HERSHEY, PA — The Hershey Bears had a number of former players and NHL supporters in the house for their back-to-back games over the weekend at Giant Center.
On Saturday night, the team was graced by Hendrix Lapierre (Washington Capitals) and Vincent Iorio (New York Rangers) — former roommates in Hershey who won back-to-back Calder Cup championships with the club in 2023 and 2024. They were joined by fellow Calder Cup champions in Chase Priskie (KHL’s Sibir Novosibirsk), Jake Massie (KHL’s Barys Astana), and Garrett Roe (retired). Capitals assistant coach Patrick Wellar, who had been behind Hershey’s bench as an assistant for the previous seven seasons, was also with the group of players.
On Sunday, Capitals first line center, Dylan Strome, was in attendance, along with his wife Tayler and their children, to support Matt Strome. Capitals defenseman Dylan McIlrath, who previously captained the Bears to their back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024, was also in the house with his family. Lapierre and Iorio also returned for their second game of the weekend.
The visits were meaningful for the current Bears, who needed points in the final two games of the regular season to improve their playoff seeding. Their overtime victory on Sunday gave them the fifth seed in the Atlantic Division, earning them a three-game series against the Bridgeport Islanders and guaranteeing them one home playoff game, which they would not have received if they lost.
“It’s awesome,” Matt Strome said. “I think it just shows how close-knit our teams the last couple of years were. For them to come down here and see us and just talk with us, it was awesome. It was great to see.”
“It shows how special of a place Hershey is,” Andrew Cristall said. “All those guys wanting to come back here and support their old teammates and us new guys is pretty awesome. So it’s cool to see them and glad we got them a win.”
“It just shows you the respect Hershey has,” Bears head coach Derek King added. “It was great to see some of those guys. Hopefully down the road here, when hopefully we get another Cup back here, those guys that were on that Cup team, the next ones are coming back to visit. You hear all the positive things, the stories. It’s just good to see those guys around.”
The former players sat in Bryan Helmer’s suite (Helmer, a former Bears player and AHL Hall of Famer, is the Bears’ vice president of hockey operations) and could be seen chatting throughout the night. During Sunday’s game, the Stromes took their children down to glass level during warmups so they could say hi to their uncle.
The Stromes had the opportunity to play together with the Capitals earlier in the season when Washington played an exhibition game against the Philadelphia Flyers at Giant Center in September.
“It’s special,” Matt said then. “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.”
Dylan had previously come to one of his younger brother’s playoff games in 2024, which was the first time he’d seen his brother play live and in person in nine years.
“You know, when he got to Washington, he found a home for himself,” Matt Strome said. “When you’re playing with the greatest goal scorer ever, you just got to get him the puck. So so happy for him and all the success he’s had. Hopefully, they keep going into next year.”
Not only did the former players deliver fist bumps and encouragement, but some even shared what their experiences have been like since taking their careers overseas, which has become more common among veteran AHL’ers as the league has gotten even younger.
“It’s different because a lot of those guys were in the KHL for this first year, so asking some questions to them about what it’s like over there, how they enjoyed it, how the food was, if there’s anything different, and they all said great things,” Matt Strome said. “So it was good to hear and good to catch up with those guys.”
