The Hershey Bears are six games into their quest to three-peat as Calder Cup champions. Hershey’s 31-player roster is once again stacked from top to bottom, returning the vast majority of the team from last year’s championship run under head coach Todd Nelson.
Given their lack of turnover and buoyed by NHL names like Ethan Bear and Mike Sgarbossa, the Bears are a tough team to break onto for players on the fringe of the roster — especially prospects in their rookie years in the AHL.
Zac Funk and Alex Suzdalev are realizing that firsthand as they have yet to dress in any of Hershey’s games to begin the year. Both players received ample opportunity during the preseason, but Nelson has made it clear that they won’t automatically get into a game that counts for the Bears.
“I want them to play to their role and their identity,” Nelson told RMNB’s Ian Oland earlier in October. “Every player has to show us as an organization that you are gonna earn a spot on this team. We’re the Hershey Bears. You have to earn your spot here. It’s just the way it is. We have to let the chips fall as they may.”
Funk is playing his first season as a pro after six seasons in the WHL with the Calgary Hitmen and Prince George Cougars. The 21-year-old winger led the entire CHL in goal-scoring last year, recording 67 goals and 56 assists in 68 games. He was subsequently named a finalist for WHL Player of the Year and a member of the WHL’s First All-Star Team and the CHL’s First All-Star Team.
After he was not picked in his draft-eligible years, the Capitals signed Funk to a three-year, entry-level contract last March. Funk spent some time with the Bears on a tryout agreement at the end of last season, serving as a black ace for part of the team’s playoff run.
Suzdalev attempted to turn pro last year during what became a roller coaster ride of a season for the 20-year-old. After starting with the Bears, he returned to Europe with Mora IK of the HockeyAllsvenskan after it was clear he wouldn’t get much playing time in Hershey. His stint in Sweden lasted just 13 games before he decided to come back to North America and back to junior hockey with the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades.
The Russian-born, Swedish-raised winger had a difficult return to the league, amassing just 25 points (9g, 16a) in 30 games for the Blades. Suzdalev’s production rate paled in comparison to the 86 points (38g, 48a) he recorded in 66 games for the Regina Pats during 2022-23, earning him a spot on the CHL All-Rookie Team.
Suzdalev was assigned back to Hershey after his WHL season concluded, but the Bears eventually returned him home early so that he could get a headstart on his summer training. He joined Funk as an attendee at Washington’s most recent Development Camp in July and then Rookie Camp and main Training Camp this fall.
Funk and Suzdalev’s first chance to crack Hershey’s lineup may come this weekend. The Bears are playing their first three-in-three of the season, three games in three days. During the grueling road trip to Providence and Springfield, Nelson may rest some of his veteran players.
Hershey won the first game of the three-game set 2-1 against the Bruins on Friday night. Ethen Frank and Henrik Rybinski were the team’s two goal scorers.
