WILKES-BARRE, PA — The Hershey Bears’ young lineup got even younger as head coach Derek King gave a jersey to 18-year-old Swedish prospect Milton Gästrin in Game 1 of the team’s second-round series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Thursday.
Milton Gastrin makes AHL debut in Game 1 of Hershey Bears’ second-round playoff series
Gästrin, wearing number 29, made his American Hockey League debut at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza, skating on Hershey’s third line with Wyatt Bongiovanni and Brett Leason.
Hershey Bears forward lines in Game 1
“I think (it’s) the first game (for him) and, you know, they weren’t dressing any real heavies,” King said of inserting Gästrin in the lineup. “So it was a good time to get him in. He’s been skating fine in practice and (all) that. So I’m sure he was a little nervous. But I think he looked alright… So no complaints there.”
Gästrin replaced veteran NHL’er Sonny Milano, who was unavailable to Hershey due to an unspecified illness.
“It’s just one of those illnesses, and there’s no point in putting him in when you’re not feeling good,” King said. “Some guys need to be feeling 100 percent before they can produce, right? So he’s seeing the doctor, and we’ll figure out what’s going on with him.”
Gästrin was one of two Bears players to make their AHL Calder Cup Playoffs debut on the evening, joining defenseman Leon Muggli — a Capitals’ second-round pick from the 2024 NHL Draft.
“Fun to be out there,” Gästrin said during the first intermission of the Bears’ FloHockey telecast. “Just trying to do my thing, trying to work hard, trying to get to the net, win battles. We just gotta keep doing that. It’s fun. Best hockey of the year, so just fun to be here.”
While Gästrin’s stat line was blank on the evening, he received rave reviews from his teammates after the Bears’ 4-2 loss.
“He’s a young kid, but you can see he’s got an offensive game,” Henrik Rybinski, who had a game-high six shots on the evening, said. “He skates pretty well, got a good shot. So I think he’s going to have a really promising career, and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
“He’s a really good player,” Ilya Protas, who scored the team’s first goal of the night, said. “I heard he had a great year in Sweden, and obviously, he’s young. I remember my first couple games here. It’s a tough league, and especially he making his debut in the playoffs, is even harder. I think he’s been really good. I’m really happy he got here, and he’s been really good.”
Gästrin has been skating with Hershey since April 17, a day after being re-assigned to the AHL club by the Washington Capitals.
A Capitals’ second-round pick, 39th overall, from the 2025 NHL Draft, Gästrin spent most of the 2025-26 season with MoDo Hockey of the HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier hockey league. The forward prospect posted 24 points (10g, 14a) in 39 games and finished sixth on the team in scoring as an 18-year-old. He also added four points (1g, 3a) in 13 playoff games.
Gästrin’s season in Sweden ended on April 13, when BIK Karlskoga defeated MoDo 4-1 in Game 7 of the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs’ semifinals. The league champion is promoted to the top-tier Swedish Hockey League the next season.
Gästrin was one of 10 players nominated for the Guldgallret, an annual award given to the best junior player (under-20) in the HockeyAllsvenskan.
At the national team level, Gästrin also won a gold medal in the winter with Sweden’s U-20 World Junior Championship team, finishing the tournament with 0 points in six games.
Gästrin, a Washington Capitals fan growing up who owned an Alex Ovechkin jersey, signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the team in early July 2025 while participating at the Capitals’ 2025 Development Camp.
While there, Gästrin made fast friends with fellow prospects and current Bears, Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas.
“He’s a really fun kid,” Cristall said to RMNB after Gästrin’s initial arrival in Hershey. “He’s awesome. It was good to see him at the rink. He’s super fun and outgoing. He fits right in.”
A noticeably dejected Gästrin spoke to RMNB briefly after he made his AHL debut.
RMNB Q/A with Milton Gästrin
Q. So Milton, when did you first find out that you were going to make your AHL debut tonight?
Milton Gästrin: “Last night. I found out, so that was nice.”
Q. Who ended up telling you? How did you find out?
Milton Gästrin: “No, it was some things happened around (the team), and then Jim Slater said that I was going to get a chance. And then I already said that I would be ready for tomorrow, because, most likely, it would be that way. So, yeah, that was nice and nice to get the first game.”
Q. So walk me through your first game tonight. What was it like to be out there? How do you feel like you translated from Swedish hockey to the AHL?
Milton Gästrin: “Well, it was fun. Unfortunately, we lost, so we’re all really pissed right now. But I think we played a good game, even though we lost. But we’ve got to get something even better. And, you know, in playoffs, it’s the ones who can let go of the past and focus on the next game that probably are going to be best in the series in a long time.”
Q. How did your teammates, especially the younger guys like Andrew Cristall and Ilya Protas, help you make the move over here and get used to the team?
Milton Gästrin: “Yeah, they’ve been great. Both of them are great guys. Also, (Alex) Suzdalev, he’s half Russian, half Swede. So it’s nice that I can speak some Swedish with him as well. But, yeah, I think just coming here and meet all the boys, everyone is nice and, like, everyone treats each other well. So it’s a great place to be.”
Q. Did you have any expectations of playing coming into the postseason? Like a lot of times, when younger players come over, they’re used primarily as black aces, but you got into a game pretty quickly here.
Milton Gästrin: “Yeah, it’s just trying to do my best every shift, trying to get in and win battles, get to the net. But yeah, give all I have.”
Q. How would you rate your season with MoDo over in the HockeyAllsvenskan?
Milton Gästrin: “It was a good season for me. But as a team, we had expectations to go up (and get promoted to the SHL). So losing the Game 7 in semifinals back home was tough there. But, you know, everything in this business can happen so fast. Like two days after, I was on the way away here, and now we’re going for the championship here. So it’s just you gotta let go of the past and then focus on the next game, next shift, and if you’re really good at that, then I think it will help you a lot.”
