Hershey Bears Start Their Training Camp; Full Player List Included

The Hershey Bears’ initial training camp roster is set. The group consists of 40 players: 23 forwards, 13 defensemen, and four goalies. Training camp began earlier today at Giant Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania. Here is a breakdown of everyone in attendance at this point in time.

Hershey Bears Training Camp Forwards

The forward group includes Ethen Frank, Zac Funk, Ryan Hofer, Grant Cruikshank, Pierrick Dubé, Alex Limoges, Austin Magera, Erik Middendorf, Justin Nachbaur, Garrett Roe, Micah Miller, Henrik Rybinski, Brennan Saulnier, Matthew Strome, Riley Sutter, Alex Suzdalev, Bogdan Trineyev, Mike Vecchione, and Tyler Weiss. Jack Adams, Jeremy Davidson, Kyler Kupka, and Ryan Leibold are also with Hershey’s training camp on tryouts with the club.

Some of the top scorers for Hershey during their second straight Calder Cup championship season are among the forwards on this list. The second-best scorer for the Bears in the 2023-24 regular season was Alex Limoges. He scored 24 goals and registered 27 assists for 51 points in 62 games. Pierrick Dubé was another talent for Hershey who put his offensive stamp on the team last season. In 66 games, he tallied 28 goals and provided 20 assists for 48 points. Other significant returnees to this Bears camp are below (along with their 2023-24 regular season stats).

• Ethen Frank: 29 goals and 18 assists for 47 points in 64 games
• Mike Vecchione: 17 goals and 21 assists for 38 points in 67 games
• Riley Sutter: nine goals and 14 assists for 23 points in 66 games

Hershey Bears Training Camp Defenders and Goalies

The blue line for 2024 Bears training camp has 13 participants for the initial camp roster. The players on the backend are Hardy Häman Aktell, Brad Hunt, Vincent Iorio, Jayden Lee, Logan Day, Nicky Leivermann, Jake Massie, Aaron Ness, Jon McDonald, Dmitry Osipov, Chase Priskie, and Hudson Thornton. Powell Connor is with the Bears on a training camp tryout. Logan Day and Jon McDonald are listed on the camp list, but both are currently injured.

Looking at particular names on the blue line, Brad Hunt brings 288 games of NHL experience to the camp. During that span, he scored 26 goals and produced 60 assists for 86 points. He suited up for the Edmonton Oilers, St. Louis Blues, Nashville Predators, Vegas Golden Knights, Minnesota Wild, Vancouver Canucks, and Colorado Avalanche. Last season, Hunt played in the AHL for the Colorado Eagles. He played in 70 games for them, and accrued 49 points (16 goals and 33 assists).

Defenseman Brad Hunt during his time with the Colorado Avalanche.

Vincent Iorio is someone who has mainly played for Hershey the last couple campaigns, but has also played a few games for the Washington Capitals as well. He only has nine NHL games and an assist to his name so far, but that experience goes a long way. Looking at his stats for the Bears last season, he scored four goals and notched 10 assists in 60 games.

Between the pipes, the Bears have four netminders at their camp. They are Garin Bjorklund, Mitchell Gibson, and Clay Stevenson. Seth Eisele is also with the team on a tryout. Bjorklund played the 2023-24 campaign in the ECHL for the South Carolina Stingrays. Gibson and Stevenson both suited up for Hershey last season. Stevenson played in 36 games and posted a record of 24-10-2. He had a save percentage (SV%) of .922, a goals against average (GAA) of 2.06, and seven shutouts. Gibson, meanwhile, suited up in two games for Hershey. He posted a 2-0-0 record with a .915 SV% and a 1.92 GAA.