ECHL South Carolina Stingrays

Stingrays Extend Qualifying Offers to Seven

Published on July 2, 2007 under ECHL (ECHL)
South Carolina Stingrays News Release


North Charleston, SC - The South Carolina Stingrays announced today that they have extended qualifying offers to seven players for the 2007-08 season. The players receiving qualifying offers are forwards Chris Chaput, Cam McCaffrey, Travis Morin, Evan Schwabe, and Peter Szabo as well as defenseman Jamie Fraser and goaltender Davis Parley.

In his first full season in the ECHL, Chaput, 23, collected 56 points to finish 5th on the Stingrays. His 24 goals placed 3rd on the club, while his 11 power play markers tied for second.

McCaffrey, 23, rang up 160 penalty minutes last season, which was 2nd on the team. In 61 games during the 06-07 campaign, the Calgary, Alberta native registered 20 points (11g, 9a), including three short-handed goals. His year also included an eight-game stint with the AHL's Bridgeport Sound Tigers, where he collected six points (2g, 4a) and five penalty minutes.

Morin joined the Stingrays following the conclusion of his senior season at Minnesota State University-Mankato. The Capitals' 9th round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, and 263rd overall, made his professional debut March 18, pocketing the game-winning goal in a 3-2 win over the Pensacola Ice Pilots. In eight contests for South Carolina, the 6-2, 195-pound native of Brooklyn Park, MN tallied two goals and an assist.

In his second year with the Stingrays, the 24-year-old Schwabe led the team with 67 points (20g, 47a). In 128 career games with South Carolina, the University of Minnesota-Duluth alum has amassed 123 points (43g, 80a), good enough for 18th all-time on the club.

Szabo, 26, finished 2nd in team scoring with 62 points while playing in a team-high 69 games. The 5-9, 180-pound product of St. Cloud State tied for the team lead with 47 assists, and finished 2nd with a +8 rating.

Fraser, 21, completed his first professional year in 06-07 after playing just three games with the Stingrays during the 05-06 season. The 6-1, 200-pound defenseman from Sarnia, Ont collected 28 points in 27 contests with South Carolina, as well as 11 points in 45 games between the American Hockey's Bridgeport Sound Tigers and Syracuse Crunch.

Goaltender Parley is coming off his best season as a pro, posting a 31-19-4 record in 60 games with the Stingrays. His career-high 31 victories finished 3rd in the ECHL, while his three shutouts tied for 7th. He also made his AHL debut with the Hershey Bears this past season, stopping 21 shots in a 6-1 win over the Philadelphia Phantoms Jan. 24. In 95 career regular season contests for South Carolina, the 25-year-old has registered a 45-31-7 mark.

Each team was entitled to reserve the rights to a maximum of eight qualified players. Of the eight qualified players, no more than four could be veterans (260 regular season professional hockey games played as of the start of the 2007-08 season). Players on open qualifying offers cannot be traded.

The qualifying offer must remain open for acceptance until August 1 at which time the qualifying offer becomes null and void and the team may sign the qualified player to any salary or may elect to take no further action. Teams that extend a valid qualifying offer to a non-veteran player shall retain the rights to that qualified player for one playing season.

A team that extends a valid qualifying offer to a veteran player will retain the rights to that veteran until August 1. After August 1, if the veteran player is not signed to a contract by the team, the veteran shall be deemed a restricted free agent and shall be entitled to seek and secure offers of employment from other ECHL teams. Restricted free agents may not be traded. When a restricted free agent receives a contract offer from a team other than the team with the player's rights and the restricted free agent wishes to accept the contract offer, the restricted free agent and the offering member must, within 24 hours, notify the ECHL, the team with the player's rights and the Professional Hockey Players' Association. The member with the player's rights shall have seven days after the date it is notified to exercise its right to match the contract offer.

If a restricted free agent is not signed to either an offer sheet or a contract by an ECHL team by August 31, the player shall be deemed an unrestricted free agent.

Opening day for the 20th Anniversary Season will be Oct. 18 when the Johnstown Chiefs host the Wheeling Nailers at Cambria County War Memorial in a rematch of Game 7 from the first-ever ECHL Finals.

Celebrating its 20th Anniversary as the Premier "AA" Hockey League in 2007-08, the ECHL began in 1988-89 with five teams in three states and has grown to be a coast-to-coast league that will have 25 teams in 17 states and British Columbia in 2007-08. The 25 teams includes the Mississippi (Biloxi) Sea Wolves, who return after missing two seasons in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the expansion Elmira (NY) Jackals.

The ECHL will play 900 games beginning Oct. 18 and concluding Apr. 5. The conference and division alignments and the format for the 2008 Kelly Cup Playoffs will be determined and approved at a later date by the ECHL Board of Governors.

Come join the Stingrays for their 15th Anniversary Season! The 2007-08 season begins on Oct. 20 at 7:05 p.m. as the Rays take on in-state rival Columbia Inferno! Deposits are being taken now for the 2007-08 South Carolina Stingrays season tickets! For just $100 you can reserve your seat to every hard-hitting, action-packed game at the North Charleston Coliseum. For more information including benefits, pricing, and package options, please call the Stingrays front office at 744-2248 or view the information online at www.stingrayshockey.com. Stingrays Hockey - A Whole Lot Cooler!

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