeyLeague with the Cedar Rapids RoughRiders, suiting up for a combined 99 games during 2010-12.