The Hershey Bears re-signed two depth defensemen from their 2024 Calder Cup championship team.
Russian rearguard Dmitry Osipov and black ace Jon McDonald signed one-year AHL extensions with the club on Tuesday, the second day of free agency.
The 27-year-old Osipov played 17 regular-season games with the Bears, registering one assist and 34 PIMS. He also skated in three Calder Cup Finals games as Hershey lost Aaron Ness, Lucas Johansen, and Vincent Iorio all to injury.
Osipov’s most important task — minus fighting Matt Rempe — was serving as a mentor and translator to Ivan Miroshnichenko and Bogdan Trineyev thoughout the season.
The 26-year-old McDonald played 64 games with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays, posting 17 points.
Here’s the Hershey Bears’ press release:
BEARS RE-SIGN DMITRY OSIPOV AND JON MCDONALD
Pair of defenders return to Hershey for 2024-25 season
(Hershey, PA – July 2, 2024) – The Hershey Bears announced today that the club has re-signed defenseman Dmitry Osipov to a one-year, American Hockey League contract for the 2024-25 season. Additionally, the team also announced the re-signing of defenseman Jon McDonald to a one-year, AHL-deal for the 2024-25 season.
Osipov, 27, appeared in 17 games with Hershey in 2023-24, registering one assist. He made his Hershey debut on Nov. 11 at Lehigh Valley, and during his tenure with Hershey, he collected 34 penalty minutes. He also skated in three playoff games, with the trio of contests coming in the Calder Cup Finals, as Hershey won its league-record 13th Calder Cup.
The native of Moscow, Russia has played in 188 career AHL games with Chicago, Rockford, San Diego, and Hershey, scoring 19 points (8g, 11a) and registering 286 penalty minutes.
McDonald, 26, was a Black Ace during Hershey’s 2024 Calder Cup run after completing his rookie season with the ECHL’s South Carolina Stingrays. He scored 17 points (4g, 13a) in 64 games with South Carolina. He also skated in 10 games with the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye in 2022-23 after finishing up his NCAA career at UMass-Lowell.
