HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears went into Game 1 of the Atlantic Division semifinals without one of the linchpins from their 2023 Calder Cup championship lineup. Fourth-line center Riley Sutter, a defensive specialist who has some pop offensively, was too injured to play. So Bears head coach Todd Nelson turned to the next man up: Henrik Rybinski.
In his AHL playoff debut, the 22-year-old forward scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in Hershey’s 2-1 victory over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.
“It was unbelievable,” Rybinski said of his goal. “It felt really good.”
With two minutes and 43 seconds left in the second period, Rybinski was the beneficiary of a strong take to the net by Russian winger Bogdan Trineyev. Phantoms goaltender Cal Petersen made the initial save, but the puck popped into the slot where Rybinski beat two defenders to the biscuit and squeaked the rebound into the net.
“It was a great play by [Trineyev] just driving the net,” Rybinski said postgame. “Luckily the puck just bounced out to me. I took a whack at it and it went in.”
Rybinski centered veteran Matt Strome and Trineyev — a Capitals’ fourth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft — on the team’s checking line. The Canadian pivot put three shots on goal by himself and the line combined for eight of the team’s 28 shots in Game 1.
“[Sutter’s] been a mainstay all year, first over the boards with the penalty kill and so Rybs kind of draws in that spot,” Nelson said of his decision to give Rybinkski the opportunity. “He kills penalties as well. But I liked how that line was really responsible tonight. They played consistent to a tee. There’s always a lot of structure in that (fourth) line. And I thought he did a really good job tonight.”
The 2023-24 campaign marks Rybinski’s second full season with the Hershey Bears. The Capitals signed the Vancouver native to a three-year, entry-level contract on March 1, 2022 out of the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds. EPRinkside’s JD Burke called Rybinski the number one CHL free agent that year “by a decent margin.” Rybinski was a point-per-game player during his final season with the Thunderbirds, posting 65 points (21g, 44a) in 47 games during the 2021-22 campaign. Rybinski — along with teammates Matt Rempe, Lukas Svejkovsky and Jared Davidson — helped lead the team to the 2022 WHL finals, where they lost in six games to the Edmonton Oil Kings.
Originally drafted in the fifth round of the 2019 NHL Draft by the Florida Panthers, Rybinski landed in Washington after he and Florida could not come to terms on an entry-level deal — despite Rybinski participating in multiple camps. He also skated in Edmonton Oilers’ rookie camp in the fall of 2021.
During his rookie season with the Bears in 2022-23, Rybinski scored 18 points (5g, 13a) in 51 games and roomed with Capitals’ top draft picks, Hendrix Lapierre and Vincent Iorio, who all became close friends.
“I know he had a good playoffs in Seattle a couple of years ago, so before the game I was like, ‘Let’s see a playoff Ryb! Let’s see what you’re all about,'” Lapierre, the other Bears’ goal-scorer on the night, said after the win. “Ryb has a lot of talent, he’s a really good player, you see him putting in the work every day. I didn’t really see him much this year but I know he was on the ice doing the extra work, trying to get better, so it’s fun for me to see him getting rewarded. There was never a doubt. I think he’s a gamer, he wants to be out there, he wants to make a difference, and he scored a big goal tonight for us.”
While there was joking and video games during their down time, Rybinski described rooming with Lapierre and Iorio as an invaluable resource in his development as a professional.
“I just picked up on the small things they do,” Rybinski said. “Obviously they’re both tremendous players. Last year we’d always talk about the game after and talk about what we thought about it so just always learning from each other and talking it out.”
Rybinski did not play in a game during the Bears’ 2023 Calder Cup championship run, but looked on as several different sidelined players like Henrik Borgstrom and Shane Gersich scored huge goals in the team’s postseason as other starters got injured or struggled in the playoffs.
“It’s crazy that that was his first game because he’s with us all last year,” Bears’ captain Dylan McIlrath said. “So it must have been hard for him watching all those games, cheering us on in the stands, and I’m just really proud of him.
“He’s a guy who, again, stuck with it, in and out of the lineup the year before. Carved out a really good role for [himself] this year. Energy guy but can chip in offensively. And with Sutter going down, it’s a really important job for that fourth-line center, trying to win draws and just being a good line. And they obviously gave us the lead.”
