Ethen Frank lost his everyday spot in the lineup with the Washington Capitals after the team acquired forward Anthony Beauvillier at the NHL trade deadline, Friday.
While Frank’s playing time appears, at least for now, to have dried up in DC, he will remain with the team for the rest of the season and their playoff run due to a nuanced AHL roster rule. Frank would have needed to be on Hershey’s roster by Friday at 3 pm to be eligible to be sent down from the NHL.
Per NHL rules, a player must be on an @TheAHL roster at 3 ET Friday in order to be eligible to be sent down from the NHL at any time for the rest of the season. #NHLTradeDeadline
— AHL Communications (@AHLPR) March 6, 2025
Similar to last year with Mike Sgarbossa, the only way Frank could have ended up on the Bears’ roster was to be put on waivers Thursday (or earlier) and not be claimed by another NHL team in the proceeding 24 hours.
Frank would require NHL waivers for a second time this season due to playing his 10th game for the Capitals in late January.
“We are well aware of the 10 games,” head coach Spencer Carbery said then. “He’s obviously well aware that now he’s no longer waiver exempt. He’s put us in a tough spot. We continue to play him. And now we don’t want to lose a player like that.”
Since his January 10 recall, Frank has notched seven points (4g, 3a) in 22 games, including goals in consecutive outings during his second and third NHL games, but has cooled off considerably since then. Now Frank will be a healthy scratch in the NHL for the first time against the Seattle Kraken on Sunday afternoon.
“Right now he’s kind of going through a little bit of a funk in his game,” Carbery said Saturday. “He was so good and so impressive when he got here – and now he’s hit a bit of a downturn. And that’s going to happen. It’s totally understandable for a young player coming into this league.”
Frank is still Hershey’s leading goal scorer with 20 markers, despite departing the AHL almost two months ago. Ivan Miroshnichenko has picked up most of the slack, scoring nine of his 16 goals this season after Frank’s NHL recall. After Miroshnichenko, Alex Limoges and Mike Vecchione have 14 goals and Pierrick Dubé has 13.
Alongside Frank, Dylan McIlrath and Alex Alexeyev also remained on the Capitals roster Friday afternoon. Dylan McIlrath served as the Bears’ captain through both championship runs, while Alexeyev spent time with the Bears earlier this month on a conditioning loan.
Jakub Vrana, who the Capitals did put on waivers in an attempt to send him to the Bears, was claimed by the Nashville Predators where he’ll remain for the rest of the year.
Though the Bears will have to go without several of their former players in their run for a third-straight Calder Cup, the deadline wasn’t a total loss for Hershey. The Capitals did not move Ethan Bear, despite rumors that they might, meaning the Bears will keep their leading scorer (38 points) for the rest of the season unless there is injury trouble in DC.
The Bears have also proven they can win in the playoffs without much production from Frank. Hershey won the 2023 Calder Cup with Frank only posting six points (2g, 4a) in 16 playoff games. Head coach Todd Nelson even scratched Frank for Game 1 of the 2023 Calder Cup Finals.
