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Behind the scenes of the Hershey Bears banner raising ceremony celebrating the 2023 Calder Cup championship team

By Ian Oland

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October 16, 2023 10:11 am

HERSHEY, PA — The 2023 Calder Cup-winning Hershey Bears team was honored in a pregame ceremony before the franchise’s Home Opener against the Belleville Senators on Saturday.

The voice of the Bears, Zack Fisch, was the master of ceremonies for the celebration, speaking at a lectern set up in the left circle.

“Tonight marks one of the most exciting days of the year,” Fisch said, starting the event. “The start of a new hockey season. Well tonight, it’s not just the start of a new season, it’s a lot more special than that. The goal in Hershey at the start of every season is always the Calder Cup. And the 2023 Hershey Bears brought the Calder Cup back where it belongs, right here in Chocolatetown, USA.”

He continued, “We only raise Calder Cup banners in Hershey and we will continue that tonight.”

FOX43 aired the stream of the entire ceremony.

Fisch then summoned two members from the Bears’ 2010 championship team, Alexandre Giroux and Karl Alzner, to bring the Calder Cup onto the ice as cheers erupted from the Giant Center crowd.

Then the real fun began.

Fisch introduced every new player that made the 2023-24 Hershey Bears’ Opening Night roster, having them skate out to the blue line to witness the event. Capitals prospects Ivan Miroshnichenko, Alexander Suzdalev, and Hardy Haman Aktell are a part of the new group of Bears trying to repeat as champions this season.

Next, members of the 2023 championship-winning coaching staff — including goaltending coach Juha Lehtola; assistant coaches Nick Bootland and Patrick Wellar; and head coach Todd Nelson — made their way out from the tunnel to the Bears’ bench. One by one they were greeted with a hug from vice president of hockey operations, Bryan Helmer, who also had a surprise for each member of the staff: their very own championship ring.

“They did a great job with [the ceremony],” Nelson said. “Like I said before the game, it was going to be a pretty emotional night. For a lot of people, it was the first time experiencing that. And I thought we did a great job and the guys really enjoyed it.”

Fisch then brought out each returning member from the 2023 championship-winning team, beginning with Jake Massie and ending with team captain Dylan McIlrath. Walking out from the Zamboni entrance, each player was accompanied by a dedicated fan, nicknamed cleverly on this night as a Hershey Ring BEARer.

The Ring BEARers presented each champion with their new bling. Many of the gleeful players exchanged hugs and posed for pictures with their presenters before skating out to the blue line.

“Being able to present a ring to Julian Napravnik truly was an incredible honor,” Gabriella Schatt said. “I’ve been a fan since I was seven. Seeing the excitement of the players who had yet to see their rings was such a cool experience. It was so cool to share the excitement and experience of the players’ accomplishment. They have given me memories for a lifetime during this past season and to get to share one with them meant the world.”

Many of the Bears players could be seen examining their rings proudly as they skated over to join the rest of their teammates in line.

The most notable Ring BEARer was 100-year-old Edward Zloger, who brought Hendrix Lapierre onto the ice.

“I have been a Hershey Bears fan for 82 years dating back to the 1941 season, getting to see all 12 Calder Cup wins,” Zloger, a resident of Hershey, PA, said. “My favorite memory from the 2023 Calder Cup run was the winning goal at 2 a.m. I still can’t believe I stayed up that late. I celebrated the championship with my five grandsons who are all avid Bears fans.”

Photo: Ian Oland/RMNB

Lapierre bent down and gave Zloger a hug in his wheelchair after receiving his ring.

Photo: Ian Oland/RMNB

Arguably, the biggest applause for a single player came for beloved forward Garrett Pilon, who signed a free agent contract with the Ottawa Senators over the summer.

“When tonight’s game starts he’ll be a foe, but first we must celebrate his memorable Game Five overtime-winning goal in the Finals and his great years in Hershey,” Fisch said. “Now with Belleville, but as a Bear one more time, Garrett Pilon.”

Pilon, rocking his Bears jersey and his Belleville Senators hockey pants, appeared to tear up due to the reaction from the crowd. An unheralded prospect during his time in DC, Pilon played three games with the Capitals, scoring his first NHL goal during the 2021-22 season. Pilon was an important glue guy for Hershey utilized in every situation. He spent nearly the entire 2022-23 season on a line with Connor McMichael, helping the prospect regain his confidence and grow his game.

Photos: Ian Oland/RMNB

“It was really special,” Pilon said to RMNB after the game. “Obviously, it was great that I was able to be a part of it. It wasn’t too long ago that we capped it off with that win. Nice to have that moment.”

Once the introductions were finished and all the rings given out, the championship-winning players gathered in a semi-circle and put their arms over each others’ shoulders to watch the franchise’s twelfth championship banner being hoisted to the rafters. Ahead of the event, the Bears redesigned all their previous 11 banners so they featured the team’s main logo during those years.

The Bears began by raising the banner only a quarter of the way so they could take a team photo with both it and the Calder Cup.

The banner was then raised the rest of the way.

With the ceremony over, Bears players skated off the ice and down the tunnel back to the locker room. Many of the players could still be seen examining their new bling in wonderment.

Photo: Ian Oland/RMNB

Puck drop for the Bears and Senators game would happen minutes later. During the first TV timeout, four other members of the 2023 championship team were honored. Way up in a suite high atop Giant Center, Lucas Johansen, Beck Malenstyn, Connor McMichael, and Aliaksei Protas were given their championship rings from Helmer. All four graduated to the NHL with the Washington Capitals.

Around the arena, nods to the championship team could be found everywhere. As fans entered Giant Center, arena workers handed out replica banners so Bears’ faithful could hang one up at their own house. One end of the concourse featured a mural of the team photo after the Bears beat the Coachella Valley Firebirds in overtime of Game Seven. Outside there was another featuring the team’s 12-time champions logo.

The team also made a pop-up merch stand on the concourse selling new championship gear.

While the banner-raising presentation was memorable, the actual game would end sourly. The Bears lost to the Senators 3-0 to start their season 0-1.

But the memories of the 2022-23 season couldn’t have been sweeter.

Headline photo: Hershey Bears/Instagram

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