The South Carolina Stingrays announced on Wednesday that the club has officially named Chuck Liebenrood as the team's Head Equipment Manager for the 2024-25 season.
Liebenrood, 32, 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 has been serving in that role for the past seven seasons.
This summer, Stingrays President Rob Concannon presented Liebenrood with the opportunity to become Head Equipment Manager again, and Liebenrood jumped at it.
"It's been a long-awaited journey for me to come back," said Liebenrood. "It's a real privilege and honor to have this role, and I'm excited for the upcoming season."
"In 2015, we went on a run all the way to the Kelly Cup Final, so for me, I have, in a way, unfinished business because I want to help the team get back to that stage and win it this time and that's something that's been in the back of my mind for a long time. I want to bring Kelly home."
Liebenrood will head to Washington to work the Capitals' 2024 rookie and main camps in September before returning to Charleston for Stingrays training camp in October.
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.