South Carolina Rookies Leading The Way

This story first appeared on the East Coast Hockey League website.  To view the orginal story click here.

Balanced is the best way to describe South Carolina as 17 different players have scored a goal in the first six games and four players rank in the Top 10 in scoring, including the top three rookie point producers.

The Stingrays are 4-1-1, including winning their last three games, and leads the South Division with nine points.

Rookies Paul McIlveen (2g-7a) and Pierre-Luc O'Brien (0g-9a) are tied for the league scoring lead with Jeff Campbell (1g-8a) of Gwinnett, who was the ECHL Most Valuable Player in 2005-06, while rookie defenseman Patrick McNeill is tied for fifth with seven points (3g-4a) and veteran Cail MacLean is tied for ninth with six points (2g-4a). McIlveen and O'Brien are tied for the rookie scoring lead while McNeill is third.

The 21-year-old McIlveen has scored in each of his first six professional games and is tied for the rookie lead and for second overall with five power-play assists while he is second among rookies and third overall with seven assists. The 25-year-old O'Brien leads the league in assists and is tied for the rookie lead and for second overall with five power-play assists.

The 20-year-old McNeill leads ECHL defensemen in scoring while tying for fifth overall and ranking third among rookies. Selected in the fourth round (118th overall) by the Washington Capitals in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, he leads league defensemen and rookies and is tied for the overall lead with three power-play goals.