The Hershey Bears are bringing back one of their depth forwards from last season.
The club announced Friday that it has re-signed center Jalen Luypen to a one-year AHL contract for the 2026-27 season. Luypen is the third Bears player to re-sign this offseason, following Jon McDonald and Dalton Smith.
Luypen, 23, scored one goal for the Bears in two total regular-season games while on a professional tryout agreement. He later signed another tryout deal with the Tucson Roadrunners, appearing in 22 games and notching six points (4g, 2a). Upon his release from Tucson, he was signed by the Bears to an AHL contract for the rest of the 2025-26 campaign and played in three playoff games for Hershey.
The Kelowna, British Columbia native also played in 35 ECHL games with the South Carolina Stingrays, leading the team in points per game (1.06) while tying for fourth in team scoring with 37 points (14g, 23a). Luypen added four points (3g, 1a) in 11 playoff games with the Stingrays.
Luypen was originally a seventh-round selection (216th overall) of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has played in 144 career AHL games with Hershey, Tucson, and the Rockford IceHogs.
Hershey has a long list of free agents heading into the summer months including forwards Henrik Rybinski (NHL contract), Brett Leason (NHL), Wyatt Bongiovanni (NHL), Ryan Hofer (NHL), Matt Strome (AHL), Justin Nachbaur (AHL), Lynden Breen (AHL), Kaden Bohlsen (AHL), Simon Pinard (AHL), Kyler Kupka (AHL), and Patrick Guzzo (AHL); defensemen Reilly Webb (AHL contract), Corey Schueneman (NHL contract), John Fusco (AHL), and DJ King (AHL); and goaltenders Garin Bjorklund (NHL), Jesper Vikman (NHL), and Seth Eisele (AHL).
