The South Carolina Stingrays, ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Washington Capitals and AHL's Hershey Bears, announced today that the club has signed forward Josh Wilkins to an ECHL contract for the 2024-25 season.
Wilkins, 27, rejoins the Stingrays for a third consecutive season. The Raleigh, NC native has averaged a point per game in each of his previous two seasons with South Carolina.
"I'm really excited to have Josh back with the Stingrays," said Stingrays Head Coach Jared Nightingale. "Obviously, Josh's talent is known, but I think his ceiling is still untapped. He is going to be a big piece for this team."
In 2022-23, Wilkins led the Stingrays in scoring with 62 points (21 goals, 41 assists) in 62 games. Last season, Wilkins registered 37 points (20 goals, 17 assists) in 37 games before departing in late January to play the remainder of the 2024-25 season in the top hockey league in Slovakia. Wilkins tallied seven points (five goals, two assists) in nine regular season games in the Slovak Extraliga. Wilkins helped HK Dukla Michalovce reach the Slovak Extraliga semi-finals and tallied six points (three goals, three assists) in 11 playoff games.
Wilkins is spending the summer in Charleston with his family and is looking forward to playing in the Lowcountry for another season.
"I'm super fired up to be back in South Carolina," Wilkins said. "My family is here, and I'm adding to my family in December, so I'm excited to stay here and continue to play for the Stingrays."
Wilkins has enjoyed a five year professional hockey career that includes 81 games at the AHL level split between the Milwaukee Admirals and Tucson Roadrunners. He has tallied 20 points (six goals, 14 assists) in 81 career AHL games and 100 points (41 goals, 59 assists) in 104 career ECHL games. Before joining the Stingrays, Wilkins spent the 2021-22 season playing for Västerviks IK and HC Vita Hästen in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system.
Wilkins joins Ryan Leibold as the second player to sign with the Stingrays for the 2024-25 season.
The Stingrays 2024-25 season begins on Saturday, October 19, with the Home Opener against the Savannah Ghost Pirates at 6:05 p.m. The full schedule can be viewed here.
