During the weekend of January 17th, the South Carolina Stingrays made a pair of signings, while also completing a deal with the Allen Americans. It’s time to get you caught up.
South Carolina Stingrays Acquire Cole Fraser In Trade With Americans
On Monday January 18th, the Stingrays hockey club announced the acquisition of defensemen Cole Fraser from the Allen Americans. Future considerations would be sent the other way.
So far this season with Allen, Fraser has appeared in 10 games, recording 19 penalty minutes and a Plus/Minus of -1. Last season being his rookie year, Fraser recorded feight points, having scored four goals along with four assists. He did so in 36 games.
Prior to making the jump pro, Fraser played junior hockey with the Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League. During his four seasons with the Petes, Fraser played recorded 54 points, scoring 14 goals along with 40 assists. He did so in 221 games.
Standing tall at six-foot-two, the defensemen was a fifth-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings back in 2017.
Stingrays sign Knott and Hillman
On Tuesday January 19th, the Stingrays hockey club added two players in forward Graham Knott and defensemen Blake Hillman. Both are on contracts for the rest of the season.
Knott joins the organization for for his fourth full season of professional hockey. Previously, Knott had spent time in both AHL and the ECHL. Most recently, in 2019-20, Knott played 11 games with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins. He then played 18 games with the Nailers, amassing 14 points on six goals and eight assists.
Selected by the Chicago Blackhawks 54th overall back in 2015, Knott would go on to join Rockford, where he spent two seasons, playing 127 games. While with the IceHogs, Knott recorded 22 points, having scored eight goals along with 14 assists. He started last season with the Indy Fuel, racking up nine points on five goals and four assists. He did so in 13 games.
Prior to making the jump pro, Knott played junior hockey with the Niagara IceDogs in the Ontario Hockey League. This was before being traded to the Windsor Spitfires for his final season. It was then, in 2016-17, where he helped guide the team to the Memorial Cup. During his four-year tenure between the two, Knott amassed 173 points, scoring 66 goals along with 107 assists. He did so in 292 games.
Hillman, on the other hand, begins his third season of professional hockey. He does so coming off of a season where he played in the ECHL and the AHL. He competed with the Stockton Heat, Grand Rapids Griffins and Toledo Walleye.
With the Griffins, he’d suit up in five games, while playing in seven with the Stockton Heat. He finished the season with Toledo, where he played with the Walleye in 35 games. Through that period with Toledo, Hillman amassed 13 points, having scored one goal along with 12 assists.
He was selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the draft’s sixth round, 173rd overall. This was back in 2016. Millan would make his professional debut in 2017-18, where he skated in four games. It was the following season where he scored his first goal with the St. Louis Blues in April, 2018.
Hillman spent 2018-19 with the Rockford IceHogs in the AHL. While with them, he played 54 games, racking up four points on one goal and three assists.
Prior to making the jump pro, Hillman spent three seasons playing with the Denver Pioneers in the NCAA. Skating in 123 games, the defensemen recorded 31 points, having scored seven goals along with 24 assists. While in college, Hillman led the Pioneers to the National Championship in 2017. He did so with defensemen Tariq Hammond.
Both Blake Hillman and Graham Knott will be reunited when they debut with the Stingrays. Both drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks, they played together in 2018-19 with the Rockford IceHogs in the American Hockey League.
After their weekend series with Wheeling was postponed, the Stingrays return to action on Friday night against the Florida Everblades. Puck drop at Hertz Arena is scheduled to fall at 7:30pmET. The two teams will square off once more, with puck drop on Saturday at 7:00pmET.