Nothing was guaranteed to Zac Funk heading into his first professional season with the Hershey Bears after the 21-year-old prospect led the CHL with 67 goals in 68 games.
“Every player has to show us as an organization that you are gonna earn a spot on this team,” Todd Nelson said. “We’re the Hershey Bears. You have to earn your spot here. It’s just the way it is. We have to let the chips fall as they may.”
Funk was scratched for Hershey’s first seven games of the year, but after some hard work behind the scenes, the winger has carved out a role for himself, dressing in five of Hershey’s last nine games.
Saturday, in Hershey’s 6-3 win over the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, Funk finally broke through and scored his first career AHL goal 11:02 into the second period. Funk’s milestone marker put the Bears up 3-1.
Skating with Henrik Rybinski and Mike Vecchione on the team’s second line, Funk scored after some hard work along the boards to exit the defensive zone. Vecchione then skated the puck up the ice and dished to Funk, who ripped a shot from the top of the circles past Phantoms goaltender Eetu Makiniemi.
Six minutes and 52 seconds earlier, Funk registered his first AHL point, assisting on Pierrick Dubé’s third goal of the season.
The two points also marked Funk’s first multi-point game of his AHL career.
After the game, Funk was presented both milestone pucks from Todd Nelson. Garrett Roe also gave him the Bear Head as player of the game.
“It feels unbelievable,” Funk said after the game per the Bears. “I couldn’t have done it without my linemates, [Vecchione] and [Rybinski]. So a lot of credit goes out to them. We played well tonight, we responded. So I’m happy to get the two standings points and the other two points as well. I’m glad I could contribute in different ways tonight.”
“Well, I think it’s the result of repetitions,” Nelson added. “He’s played a couple games in a row now, right? Anytime when you’re a young guy and you play multiple games in a row, you get that confidence, and he’s been on the cusp of getting those points. He had some really good looks last game, he fed the puck in the slot a couple times and we just didn’t finish then. You could see he was on the verge of breaking out offensively and hopefully this gives him a lot of confidence.”
Funk is in Hershey after signing a three-year, entry-level contract with the Washington Capitals on March 1. The Coldstream, BC native was an unrestricted free agent after not being selected in his draft-eligible years. After his junior career ended, Funk joined the Bears on a tryout agreement in the spring, serving as a black ace for part of the team’s playoff run.
The AHL rookie is playing his first pro season after six campaigns in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars. As a linemate of Capitals’ 2024 first-round pick Terik Parascak, Funk notched an astounding 123 points (67g, 56a) in 68 games during the 2023-24 season. He garnered several huge honors at year’s end, including being named to the WHL’s First All-Star Team and the CHL’s First All-Star Team. He was also a finalist for WHL Player of the Year.
🚨TURN UP THE FUNK!!!🚨 pic.twitter.com/HWoQ3GhxUS
— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) November 17, 2024
Congratulations, Zac!
