The reigning Calder Cup Champions, The Hershey Bears, are the winningest team in AHL history, and hockey in Hershey has a long history. Gordie Howe famously remarked that, “Everybody who is anybody in hockey has played in Hershey.”
They began in 1932 as the Hershey B’ars in the T-SHL (Tri-State Hockey League), before rebranding a year later as the Hershey Chocolate B’ars and joining the EAHL (East American Hockey League). They would remain in that league until 1939, known as the Chocolate B’ars, the B’ars, the Bears and the Cubs.
In 1939, they joined the IAHL (International-American Hockey League) as part of the expansion agreement when the IAHL became the AHL, and are the longest continuously operating member club of the league still playing in its original city. They have been affiliated with nine separate NHL teams: the Boston Bruins, the Detroit Red Wings, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Buffalo Sabres, the Washington Capitals, the Quebec Nordiques, the the Philadelphia Flyers, the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning. As of 2005, they have been the AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals.
In addition to on-ice success, the Hershey Bears are in the Guinness World Book of Records for the most bears thrown in a teddy bear toss, with 67, 309 stuffed bears being thrown. They beat their own record in 2022 and 2021.
The Hershey Bears have more Calder Cups than any other team in the AHL with 12, winning in 1947, 1958, 1959, 1969, 1974, 1980, 1988, 1997, 2006, 2009, 2010 and 2023. In 2023 they beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds in 7 games, with the winning goal scored in sudden death overtime.
In the 2022-23 season, the Hershey Bears finished with a record of 44-19-5-4, second in the Atlantic division. They would go on to beat the Charlotte Checkers, the Hartford Wolf Pack, and the Rochester Americans before facing the Firebirds in the Calder Cup Final.
Their current head coach is Todd Nelson, their GM is Bryan Helmer, and they play out of the Giant Center.
Notable Hershey Bears include Chris Bourque, Ron Hextall and Ralph Weiland.