Stingrays coach to resign

Fitzsimmons to step down as head coach after five seasons behind the bench

Jason Fitzsimmons, a fixture with South Carolina Stingrays hockey for more than a decade, will step down as the team's head coach later this week, The Post and Courier has learned.

Fitzsimmons, the Stingrays' head coach for the past five seasons, will remain with the organization as the team's director of player development. The Stingrays are expected to make a formal announcement about Fitzsimmons' status during a news conference on Wednesday.

Fitzsimmons, who was in the final year of his contract, sent a letter to the franchise's ownership group over the weekend requesting a change of position to become the team's director of player development, which they approved on Monday.

Fitzsimmons hinted last week that he might not return as the team's head coach.

"I don't know what's going to happen next season," Fitzsimmons said after the regular-season finale against Texas. "I've been with the organization for 12 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach, and I wouldn't trade that experience for anything in the world. I'm going to sit down and talk about it with my family. Whether I'm back as the coach or in another capacity, I don't know."

Fitzsimmons and Stingrays president Darren Abbott could not be reached for comment Monday.

In five seasons as head coach, Fitzsimmons compiled a 188-116-46 overall mark. Only Rick Vaive, with 201 victories, has more wins than Fitzsimmons.

The Stingrays advanced to the Kelly Cup playoffs in each of Fitzsimmons' first four seasons as head coach. The Stingrays' ECHL record of 13 straight playoff appearances ended this past season when the Stingrays finished in sixth place in the South Division with a 36-27-9 record. South Carolina finished just one point behind fifth-place Augusta, a team the Stingrays were 5-3-3 against during the regular season.

The Stingrays will open a search for the team's fourth head coach immediately.

Current assistant coach Jared Bednar, Stingrays Hall of Fame member Ed Courtenay, current Gwinnett coach Jeff Pyle and former Columbia coach Scott White are considered the leading candidates for the vacancy.

Fitzsimmons, 35, first joined the Stingrays as a player during the 1994-95 season. He spent the 1995-96 season with the AHL's Cape Breton Oilers.

The following season, Fitzsimmons split time between the Stingrays and the AHL's Syracuse Crunch. Fitzsimmons made his biggest impact with the Stingrays during the 1997 postseason, leading the team to their first Kelly Cup championship and earning MVP honors during the playoffs.

Back problems plagued Fitzsimmons throughout his playing career and the former 11th-round draft pick of the Vancouver Canucks called it quits after the 1997-98 season.

He spent the next four seasons as an assistant coach with the Stingrays under Rick Adduono. The team won a second Kelly Cup title during the 2000-01 season.

Fitzsimmons took over as head coach following the 2002 season when Adduono's contract was not renewed.

Reach Andrew Miller at apmiller@postandcourier.com or 937-5599.