HERSHEY, PA — Walking into the media room after the Washington Capitals’ dominant 5-1 preseason win over the Philadelphia Flyers, Spencer Carbery seemed to be on cloud nine after a Hershey homecoming he likely never thought he’d have.
“I remember spending so many hundreds and hundreds of hours in this building, right in that hallway,” Carbery said inside Giant Center, noticeably wearing a chocolate-colored tie. “You never forget the feelings that come with when you walk into those buildings because there’s so many great memories of moments that you just don’t forget. And that’s what players and coaches alike have been through. It’s just a special place for a lot of people currently in the Washington Capitals organization.”
Earlier in the evening, Carbery returned to the Giant Center bench as a head coach for the first time since May 16, 2021, when he led the Hershey Bears to the best record in the AHL during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season. The campaign, which saw the Bears led in goals and points by a then-20-year-old Connor McMichael, gave Carbery the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the league’s head coach of the year, catapulting him to an NHL job a month later as one of the brightest young coaching prospects in the league.
Serving as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Carbery reinvigorated the Leafs’ power play during his two seasons north of the border, helping Toronto’s man advantage to a 26.0 percent effectiveness during the 2022-23 season — good for second best in the league. The Capitals organization came calling again when it parted ways with Peter Laviolette in 2023, this time hiring the then 41-year-old Carbery as the head coach of their NHL team.
Since then, Carbery has led the Capitals to two consecutive playoff appearances and a regular-season Eastern Conference crown, earning NHL Coach of the Year honors in 2025. Not only have the Capitals had team success, captain Alex Ovechkin continued scoring at a torrid pace during his age 38 and 39 seasons under Carbery, breaking the NHL goals record on April 6 against the New York Islanders.
Despite his vast success already in the NHL, Carbery never forgot his minor-league roots, where he rose from an ECHL enforcer to become the only head coach in hockey history to win coach of the year honors in the ECHL, AHL, and NHL.
“It was amazing to come back here, Giant Center, to walk out to a full building,” Carbery said. “Even driving in on the bus today, I had some goosebumps at various moments and pulling up and walking into this building. There’s a lot of great memories here, and brought me back to a few. But being able to go out there and play the way that we did, I was really, really proud of our group. I know it’s an exhibition game, but this game means a little bit more for a lot of guys in our locker room and on our team. And to play the way that we did, I thought we were excellent tonight. So I was glad, really happy we were able to put that on display for the Bears fans.”
Washington never trailed in the matchup, playing in front of a sold-out crowd that was a mix of Capitals, Flyers, and Bears fans. All five goals the Capitals scored came from players who had previously suited up for the Bears in one way or another.
Sonny Milano, who had a brief five-game stint with Hershey in October 2022, hit the back of the net twice while Andrew Cristall (two-time Bears’ black ace), Ivan Miroshnichenko (2024 Calder Cup champion), and Connor McMichael (2023 Calder Cup champion) added goals themselves.
“Yeah, [tonight] was special,” McMichael said. “I mean, right when I found out that this game was happening, I wanted to play in it. It’s something I had marked on the calendar all summer.”
Hendrix Lapierre, a major part of the Bears’ back-to-back championship teams and the AHL’s Playoff MVP in 2024, had three assists in the game while Clay Stevenson, Hershey’s expected starter this year, made 15 saves.
“It was fun,” Lapierre said. “As soon as you come in the building, there’s that smell that you just know you’re in Hershey, you’re at the Giant Center, so I felt it right away. Obviously, it brings back a lot of good memories. Before the game, I was on the bench just kind of looking at the empty stands and reminding myself of good memories here.”
McMichael even showed homage to his old stomping grounds by doing the ROAR celebration after his goal — a celly invented by former Bears’ alternate captain, Mike Vecchione, who scored the Game 7 Calder Cup-winning goal in overtime of the 2023 finals.
“Today on the plane, I told the guys, ‘If I score, I’m going to bring out the roar one more time for old time’s sake,'” McMichael said.
While McMike plotted his celly, Carbery wrenched with who would suit up and get the start for the opening faceoff.
Carbery put nine different players in the lineup who had lifted the Calder Cup at least once with the Bears, including former Bears captain Dylan McIlrath (two-time Calder Cup champion with Hershey) and the team’s leading goal-scorer during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 campaigns, Ethen Frank (two-time champion).
Carbery also had the Strome and Protas brothers play together in the game — a rarity in hockey history to have two different sets of brothers suit up on the same team on the same night.
“I’m a sucker for those stories,” Carbery said earlier in the week.
Carbery’s gesture to the Protases and Stromes had a deep meaning from an organizational perspective as well. Aliaksei Protas helped the Bears win the Calder Cup in 2023 before graduating to the Capitals and becoming a 30-goal scorer in the NHL this past season. His little brother, Ilya, who is the same size at six-foot-five, is expected to join the Bears this season for his first professional season and wear Aliaksei’s former number in Hershey, 40. Both players have openly talked about how it would be a dream to play together on the Capitals someday. The Pros’ success could have a big impact on how much the Caps achieve as a team in the future.
Dylan Strome, the Capitals’ first line center, and Matt Strome, the scorer of the Bears’ Calder Cup-clinching goal in 2024, had not suited up together on the same team since 2003, when they were six and four, respectively. Matt is not in competition for an NHL roster spot and is signed to an AHL contract, so getting a jersey for the night was especially kind from Carbery.
“It’s special,” Matt said. “I know it’s just preseason, but to be wearing the same jersey as my brother, it’s something I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. To get that chance in such a good organization that’s been so huge for Dyl and I, it’s just surreal.”
Ultimately, the Stromes would get the start along with McIlrath and Vincent Iorio on defense.
“The hardest decision was who was going to go with them,” Carbery revealed. “Was it Lappy? Was it Frankie? Was it Big Pro? Yeah, I was glad we could do that. And Stromer’s dad was able to make it. You never know if that moment will ever come for the rest of their lives. So they’ll be, in 20 years, when they’re both retired, talking about tonight and sharing that moment at Giant Center in a sold-out building, an NHL exhibition game. Like that’s pretty cool for those guys to be able to share that. I was glad we could do that.”
Carbery decided to go with Frank, who made his Capitals and NHL debut earlier in the year and scored his first NHL goal against the Nashville Predators on January 11.
During Carbery’s three seasons in Hershey from 2018 through 2021, the Bears posted a record of 104-50-9-8 (.658 point percentage), including a 24-7-2-0 record (.758 point percentage) in his final year. Several of the players he helped develop there, such as McMichael, Protas, and Martin Fehervary, now hold important roles on the Capitals, which could grow even larger in the future.
Hershey has fielded both good and deep teams over the years, creating a culture that encourages players to make the most of themselves to get noticed by the Capitals. The situation puts young players under pressure, while the team’s success and Hershey’s passionate community breed big moments in front of big crowds. The partnership has helped churn out players who will form the Capitals’ core in the future and has helped avoid a major rebuild as Alex Ovechkin’s career winds down.
“It’s the best affiliation in the NHL and the AHL,” Carbery said.
