Hockey Operations

Jared Nightingale is entering his first season behind the bench for the Stingrays. He is the 12th Head Coach in franchise history. Nightingale played 13 seasons of professional hockey and has coached for six years, including most recently serving as an assistant coach for the American Hockey League's Rockford IceHogs for the past three seasons. Nightingale oversaw Rockford's defense and penalty kill and helped guide the IceHogs to a 111-84-14-7 record and three consecutive appearances in the Calder Cup Playoffs. During Nightingale's tenure as assistant coach with Rockford, five defensemen made their NHL debuts with the Chicago Blackhawks after spending time with the IceHogs. 

Nightingale began his coaching career as an assistant coach with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL in 2017-18. The following season, he became an assistant coach at the U.S. National Team Development Program, coaching the top American-born U17 players. 

From 2019-2020, Nightingale served as the Associate Coach of the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit and helped guide the team to a 41-16-5 record before COVID canceled the remainder of the OHL season. He started the 2021-22 season with the OHL's Flint Firebirds as an assistant coach before joining the Rockford IceHogs staff in November 2021.

Before beginning his coaching career, the 6-3 205 lb defenseman skated in 472 American Hockey League games and suited up for 202 ECHL games, totaling 102 points (23 goals, 79 assists) and 1,534 penalty minutes.

Throughout his playing career, the Jackson, Michigan native assumed a leadership role as the captain of the AHL's Rockford IceHogs during the 2013-14 season and again with the ECHL's Toledo Walleye from 2014-2017. Nightingale was a member of the 2014-15 Toledo Walleye team that faced off against the Stingrays in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Nightingale played four seasons of college hockey for Michigan State University, where he tallied 22 points (2 goals, 20 assists) in 156 NCAA games from 2002-2006.

Scott Davidson is entering his second season behind the Stingrays bench as an Assistant Coach. 

In 2023-24, Davidson oversaw the Stingrays forwards and penalty kill. Under Davidson's leadership, South Carolina's penalty kill finished sixth in the ECHL at 82%.

Davidson played 33 games as a forward for the Rays during the 2019-20 season.

Davidson started his coaching career at the Maine Nordiques Academy in 2021 before coaching at the Elite Hockey Academy in Guilford, Connecticut, this past year. Davidson has helped develop players at the 18U and 16U levels. 

Davidson played four seasons of Division I hockey at Quinnipiac University, where he was an assistant captain in his junior and senior years. As a freshman, Davidson helped the Bobcats capture their first ECAC championship. That same season, Quinnipiac reached the national championship game vs North Dakota. Following the conclusion of his collegiate career, Davidson joined the Charlotte Checkers and was a member of their 2019 Calder Cup championship team.

Mike Hamilton is entering his first season behind the bench with the Stingrays as an assistant coach.

Hamilton's playing career lasted six seasons and he skated in 40 games for the Stingrays between 2011 and 2013. He has lived in Charleston for the majority of his post-playing career and is now beginning his professional coaching career.

A native of Victoria, British Columbia, Hamilton was selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the sixth round of the 2003 NHL Draft. Following a four-year college hockey career at the University of Maine from 2003-2007, Hamilton skated in 305 career professional games split between two AHL teams, four ECHL teams, and professional teams in Italy and Scotland. In 2007-08, Hamilton won a Calder Cup Championship with the AHL's Chicago Wolves. Hamilton played for the Stingrays for the final two seasons of his professional playing career.

Chuck Liebenrood is entering the first season of his second stint as the Head Equipment Manager for the Stingrays.

Liebenrood grew up in Summerville, SC, and attended Stingrays games as a child. He was in attendance at the North Charleston Coliseum the night the Stingrays won their second Kelly Cup title in 2001. 

Liebenrood played for the Summerville High School hockey team and graduated in 2010. He began working for the Stingrays as an equipment assistant in the 2011-2012 season and was promoted to Head Equipment Manager ahead of the 2014-15 season at age 22.

That season, Liebenrood helped the Stingrays reach the 2015 Kelly Cup Finals, where they fell to the Allen Americans in seven games. The following season, Liebenrood left the team to focus on his family, but he rejoined the Stingrays as a part-time assistant in the 2016-17 season and had been serving in that role for the past seven seasons.

Hunter Bishop played collegiate hockey at Ohio State University before signing an entry-level NHL contract with the Montreal Canadiens in 2010. The former pro played for the Stingrays during the 2012-13 NHL lockout season, eventually calling Charleston his home after retiring in 2019. During his 10-year professional career, Bishop played with stints in the AHL, ECHL, and Europe. In addition to working with the Stingrays, Bishop owns Hunter Bishop Hockey and runs player development that ranges from youth programs to training current pros including NHL players David Krejci and Torey Krug.

Julia Phillips is entering her first season with the Stingrays. She joins the Rays with experience in both professional and major-junior hockey. She served as the Head Athletic Trainer for the ECHL's Wichita Thunder for the 2023-24 season, and for two seasons before that, she was the Head Athletic Trainer for the BCHL's Wenatchee Wild. 

Before her first full-time hockey job, Phillips studied at the University of Central Florida, where she received a Bachelor's Degree in Health Services/Allied Health/Health Sciences and a Master's Degree in athletic training. As a graduate student at UCF, Phillips interned for the ECHL's Orlando Solar Bears.