via the Stingrays
The South Carolina Stingrays have announced that head coach Steve Bergin has accepted a new role “outside of the ECHL.” Bergin served as an assistant coach from 2016-19 before being promoted to head coach before this past season.
Bergin helped guide the Stingrays to the best record in the league at the time of the season suspension and later cancellation on March 12. The Rays finished with a 44-14-4 record and a .742 points percentage, a track that was going to be a team record had they played the last 10 games. The team’s 25 road wins are tied for the second-most in a single season in ECHL history. Bergin won the ECHL’s John Brophy Award in April as the league’s Coach of the Year.
“Moving on from this organization and city is the hardest decision that I have ever had to make in my life,” Bergin said in a press release. “It is never easy to move on from a place that has given you so much. I loved my time here and will never forget the people that I was able to work and develop relationships with. I would like to thank our owner Todd Halloran for the opportunity and trust in me to coach this team. The staff, Ryan Blair, Rick Covard, Cameron Parker and Jared Shafran, for all the hard work and dedication they have put into the success of this organization.”
“The players, who without your sacrifice and dedication, none of our team’s success would have been possible. The relationships I have built with you guys will be something I will never forget. I would like to thank Jason Fitzsimmons for his support and guidance throughout my four years here. Not only in hockey, but more importantly, off the ice. He has been a great example of true character. Most importantly, I would like to thank Rob Concannon and Ryan Warsofsky for giving me the opportunity four years ago to be a part of this organization and for teaching me what it means to be a Stingray. I am excited to see what the future holds for me and will always look back on my time here with great memories.”
“I appreciate Steve’s hard work and dedication to our organization over the last 4 years and wish him nothing but the best as he embarks on a new challenge in his coaching career,” said Stingrays President Rob Concannon in a press release.
The Stingrays have already begun a search for their third coach in as many seasons, but just the tenth in the franchise’s 27 year history.
