There must have been something in the water in North Charleston back in the late 1990s.

Former South Carolina Stingrays defenseman Brad Dexter and goalie/coach Jason Fitzsimmons were named to the 2024 class of the ECHL Hall of Fame, the league announced on Nov. 7.

The 2024 ECHL Hall of Fame ceremony will take place at noon on Jan. 15 at the Savannah Convention Center.

Fitzsimmons and Dexter were roommates in North Charleston during the club’s 1997 run to the Kelly Cup championship.

Dexter ranks as one of the best offensive-minded defensemen in ECHL history. He totaled 361 points (67g-294a) in 464 career games over seven seasons from 1996-2004 with Raleigh, South Carolina, Pensacola and Victoria.

A two-time Kelly Cup champion with the Stingrays in 1997 and 2001, Dexter is sixth all-time among ECHL defensemen in points and assists and is eighth in goals.

Meanwhile, Fitzsimmons went 52-25-10 in 93 career ECHL appearances with Columbus (Chill) and South Carolina from 1992-98. During the 1997 Kelly Cup Playoffs, he went 17-7 to help lead the Stingrays to the first-ever Kelly Cup title and earn Playoff MVP honors.

“It’s such a tremendous honor to go into the ECHL Hall of Fame, but it means ever more to go in with Brad,” said Fitzsimmons, who was the Stingrays head coach for five seasons. “We lived together for a year that first season he got to South Carolina.

“The success we had on the ice is now showing with what happens off the ice. It’s a culture, people want to come here and play. It says a lot about the Stingray organization.”

Dexter led all ECHL defensemen with 59 assists in 1999-2000. Dexter is currently in his first season as a professional scout with the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres.

“Fitzy was the first guy I met when I got to South Carolina,” Dexter said. “To be able to go with him is just really cool and makes it that much better. It’s a huge honor to be recognized like that, but it was the people I met while I was in South Carolina that still makes that place so special to me.”

Following his retirement as a player, Fitzsimmons entered the coaching ranks, serving as South Carolina’s assistant coach from 1998-2002, adding a second Kelly Cup title to his resume in 2001.

Fitzsimmons spent five seasons as the club’s head coach compiling a 188-126-46 record. He joined the NHL’s Washington Capitals front office in 2007 where he currently serves as the team’s director of minor league operations.

Fitzsimmons and Dexter are among six ex-Stingrays players to be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame. Dave Seitz (2012), Jason Saal (2018), Jared Bednar (2020) and Brett Marietti (2022) are in the hall of fame.

“We’ve been very fortunate to have good people and good players over the years,” said Stingrays president Rob Concannon. “I’m so happy for Brad and Jason. We have six guys in the last 10 years that have gone into the hall of fame and that speaks volumes about this organization and the guys that have played here over the years.”