The Hershey Bears hit the ice at Giant Center on Monday for the first time since celebrating their Calder Cup championship. A mixture of familiar faces and new ones highlighted the roster, and head coach Todd Nelson put the players through their paces with some speed drills and a lengthy scrimmage session. Nelson aims to prepare his players for preseason play, which opens on Wednesday with a morning tilt on the road against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Youth Influx
Hershey’s opening roster for camp features several players who will be making their American Hockey League debuts this season. Among them, Alexander Suzdalev stands out as a highly regarded prospect in the Washington system whose fate for 2023-24 was uncertain over the summer. Suzdalev, the 70th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft, racked up 86 points in 66 games in juniors last season, playing alongside top pick Connor Bedard. The Capitals had several options for his playing destination but elected to send him to play with the Bears this fall. Suzdalev scored a goal during Hershey’s scrimmage as a promising start to his professional career.
Ryan Hofer put on a Bears sweater for the first time on Monday, looking to crack Hershey’s lineup for opening night. Hofer had a solid outing in Washington’s camp, scoring a preseason goal in the Caps’ opener, but now looks to impress Nelson at the AHL level. Both rookies face an uphill battle with cuts remaining for the Capitals and a stacked Bears lineup.
Have We Seen This Before?
More than a few familiar names from the previous year were on the ice for the Bears. Mike Vecchione tallied the winning goal in the scrimmage to earn a 3-2 decision over three segments of five-on-five, four-on-four, and finally three-against-three. The fan-favorite forward celebrated with his now-signature roar, a sort of deja vu from his Calder Cup-winning goal in Game 7 of the final round against the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
“I’ve got nothing else left in the tank,” Vecchione said with a laugh about topping the roar. “I’m a one-trick pony here, if something else comes up, maybe, but I think it’s funny, it happened organically about a year ago during a scrimmage when I scored. It’s kind of crazy, a year ago the roar wasn’t a thing, now it’s absolutely crazy. I think it’s fun, it’s energetic, we’re the Bears so it makes sense. I love it when the fans do it, the boys do it when they score, it’s really fun for everyone and I think it’s going to stick for a while.”
A few familiar names sported new numbers. Defenseman Aaron Ness swapped numbers from 20 back to 27, the number he wore during his first tour of duty with the Chocolate and White from 2015 to 2019. The veteran defender is entering the first year of a new two-year extension he signed with the Bears at the outset of Hershey’s playoff run in the spring. Forward Julian Napravnik gave up number 15 to new forward Jimmy Huntington, instead taking up sweater number 36.
Speed Skating
“There’s some really tough decisions being made about who’s playing and who isn’t,” Nelson said. “From what I saw out there today, and there’s still a lot of people who will be sent down from Washington, there wasn’t a weak link out there. Everybody was working hard, everyone can skate, some talented players out there. It’s a good position to be in to make these tough decisions, it means we’re going to be a good hockey team.”
Nelson, a year removed from his introductory press conference, is aware of the challenge facing his team this fall and that it’s a different beast this time. Everyone looks to dethrone the champions, same players or not, but Nelson leaned on his playing experience to speak to the challenge of repeating.
“I went through this when I played in Portland and won (the Calder Cup). We had a similar situation where we had guys who left and brought new ones in; it’s very similar to this year. I think out of the gates, we went 14-0-3, we had a chip on our shoulders that we’re the champs, and we knew that everyone was going to knock us off. The reality was that we lost in seven games in the first round. It’s going to be a challenge all year; when we play teams we’re going to get their best game, and that’s fine. It’s going to make us better.”
“When you look at our depth, I think our team is even deeper than we were last year. For the guys we lost to free agency, we replaced with some really quality people. The guys we signed should provide a bit more offense than last year. I’m really excited for it, it’s the first day of camp and all the guys looked really good.”
Ending of an Era and the Turning of a Page
If there’s one consistent message between players and coaching staff, it’s the idea that the team has turned the page from the championship win a few months prior. Nelson, Vecchione, and Ness mentioned it in their media availabilities after the first day of camp, and the team is even more eager in some ways to make it happen again in 2024.
“I think that’s what made last year special,” Vecchione said. “It was a very selfless effort. Everybody really cared about each other, there wasn’t any individuality in the locker room. It was truly a brotherhood, those guys who are coming back understand that you can’t have an alternate persona swagger because you won. I think everyone’s humble, we had a really good season and we’re going to turn the page. The experience helps, no one’s changed who they are, they’re ready to get better and have another good season.”
“To be honest with you, the biggest thing for us is turning the page now,” Ness said. “It’s great we won last year, don’t get me wrong, we have a few key pieces back and that’s great. We’re back at day one now and every team is different around the league. We’re not thinking too far ahead, right now it’s focusing on training camp and going day-by-day.”
“I can speak for the other guys who were here last year, I’m hungrier now than I was last year. I want to win again. Once you get a taste of it, there’s nothing like it, right? I want it more this year than I wanted it last year. Can’t wait to get going, but we’re taking it day-by-day right now.”
Capital Decisions
The Bears will play their first preseason game on Wednesday, and the process begins at the AHL level to evaluate who starts the year where in each part of the Washington organization. Much as the Capitals have to send players to the Bears, the Chocolate and White will have to send some players to the South Carolina Stingrays for their season. With the home opener less than two weeks away, those decisions will come rapidly, and it’ll be a photo finish.
Hershey is set to defend their title when the puck drops on October 14 against the Belleville Senators. In addition to a new banner hanging from the rafters, Giant Center is becoming even more of a bear den than ever before. An enormous Bears logo appears through the front of the building to let all who pass by know who calls it home, and the interior has added even more homages to the AHL’s longest-tenured member than ever before. The entire town of Hershey is ready to roar for more when the puck drops on the 2023-24 season.
