The Hershey Bears are set to open their 2026-27 regular season against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday night.
Ahead of puck drop, the club revealed how head coach Derek King has them lined up for their home opener at Giant Center. Among the biggest takeaways: Andrew Cristall will begin the year skating on the left wing of the team’s top line, and Washington Capitals prospects Lynden Lakovic and Petr Sikora will make their AHL debuts.
Hershey Bears lineup for regular-season opener
Cristall, who recorded 60 points (20g, 40a) in 72 games for the Bears during his rookie AHL campaign, will play on a line with veterans Josh Dunne and Jonny Brodzinski. Both linemates have prior NHL experience, and Brodzinski was a standout for the Capitals in the preseason, scoring three goals.
Lakovic, Washington’s 2025 first-round pick, is slated to begin his pro career next to European import Theodor Niederbach (also making his AHL debut) and rugged Russian winger Bogdan Trineyev. The game will be Lakovic’s first regular-season game since November 22, 2025, as he missed most of last year’s WHL campaign with a shoulder injury that required surgery.
Sikora, a 2024 sixth-round pick, is no stranger to a pro game, having spent the past three seasons playing against men as a teenager in the Czech Extraliga. He will begin his Bears career centering the team’s third line with Alex Suzdalev and Spencer Smallman on his wings.
Hershey’s new captain, Louie Belpedio, will man the club’s second defense pairing with Caps prospect David Gucciardi. Justin Holl, signed by Washington in free agency, leads the defense line next to another Caps prospect, Ryan Chesley.
After the Winnipeg Jets claimed Clay Stevenson off waivers, the Bears will turn to Cal Petersen with Mitch Gibson out due to a lower-body injury. Petersen spent the entire 2025-26 season in the AHL with the Iowa Wild, and in 33 games, he posted a 13-16-2 record with a 2.73 goals-against average, a .896 save percentage, and four shutouts.
Gibson tweaked something after giving up a goal to the Phantoms’ Noah Powell during the Bears’ preseason game on September 26.
With Gibson out, Garin Bjorklund served as the team’s backup.
Notable omissions from the lineup include Capitals 2024 first-round pick Terik Parascak, defense prospect Leon Muggli, and veteran wingers Matt Strome and Joey Anderson.
