The Hershey Bears took to the ice at Giant Center on Monday ahead of Game 3 of their Atlantic Division Semifinals series against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
While defenseman Ryan Chesley practiced fully and looked ready to return, veteran forward Sonny Milano did not participate in the skate and appears unlikely to be in the lineup on Tuesday night due to illness.
“Yeah, he’s seeing a doctor today just with his illness,” Bears head coach Derek King said after practice to the media, including RMNB. “I’m not 100 percent sure what it is. Doctors come in and talk to me, and I’m not a doctor. Some of the language I hear, it’s like, ‘Okay, is he going to be ready or not?’ So hopefully soon we’ll know more.”
Milano did not travel with the Bears to Wilkes-Barre for Games 1 or 2 of the best-of-five series, which the teams split at Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza.
“There’s no point in putting him in when you’re not feeling good,” King said to RMNB after Game 2. “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.”
Milano has not played since April 23, when he scored an empty-net goal in Game 2 of Hershey’s first-round series against the Bridgeport Islanders.
The 29-year-old winger has been with the Bears since February 26, when the Washington Capitals passed him through NHL waivers so the team could activate forward Connor McMichael from injured reserve.
Milano was one of the Bears’ best offensive players down the stretch, posting 13 points (5g, 8a) in 16 games and firing 36 shots on goal.
Milano’s absence in the lineup has coincided with the official announcement that he signed with SC Bern of the Swiss National League for the 2026-27 season.
Veteran AHL players heading overseas can sometimes reach agreements before their North American seasons end, as European leagues begin play in early September. One recent example would be former Bears center Mike Sgarbossa. Reporting on his signing with HC Lugano of the National League surfaced on May 8, during Hershey’s Calder Cup Playoffs appearance in 2025. Sgarbossa would go on to appear in three playoff games with the Bears after his agreement hit the internet.
Milano is in the final season of a three-year contract he signed with the Capitals in 2023, which pays him an annual average salary of $1.9 million. Milano spent the majority of the 2025-26 regular season with the Caps, recording eight points (4g, 4a) in 31 games.
