Sandelin joins Stingrays

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's Washington Capitals and the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears, announced they have signed forward Ryan Sandelin for the 2026-27 season.

Sandelin, 27, signs with South Carolina following two seasons with the AHL's Iowa Wild. Last season he had nine points (4g-5a) in 58 games after logging 15 points (7g-8a) the year prior. He also made three ECHL appearances with the Iowa Heartlanders during the 2024-25 season, notching three assists.

The Hermantown, Minnesota native started his professional career at the the end of the 2022-23 season, signing with the Colorado Eagles of the AHL, scoring once in four games. He spent the next season with the Eagles skating in 37 games, totaling nine points (6g-3a), in addition to seven appearances with the Utah Grizzlies where he had six points (3g-a). In his AHL career, Sandelin has 34 points (18g-16a) in 149 games while he’s produced nine points (3g-6a) in 10 career ECHL games.

Sandelin joined Colorado after a four-year career with Minnesota State-Mankato, where the Mavericks won the CCHA in both his junior and senior season. In 128 games at Minnesota State, Sandelin had 76 points (43g-33a) including a career high 34 points (21g-13a) in 2021-22, where he paced the Mavericks in goals.

His father, Scott, was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft and then played four seasons at the University of North Dakota before playing in the NHL, AHL and International Hockey League. Scott skated in 25 games in the NHL for the Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and Minnesota North Stars. He moved into coaching following his retirement in 1992 and now has been the head coach of the University of Minnesota-Duluth since 2000.