Screen cap: The Hershey Bears
The Hershey Bears began preparations for their upcoming run for a 12th Calder Cup Tuesday morning at Hershey Park Arena. The Bears, who earned a bye in the first round of this year’s playoffs, had Sunday and Monday off following the conclusion of the 2022-23 regular season on Saturday.
By all accounts, Washington Capitals forward prospect Ethen Frank had an excellent season for the Bears. He was named the Bears rookie of the year on Saturday and was selected to the AHL’s All Rookie team last week. Frank knows that the AHL postseason is another animal altogether, but he’s ready to go.
“Really excited. Especially after last year, I was here for a little bit and got injured right before the playoffs and so I was kinda looking forward to it,” Frank told media on Thursday.
The Bears are still awaiting first round best-of-three series results to find out who they will face in their second round best-of-five series, which is expected to begin around April 26-28. That’s a sizable break for the chocolate and white, but Frank isn’t concerned about the 10-plus days between games.
“Me, personally, I’m just letting the coaches put the practice plan together, and doing what they think is best, because they have been through it and they know what it takes and what you need this time of year, practice wise. I have trust in everybody that they know what they’re doing. It’s our job to play hockey and that’s what we’re gonna do.”
Frank is well aware of Hershey’s prestigious historical postseason pedigree, something he hopes he can add to in the upcoming weeks.
“They have a standard for winning here, obviously with the history and all the championships that they’ve won. You want to be a part of something like that. You’re just gonna do what you can to help the team win, and take in as much as you can to try and make yourself and your teammates a better player.”
The Bears have a very deep roster heading into this year’s postseason. As a result, it’s not outlandish to suggest the Bears could make a long run, something Frank has not experienced in previous hockey seasons. He does however, have an idea of what to expect.
“A lot of tough hockey. You’re gonna get your nicks and bruises, here and there. You just can’t really worry about that too much. Like I’ve been saying, it’s a bigger goal. Some guys are gonna battle through some things. Battle for each other, like I’ve been talking about. But it will be a fun run.”
The Bears will face the higher seed of the first round winners between the (#3) Charlotte Checkers vs (#6) Lehigh Valley Phantoms and the (#4) Springfield Thunderbirds vs. (#5) Hartford Wolf Pack. Lehigh Valley and Hartford currently lead their best-of-three series, 1-0.
The Capitals announced on March 2 that they had signed Frank to a one-year, two-way deal ($775,000/$205,000) for the 2023-24 season. Frank is currently playing on an AHL deal (which prohibited NHL call-ups) with Hershey this season, but will be eligible to play for the Capitals beginning next season.
By Jon Sorensen