The Hershey Bears announced their initial 28-man Training Camp roster on Sunday hours after the Capitals made its second large cut of Training Camp.
The 2022-23 Bears’ team, as its currently constructed, will be headlined by local product Sam Anas and Capitals’ first-round pick Hendrix Lapierre.
Several strong veteran players are on the way.
Per a press release from the Bears:
Forwards (19): Sam Anas, Jonny Evans, Alexandre Fortin, Ethen Frank, Shane Gersich, Bear Hughes, Kale Kessy, Hendrix Lapierre, Peter Laviolette, Jarid Lukosevicius, Mason Morelli, Julian Napravnik, Henrik Rybinski, Ryan Scarfo, Shane Sellar, Mike Sgarbossa, Matthew Strome, Riley Sutter, Mike Vecchione
Defensemen: (7): Logan Day, Martin Has, Vincent Iorio, Michael Kim, Benton Maass, Jake Massie, Aaron Ness
Goaltenders (2): Garin Bjorklund, Hunter Shepard
Defenseman Alexander Alexeyev has also been loaned to Hershey to continue his injury rehabilitation but cannot be officially added to the roster until he is healthy.
And in pretty graphic form:
The Bears will be buoyed by the veteran additions of forwards Beck Malenstyn and Garrett Pilon; defensemen Gabriel Carlsson, Dylan McIlrath, and Bobby Nardella; and starting goaltender Zach Fucale if they pass through NHL waivers on Monday. All six players can take the ice on Tuesday if they go unclaimed.
Several other possible Bears are still in Washington this week battling for an Opening Night spot. Those players include Henrik Borgstrom, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Brett Leason, Connor McMichael, Aliaksei Protas, and Joe Snively.
One new name to focus on is Shane Sellar — a central Pennsylvania native who is trying to begin his professional career with his hometown team.
Per the Bears:
Local product Shane Sellar headlines the invitees to camp. The Carlisle native played for the Hershey Jr. Bears and York Devils youth organizations growing up, then played two seasons for the prestigious Hershey Jr. Bears Quebec team, leading the team to back-to-back tournament championships in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Peter Laviolette, aka “Lavy Jr”, will also take the ice with the Bears for their Training Camp after signing an ECHL contract with the Wheeling Nailers last week. Wheeling is the ECHL affiliate of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Bears Training Camp opens on Monday, Oct. 3 at Giant Center at 10:30 am. The Bears will be led by new head coach and former Capital Todd Nelson who was hired over the summer.
Bears’ Training Camp practices are free and open to the public — just like with the Capitals. The Bears ask that those attending practices enter through the main doors of Giant Center. Traffic up that way may be heavy due to the Antique Automobile Club of America 2022 Eastern Fall Nationals taking place from Oct. 4-7.
The Bears play three preseason games before dropping the puck for its regular season on October 15. The team has one home preseason game on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 5 pm against the rival Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Headline photo: Elizabeth Kong/RMNB
