The 2023 Calder Cup champion Hershey Bears aren’t done tweaking their roster for next season quite yet.
The Hockey News’ Jacob Stoller is reporting that the Bears have re-signed defenseman Logan Day while forward Matthew Strome is returning to the team per Inside AHL Hockey’s Tony Androckitis.
Both inked one-year AHL contracts.
Day was a major component on the team’s championship blueline last season, finishing the postseason just one point behind Joe Snively for the team lead. He also skated in 36 regular season games for the Bears, notching 12 assists.
Day arrived in Hershey last year after spending the previous two campaigns with a geographical rival of the Bears, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. His acquisition proved to be important as he would end up assisting on one of the biggest goals in Giant Center history months later.
After both the Bears and the Coachella Valley Firebirds could not score a goal in regulation of Game Five of the Cup Finals, Day made a tremendous keep-in at the blueline that led directly to Garrett Pilon’s overtime goal. The win moved the Bears just one victory away from the championship they eventually took home in Game Seven.
Ice. Cold. Peels. 🥶 pic.twitter.com/CUAsgAcmJE
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 18, 2023
“Logan Day, this guy has ice in his veins. He sits back in a rocking chair and makes plays that a lot of guys are afraid to make,” Bears’ head coach Todd Nelson said postgame. “Made a heck of a play on the goal just keeping the puck in and keeping it alive. That’s the type of player he is.”
The clutch rearguard also made headlines after he seemingly kept his Calder Cup-winning jersey on for days after the Bears won their championship. The same jersey that was drenched in a full game’s sweat and celebratory alcohol showers.
Hours since Logan Day last took off his jersey: 39. pic.twitter.com/CyNlCFpFNQ
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) June 23, 2023
Strome, the younger brother of Capitals center Dylan Strome, was originally selected by the Philadelphia Flyers in the fourth round of the 2017 draft. The 24-year-old forward made his debut for the Bears on October 21 against the Charlotte Checkers. His best outing of the season came against that same Checkers team in early April when he tallied two assists in a 5-2 win that also featured Hendrix Lapierre’s first professional hat trick.
Strome didn’t feature once in Hershey’s run to the Cup, but he did get into 34 regular season games, notching five points (1g, 4a).
Hershey has been quite busy this summer as they’ll look to defend their title next season. Day and Strome are two returnees to a roster that has already inked deals with Dylan McIlrath, Hunter Shepard, Julian Napravnik, Michael Kim, Pierrick Dube, Riley Sutter, Matthew Phillips, and Alex Limoges.
July 17, update: The Logan Day contract is now official.
HAVE YOURSELF A DAY!
We've re-signed defenseman Logan Day to a one-year, American Hockey League contract for the 2023-24 season.
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) July 17, 2023
Here’s the full press release from the Bears:
LOGAN DAY RETURNS TO BEARS FOR 2023-24 SEASON
Playoff hero returns for second season with Bears after notching 14 points in Hershey’s run to the Calder Cup
(Hershey, PA – July 17, 2023) – The 2023 Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bears announced today that the club has re-signed defenseman Logan Day to an American Hockey League contract for the 2023-24 season.
Day, 28, returns to the Chocolate and White after enjoying a standout 2023 Calder Cup Playoffs, finishing second on the team and second among all AHL defenders in scoring with 14 points (3g, 11a) in 19 games. After not scoring a goal in the regular season, Day struck for his first goal as a Bear on May 11 in a victory over the Hartford Wolf Pack in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Finals. Day would also add an assist in that contest, compiling his first of four multi-point games in the playoffs as he helped lead Hershey to its 12th Calder Cup title. He collected five assists in the Calder Cup Finals, including adding a helper on Garrett Pilon’s overtime goal in the Game 5 victory at GIANT Center.
The native of Seminole, Florida played 36 regular season games with the Bears in the 2022-23 campaign, registering 12 assists. The Bears owned a 24-7-2-3 record when Day was in the lineup, and the rearguard collected two multi-assist games during his first year with the Bears.
Day has played in 253 career AHL games with Bakersfield, Lehigh Valley, and Hershey, scoring 97 points (22g, 75a). His best season came in 2018-19 with Bakersfield when he notched 34 points (7g, 27a) in 64 games.
Headline photo: Ian Oland/RMNB
