The Hershey Bears further added to their defensive depth with two new free-agent signings on Monday.
The club announced that they have inked right-shot defenders Jeremie Biakabutuka and Rhett Parsons to AHL contracts for the 2026-27 season.
Both blueliners have prior experience in the ECHL and AHL and will bring an element of size to the Bears or South Carolina Stingrays, with Biakabutuka standing 6-foot-4 and Parsons standing 6-foot-3.
Biakabutuka, 24, is a product of the QMJHL, playing five full seasons in the junior league with Val d’Or Foreurs, Rimouski Oceanic, and the Charlottetown Islanders before turning pro at the end of the 2022-23 campaign. He has since played 16 AHL games for the Grand Rapids Griffins, Springfield Thunderbirds, and San Diego Gulls, recording one assist.
The Quebec-born rearguard has spent most of his pro career in the ECHL with the Orlando Solar Bears, Florida Everblades, and Tulsa Oilers. In 43 games with the Oilers this past year, Biakabutuka recorded 23 points (4g, 19a).
Parsons, 22, played four seasons with the WHL’s Medicine Hat Tigers before turning pro at the start of the 2024-25 season. He has racked up penalty minutes in the minor leagues, notching 116 in 62 games with the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones in 2024-25, and a combined 121 with the Cyclones and AHL’s Toronto Marlies this past year.
The Alberta native was teammates with Bears goaltender Garin Bjorklund in Medicine Hat for two seasons before Bjorklund officially joined the Washington Capitals organization.
Hershey now has a slew of options on defense for the 2026-27 campaign, with Biakabutuka and Parsons joining Cam Allen, Noah Beck, Louie Belpedio, Ryan Chesley, David Gucciardi, Jacob MacDonald, Jon McDonald, Leon Muggli, and potentially Dylan McIlrath.
