A handful of alumni showed up to lend support as Hershey's Bears took on Bridgeport's Islanders this past Saturday evening.
Their respective NHL seasons now over — one in Washington, the other suiting up in New York for the Rangers — old Hershey housemates Vincent Iorio and Hendrix Lapierre made the trip out to the Giant Center, eager to cheer on a few guys they once shared a locker room with.
Tagging along was Patrick Wellar, who currently works as an assistant under the Caps coaching staff, together with three more title winners who have since either hung up the skates or headed overseas: Garrett Roe, Jake Massie, and Chase Priskie.
Four of them — Wellar, plus Massie, Lapierre, and Iorio — were on both of the championship-winning Bears clubs, from 2023 as well as 2024. Roe, who has retired, and Priskie were holdovers only from the 2024 group. This season's Hershey squad has already punched its return ticket back to AHL playoff action and is busy working to climb the standings within their division.
In Washington this past year, Lapierre managed four goals to go with a dozen helpers, good for 16 points over a 74-game schedule, largely in a bottom-six capacity. A one-year deal worth $850k that he signed with the franchise in July expires this summer, which leaves his status as that of a restricted free agent.
Of everyone who turned up Saturday, only Wellar had remained inside the organization throughout the year, stepping into a job with the big club once Mitch Love got dismissed back in October. Reporting to bench boss Spencer Carbery, he handled the defense, managing the ice time of Washington's rearguards.
After beginning 2025-26 in Washington, Iorio was scooped up off waivers — claimed by San Jose's Sharks soon after October's opening games. He logged 21 appearances out west before hitting the wire yet again and landing in New York, where six Rangers contests followed.
Both Massie and Priskie passed the campaign over in the KHL. Priskie's line in 50 contests for Sibir Novosibirsk read four goals, 20 assists, and 24 points, while Massie, suiting up 67 times with Barys Astana, finished with eight goals plus 17 helpers for 25 points.
The Bears wound up on the wrong end of a 2-1 score Saturday, but a quick turnaround awaits: a Sunday matinee versus Rochester's Americans, which closes out their regular slate for the campaign.