The South Carolina Stingrays announced today that the club has signed forward Trevor Mingoia to an ECHL contract for the 2024-25 season.
Mingoia, 32, has spent the last six seasons overseas playing in the top Swedish (SHL), Finnish (Liiga), German (DEL), and Norwegian (EHL) leagues. Charleston has been his offseason home since 2020, but he currently lives in the Lowcountry full-time as he joins the Stingrays in a player/coach role.
"Trevor is a really smart and methodical player who can play in all situations," said Stingrays Head Coach Jared Nightingale. "He is highly skilled and a great teammate. We were looking to add a veteran forward, and I think you can't put a price on older guys who are good teammates who can help be sounding boards. With that, Trevor will be a player/coach for us this year. He wants to get into coaching and try it, and we're excited to take advantage of that. He's still got a lot of life left in his legs. I watched a couple of his games from last season, and he can make all kinds of plays with the puck. Trevor was an important signing, and we're very fortunate to have him."
Mingoia spent most of the 2023-24 season playing for Vasteras IK of HockeyAllsvenskan, the second-highest level league in the Swedish ice hockey system. In 28 games, he accumulated 23 points (seven goals, 16 assists).
Before his six seasons in Europe, Mingoia played two full seasons of North American professional hockey. He tallied five points (two goals, three assists) in 28 career AHL games and 54 points (31 goals, 23 assists) in 76 career ECHL games split between the Norfolk Admirals and Atlanta Gladiators.
Born and raised in Fairmont, New York, Mingoia now calls Charleston home and is excited to resume his playing career in North America with the Stingrays while also gaining coaching experience.
"Charleston has been my offseason home for the last four years," Mingoia said. "It had come time to come home from Europe, and I was trying to figure out what was next. I live here full-time now, and it just made sense to keep playing. This opportunity with the Stingrays is an ideal scenario for me."
"A big part of signing was the opportunity to have a player/coach role," Mingoia added. "I've always wanted to coach, and that's been my plan for a long time."
Before his professional playing career, Mingoia played four seasons of NCAA hockey. He played one season at Union College before skating for the Providence College Friars for three seasons. Mingoia helped the Friars capture their first and only national championship in 2015 when they defeated the top-ranked Boston University Terriers in a 4-3 thriller at TD Garden in Boston. Mingoia tallied 89 points (37 goals, 52 assists) in 120 career NCAA games.
He is the third former Friar on this year's Stingrays team, joining forwards Josh Wilkins and Jack Adams.