Andrew Miller is a sports reporter, covering The Citadel, College of Charleston, S.C. Stingrays, Charleston Battery, etc. Before joining The Post and Courier in 1989, he graduated from South Carolina with a degree in journalism.
The South Carolina Stingrays have a long history of developing and promoting goalies from the ECHL to the NHL.
Over the past 15 years, no less than eight goalies that once suited for the Stingrays have gone on to play on the biggest stages in professional hockey, including Braden Holtby (Washington), Logan Thompson (Washington), Vitek Vanecek (San Jose), Pheonix Copley (L.A. Kings), Philipp Grubauer (Seattle), James Reimer (Anaheim), Hunter Shepard (Washington) and Michal Neuvirth (Philadelphia).
Could an undrafted, rookie free agent be the next Stingrays goalie to climb the ladder and eventually land with an NHL team?
If Seth Eisele's first six weeks as a professional are any indication, get ready to add him to the list.
"My agent told me that the Stingrays have this laundry list of guys, not just goalies, that the organization has moved up and moved on," Eisele said. "They've had so many goalies here that have gone on to play in the American League and the NHL, so there's this kind of aura about them. You can develop here, and they will give you a chance to move up to the next level."
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In five starts with the Stingrays, Eisele, 26, is 4-0-1 with a goals against average of 1.40 and a save percentage of .947. Eisele began his pro career with back-to-back shutouts and had a 150-minute goalless streak through the first seven periods he was on the ice.
"Seth has been unbelievable for us," said South Carolina Stingrays coach Jared Nightingale. "He knew he was going to have to be patient and kind of wait his turn before he got on the ice, but when he got his opportunity he's taken advantage of it."
Not too shabby for a guy that was a back-up last year in college with the University of Nebraska-Omaha. Eisele was a three-year starter at Lake Superior State before transferring to Nebraska-Omaha.
Playing for the Mavericks and goalie coach Peter Aubry was what got Eisele on Nigthingale's radar. Nightingale and Aubry had coached together in the American Hockey League.
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"Peter was a big believer in Seth and thinks he has a very high ceiling," Nightingale said. "From everything I heard he had great character and was a great teammate. Like anything else there are politics involved in who gets on the ice sometimes. Seth is probably one of those guys that should have gotten more games."
Normally, most ECHL teams carry just a pair of goalies on their rosters for salary cap reasons. Eisele has been so good that the Stingrays have three goalies. Eisele shares the net with Garin Bjorklund and Mitchell Gibson - both Washington Capitals draft picks.
"It's not easy finding ice time and teams when you are a rookie free agent," Eisele said. "Most of the slots even in this league are filled with contract guys."
The trio has split their time in net with Nightingale rotating them each game.
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"It's a good problem to have," Nightingale said. "Most teams would love to have one number one goalie and we've got three guys that can all go in there and give us a chance to win. All three of them have handle the situation really well."
Having former NHL standout Olaf Kölzig, the Capitals' all-time leader in wins for a goalie, as a roving goalie coach hasn't hurt Eisele's development either.
"He's such a great resource to have here," Eisele said. "Not many ECHL teams are going to have someone like (Kölzig) around helping guys develop and get better."
At 6-5 and 200 pounds, Eisele is one of the tallest goalies in the ECHL. He uses that size to take up as much space in the net as possible.
"For a bigger goalie, he's not out there flopping around," Nightingale said. "He makes it look easy. He has very control for a big body goalie and he's athletic enough to make those scrambling saves, too."
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