Sam Anas is one of the greatest Maryland born hockey players of all time and this week, he will celebrate the biggest accomplishment of his career in his home state.
Anas is bringing the Calder Cup to his childhood rink, the Rockville Ice Arena, on Saturday for part of his day with the Cup.
The Potomac, MD native was one of the Hershey Bears’ best players en route to their 12th Calder Cup in June. Anas finished fifth on the Bears in postseason scoring, tallying 12 points (4g, 8a) in 20 games as he formed a dangerous trio with Aliaksei Protas and Hendrix Lapierre on the third line.
“It has sunk in a bit but not fully I would say,” Anas said of finally becoming a champion. “I’ve had a whirlwind couple weeks since the championship. I got married on July 1st and then went to Aruba for our honeymoon three days after that. It’s been a milestone summer for sure. Going to be tough to top this stretch.”
Anas and the Calder Cup will be at the rink from 11:30 am through 12:30 pm (that’s a hard stop, he has plans shortly after that time) while the Rockville Ice Arena will celebrate by opening the ice up to the public from 10:45 am through 2:45 pm with various activities.
“Bringing the Calder Cup back to my childhood rink is very special, but to be bringing it back having won with the Caps organization is even more special to me,” Anas, a longtime Capitals fan, said to me. “I’ve spent many long hours in the Rockville rink sometimes I would even have Landon practice or a game in the afternoon and then stay at the rink and work out there and then have a travel team practice at night. Some of those days I would be at the Rockville rink from 3:30 pm through 10 pm. Those were definitely long days but I loved them.
“I really hope that kids now can see a path or a future in the hockey world,” Anas added. “When I was younger, there weren’t too many local guys who had made it to college or the pro ranks. The thing I am most proud of is that I stayed in the DC area all through high school. I started at Landon in third grade and it was a big part of my life. To this day still, some of my best friends are from there, so it meant a lot to graduate from there. Snives (Joe Snively) was a freshman at Landon when I was a senior and we won the state championship together, as Bears of course!”
Wikipedia credits Anas as one of 12 prominent Marylanders who have played professionally or in the Olympics, joining big names like Jeff Halpern (former Capitals captain, 2x Stanley Cup winner as assistant coach of Tampa Bay Lightning), Jarred Tinordi (153 career NHL games), Haley Skarupa (2018 Olympic gold medalist), and Noah Grove (2x Paralympic gold medalist).
Per the Rockville Ice Arena, Anas’s vast accomplishments include:
– 2nd player ever in the DMV to sign an NHL contract, 7 years ago
– After 7 professional years in the AHL, he just signed a contract with Minsk Dinamo, Belarus to play in the KHL.
– AHL stats include 305 pts in 398 games (.77 pts/gm.)
– Winner of the AHL Fred Hunt Award as the AHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of sportsmanship, determination and dedication to hockey, across 32 teams in US and Canada.
– Played 8 exhibition games with NHL teams (Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues), scoring 1 overtime goal for St. Louis vs Dallas Stars and several assists.
– Selected to the AHL All Star Team in 2020
– Won the AHL scoring championship (points) in 2020
– NCAA All American, first team, with Quinnipiac University and their leading scorer for all 3 years. Led his QU team to the NCAA Championship game in 2016
– NCAA Rookie of the Year 2013-14
– Washington Post All Met Player of the Year, 2011
– Led the Landon Bears to their first state championship and undefeated season (2010-11)
– Played for Team Maryland, Washington Little Capitals, Montgomery Blue Devils and Chevy Chase Club in youth hockey
Before finally lifting the Calder Cup with the Bears, Anas had felt heartbreak two different times. His Quinnipiac University lost in the 2016 NCAA title game to Shane Gersich’s University of North Dakota. Then as a member of the Springfield Thunderbirds, Anas lost in the 2022 Calder Cup Finals to the Chicago Wolves in five games.
“It really does mean a lot to win, any championship especially at a professional level is just such a battle to achieve, and I’m so happy we did it with the group we had,” Anas said. “Definitely even a little sweeter winning after losing in the final the year before and losing in the national championship in college, almost even a bit of relief to finally get it done.”
Anas hopes that bringing the Calder Cup to Rockville in a public event will help inspire the community and help Maryland kids realize that a career in professional hockey is possible with enough hard work and dedication.
“I’ve skated a few times already this summer with some younger local guys on the rise and it’s amazing to see how the talent in the area has grown so much,” Anas said. “I truly believe that is a direct impact from the success of the Caps in the last 10 to 15 years. It really is amazing to see and I know it won’t be long until there are many DMV products in the NHL.”
So if you’ve got time on Saturday, please stop by. Sam would love to see you.
Headline photo: Katie Fri/Hershey Bears
