Photo: Sportguide
The Hershey Bears announced this week the signing of forwards Garret Roe and Jimmy Huntington to one-year American Hockey League (AHL) deals.
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Roe, 35, played 31 games last season for the ZSC Lions in Switzerland’s National League, collecting 14 points (4g, 10a) and serving as alternate captain for the club.
The 5’7”, 170-pound forward has spent the last decade playing in Europe for teams in Switzerland, Sweden, Germany, and Austria, collecting 375 points (115g, 260a) in 411 games. Roe led the National League’s EV Zug to the Swiss Cup in 2018-2019, leading the playoffs in assists (11) and points (17). The following season with the ZSC Lions, he led the National League in assists (35) and was named to the league’s Media All-Star Team.
The native of Vienna, Virginia represented the United States at the 2018 Olympic Games in PyeongChang, where he picked up two points (1g, 1a) in five matches as the Americans advanced to the quarterfinals.
Roe began his professional career in North America with a two-year stint with the Adirondack Phantoms from 2011-13, putting up 66 points (20g, 46a) in 129 games.
Before beginning his pro career, Roe played four seasons of collegiate hockey for St. Cloud State University, where he amassed 178 points (65g, 113a) in 156 games for the Huskies; his 178 points rank third all-time in program history, while his 113 assists are the all-time mark for the program.
Roe was originally selected by the Los Angeles Kings in the seventh round (183rd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He is a product of the Washington Little Capitals program.
Huntington, 24, produced 28 points (9g, 19a) in 51 games for the Milwaukee Admirals during the 2022-23 season, and led the team in plus/minus with a career-high +13. The native of Laval, Quebec added six points (2g, 4a) in 15 playoff games for the Admirals to help Milwaukee reach the Western Conference Finals.
The 6’0”, 200-pound forward has recorded 80 points (27g, 53a) in 173 career AHL games with Milwaukee and Syracuse. He has also added 12 points (5g, 7a) in 17 games with the Orlando Solar Bears of the ECHL.
Prior to turning pro, Huntington played five seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Rimouski Oceanic, Victoriaville Tigres, and Acadie-Bathurst Titan, generating 188 points (69g, 119a) in 290 games. During the 2018-19 season with Rimouski, Huntington finished sixth in league scoring with 92 points (40g, 52a) in 66 games, culminating in his selection to the QMJHL Second All-Star Team.
I think the Bears’ captain Matt Moulson retired. Wonder if they are looking at Roe for that. He certainly has wide experience with both NA and non-NA players.
Well McIllath was the Captain last year and Caps resigned him. While its a two-way contract so he can be called up to Caps if really needed, he will likely be the Captain of the Bears again this year. When you Captain a team to a championship, you are likely to keep that title.
Sorry, thought it was Moulson. You’re right, no one’s going to change a Calder Cup Captain.
Hershey is planning on two teams this year, Hershey A and Hershey B??
This cracked me up. And yes!
When my son was in his Squirt major year, and players could graduate to AAA, his club (Ashburn Xtreme) created two AA major teams instead of one because they knew they would lose a lot of players to Little Caps the next year. We were at a tournament in Buffalo at the brand new Harbor center and the one team crushed a local Buffalo team and parents were yelling at other parents about losing to rednecks from VA. The Championship game was Ashburn One versus Ashburn Two. It was priceless!
that is awesome! Beating a team from Buffalo is a big deal.