The Hershey Bears have flourished over the first two seasons of Todd Nelson’s tenure as head coach, winning back-to-back Calder Cups for the third time in franchise history. After the team’s stellar performance in 2022-23, several Bears players earned permanent spots with the Capitals last season, including Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas.
Speaking at the Caps’ rookie camp in Annapolis, Nelson argued that the Bears could soon see more players get extended looks in Washington, highlighting several members of this spring’s championship team who could take steps towards earning more NHL time.
“Obviously you look at Hendrix Lapierre, he played a lot of games last year,” Nelson said. ”He’s getting better and better. And I would say I don’t expect to see him. Another guy is Miro [Ivan Miroshnichenko]. Young guy, he had a good first pro season. We’ll see how he is in training camp.
“There’s a lot of question marks going in. We’ll see how a guy like Ethen Frank does. We’re just talking to the coaching staff and there’s some openings to see who’s going to fit in, in these certain spots. Just the younger guys, we’ll see how Hardy Häman Aktell is. One of the things he had to work on was just his skating and agility. Hopefully that improved.”
After beginning the season in Hershey, Lapierre spent the majority of the 2023-24 season in Washington, becoming a regular part of the Capitals’ middle six and recording 22 points in 51 games (8g, 14a). Both Miroshnichenko and Häman Aktell also made their NHL debuts last season, with Miroshnichenko later making his playoff debut against the New York Rangers.
All four players Nelson mentioned put up strong performances in Hershey’s postseason run last spring. On the team’s top line, Lapierre led the Bears in points (22) to earn the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as playoff MVP and Frank led them in goals (10).
Nelson believes some of his players could challenge for a roster spot in DC, earning time in Washington but leaving the Bears’ lineup in flux.
“So there’s a lot of question marks, especially for me coaching in Hershey,” he said. “I’m not sure — we’re going to have a good team, I just don’t know who we’re going to have.”
He later noted, “It’s exciting because you’re seeing these young guys that are ready to take that next step and maybe get a few games with the Caps this year or make the team, who knows?”
Despite Nelson’s faith in his players’ abilities, Washington’s busy offseason has left little room for them to move up. After acquiring seven veterans this offseason, the Capitals really only have room for one more player on their 23-man roster — a role that will almost certainly go to Lapierre —- unless the team makes another trade or opts to waive an unexpected player.
Then-general manager Brian MacLellan offered a similar prediction soon after the team’s free agent frenzy in July, suggesting that Lapierre would likely be the only Bears player to earn a full-time spot this fall.
“I’m anticipating Lappy in the lineup, but he still has to have a good camp,” MacLellan said then. “We’ll see where Miro’s at, what’s best for him, how he plays in camp. I think some other guys will get games but not guaranteed spots.”
Though none are expected to make the team this fall, Nelson also named Pierrick Dubé, Henrik Rybinski, and Bogdan Trineyev as players who could make an impression at the Caps’ training camp. MacLellan previously named Trineyev as a potential replacement for Beck Malenstyn in June before free agent acquisitions pushed him down the org chart.
Nelson praised Trineyev’s development over his first full season with the Bears, which has seen him focus on a more defensive style of play.
“He’s played on — I hate to say first, second, third, fourth line — but our fourth line was the guys that got us the winning goal in Game 6, right?” Nelson said. “And they played a huge role because they all killed penalties, and Bogdan was a big part of that.
“We were joking, Patrick Weller runs the penalty kill, and he said to Bogdan one day, he goes, ‘I think you’re probably the only Russian penalty killer that I’ve seen.’ But he’s an intelligent player.”
