The Washington Capitals re-assigned forward Terik Parascak to the AHL’s Hershey Bears on Monday afternoon.
Parascak joins the Bears in the middle of their playoff run after completing his final season in the WHL with the Prince George Cougars. The 2024 first-round pick made it to the second round of the WHL playoffs with the Cougars, where they were eliminated in six games by the Penticton Vees.
Parascak led the Cougars in scoring during the regular season with 79 points (33g, 46a) in 61 games and added an additional 17 points (7g, 10a) in 10 playoff games. The 19-year-old winger was recently named WHL Player of the Week after recording six points (4g, 2a) in the first two games of Prince George’s series against Penticton.
The second-round loss ended Parascak’s junior career as the 2026-27 campaign will be his first full season of pro hockey. Parascak made his AHL debut with the Bears last season after being loaned to the team in April, and he stayed with the club through their playoff run as a black ace.
Hershey also announced that they have signed Swedish defenseman Aron Dahlqvist to an amateur tryout agreement. The 19-year-old rearguard was selected in the sixth round by the Capitals in the 2025 NHL Draft and split the 2025-26 campaign between the SHL’s Brynäs and their junior team.
In 14 SHL games, Dahlqvist did not record a point and took two minor penalties. He also made his SHL playoff debut for the club, joining up with Capitals legend Nicklas Backstrom and a slew of other former NHL talent.
The Bears are set to open their second-round playoff series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Thursday night.
Here’s the full press release from the Bears:
TERIK PARASCAK AND ARON DAHLQVIST JOIN HERSHEY BEARS
Pair of Washington Capitals draft picks join Hershey’s playoff roster
(Hershey, PA – April 27, 2026) – The Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League affiliate of the Hershey Bears, announced today that forward Terik Parascak has been re-assigned to Hershey. Additionally, the Bears announced they have signed defenseman Aron Dahlqvist to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO).
Parascak, 19, led the Western Hockey League’s Prince George Cougars in scoring with 79 points (33g, 46a) in 61 games this season. He served as an alternate captain with the Cougars, and ranked second on the club in playoff scoring with 17 points (7g, 10a) in 12 games.
The Lethbridge, Alberta native scored 82 points (28g, 54a) in 59 games with Prince George in 2024-25. Additionally, Parascak led Prince George in playoff scoring with 10 points (4g, 6a) in seven postseason games. He joined Hershey late in the season, and made his AHL debut on April 19, 2025 vs. Lehigh Valley.
The Capitals selected Parascak with the 17th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. The 6’0”, 190-pound forward recorded 105 points (43g, 62a) in 68 games with the Prince George during the 2023-24 season. Parascak, who was named to the 2024 Canadian Hockey League (CHL) All-Rookie Team and the WHL B.C. Division Second All-Star Team, led CHL rookies in goals and points and ranked eighth among all WHL skaters in scoring.
Dahlqvist, 19, played in 29 games this season with Brynäs IF’s U-20 team (Sweden-Jr.), scoring seven points (1g, 6a) and logging a plus-13 rating. He also skated for 14 games with Brynäs IF in the Swedish Hockey League (Sweden-1). Internationally, Dahlqvist represented Sweden at the 2024 World Junior A Challenge, earning a silver medal.
The Gävle, Sweden native was selected by the Capitals in the sixth-round, 180th overall, in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The Bears will continue the 2026 Calder Cup Playoffs in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Semifinals against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Game 1 will take place on the road at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza on Thursday, April 30 at 7:05 p.m. The series returns to GIANT Center for Game 3 on Tuesday, May 5 at 7 p.m. The first 6,000 fans will receive a cowbell, thanks to GIANT.
