Hershey Bears training camp sure felt the impact of the Washington Capitals finalizing their NHL Opening Night roster on Monday.
After the Capitals cut 19 players on Sunday, the Bears made major adjustments to their training camp roster.
The team now has 30 players in camp, 19 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 3 goaltenders, including netminder Cal Petersen, who remains on a professional tryout.
The 30-man roster includes 14 current Capitals draft picks.
Hershey Bears current training camp roster
Forwards (19)
| No. | Player | Contract | Draft (Rd/Ov) | 2025-26 Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Spencer Smallman | NHL | CAR 5th/138, ’15 | HER (AHL) |
| 12 | Theodor Niederbach | NHL | DET 2nd/51, ’20 | FHC (SHL) |
| 13 | Eriks Mateiko | NHL | WSH 3rd/90, ’24 | HER (AHL) |
| 14 | Tyler Kopff | NHL | Undrafted | ROC (AHL) / JAX (ECHL) |
| 15 | Lynden Lakovic | NHL | WSH 1st/27, ’25 | MJ (WHL) |
| 18 | Terik Parascak | NHL | WSH 1st/17, ’24 | PG (WHL) |
| 19 | Grant Cruikshank | AHL | Undrafted | HER (AHL) |
| 20 | Andrew Cristall | NHL | WSH 2nd/40, ’23 | HER (AHL) |
| 21 | Josh Dunne | NHL | Undrafted | BUF (NHL) / ROC (AHL) |
| 22 | Jonny Brodzinski | NHL | LAK 5th/148, ’13 | NYR (NHL) |
| 23 | Jalen Luypen | AHL | CHI 7th/216, ’21 | TUC / HER (AHL) / SC (ECHL) |
| 24 | Ludwig Persson | NHL | WSH 3rd/85, ’22 | HER (AHL) / SC (ECHL) |
| 36 | Petr Sikora | NHL | WSH 6th/178, ’24 | TRI / FRM |
| 37 | Dalton Smith | AHL | CBJ 2nd/34, ’10 | HER (AHL) |
| 41 | Alex Suzdalev | NHL | WSH 3rd/70, ’22 | HER (AHL) |
| 43 | Sam Bitten | AHL | Undrafted | SPR / HER (AHL) |
| 44 | Bogdan Trineyev | NHL | WSH 4th/117, ’20 | WSH (NHL) / HER (AHL) |
| 45 | Matt Strome | AHL | PHI 4th/106, ’17 | HER (AHL) |
| 55 | Joey Anderson | PTO | NJD 3rd/73, ’16 | RFD (AHL) |
Defensemen (8)
| No. | Player | Contract | Draft (Rd/Ov) | 2025-26 Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cam Allen | NHL | WSH 5th/136, ’23 | HER (AHL) |
| 4 | Justin Holl | NHL | CHI 2nd/54, ’10 | GR (AHL) / STL (NHL) |
| 5 | Ryan Chesley | NHL | WSH 2nd/37, ’22 | HER (AHL) |
| 7 | Louie Belpedio | NHL | MIN 3rd/80, ’14 | HER (AHL) |
| 26 | Jacob MacDonald | NHL | Undrafted | COL (AHL) |
| 34 | Leon Muggli | NHL | WSH 2nd/52, ’24 | HER (AHL) |
| 47 | Jon McDonald | AHL | Undrafted | HER (AHL) |
| 48 | David Gucciardi | NHL | WSH 7th/213, ’22 | HER (AHL) |
Goaltenders (3)
| No. | Player | Contract | Draft (Rd/Ov) | 2025-26 Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Garin Bjorklund | AHL | WSH 6th/179, ’20 | HER (AHL) / SC (ECHL) |
| 30 | Cal Petersen | PTO | BUF 5th/129, ’13 | IOW (AHL) |
| 35 | Mitch Gibson | NHL | WSH 4th/124, ’18 | HER (AHL) / SC (ECHL) |
To make room for the new arrivals, Hershey sent 11 players to its ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, and three others to ECHL teams that hold their rights.
Players loaned to ECHL South Carolina
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Alex Gaffney | F |
| Kyle Jackson | F |
| Landon McCallum | F |
| Cam Morrison | F |
| Noah Beck | D |
| Jeremie Biakabutuka | D |
| Rhett Parsons | D |
| Ben Kraws | G |
Players released from tryout agreements and sent to ECHL South Carolina
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Josh Prokop | F |
| Ryan Sandelin | F |
| Aidan Hreschuk | D |
Players released from tryout agreements and sent to respective ECHL teams
| Player | Pos. |
|---|---|
| Jaxson Murray (Greensboro) | F |
| Nick Andrews (Toledo) | D |
| Miles Gendron (Reading) | D |
Several players headed to Hershey will make their debuts with the Bears this season, including highly touted Capitals prospects like 2025 first-round pick Lynden Lakovic and 2024 sixth-round pick Petr Sikora. Most of the other new residents of Chocolatetown are veterans like preseason standout Jonny Brodzinski, Josh Dunne, Theodor Niederbach, Justin Holl, and Jacob MacDonald.
Bears fans will also see the return of fan favorites and key players from last season like Andrew Cristall, Eriks Mateiko, Spencer Smallman, Alex Suzdalev, Bogdan Trineyev, Louie Belpedio, Ryan Chesley, David Gucciardi, Leon Muggli, and Mitch Gibson.
One player who was destined for a return to Hershey but won’t be back on the ice at Giant Center is goaltender Clay Stevenson, who was claimed off NHL waivers by the Winnipeg Jets on Monday afternoon. With Hershey’s regular number-one starter now gone from the organization, the club will have to see who among Petersen, Gibson, and Garin Bjorklund emerges as the new go-to guy in net.
The Bears wrapped up their short preseason this weekend and will start their regular season against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday evening.
