Patrick Williams, TheAHL.com Features Writer
No lifting the Calder Cup, no celebrating late into the night, no parading the trophy.
It was a markedly different end to the season for the Hershey Bears in 2025.
On Thursday morning, the Bears gathered at Giant Center for break-up day. Exit meetings, packing up gear, wrapping up loose ends, saying good-byes.
By 1:30 p.m. the hallway outside of the Bears’ dressing room sat mostly quiet. Players had started to scatter to their offseason homes around the world.
Wednesday night’s elimination did not simply cut short Hershey’s three-peat bid. It also may well have ended one of the most dominant runs in league history. Every summer brings turnover to an AHL roster, but the Bears could be in for much more than usual. The parent Washington Capitals have several incoming draft picks and signings who will need to develop in Hershey, and much of the existing cast – including several players with the team for both the 2023 and 2024 titles – are eligible to become unrestricted free agents this summer.
The missed opportunity this spring and the uncertainty of what comes next made for a restless night Wednesday. Hendrix Lapierre said he replayed the loss as he tried to fall sleep afterward. Head coach Todd Nelson spent the early hours of Thursday morning trying to manage the loss, finally settling on the 1987 movie Summer School to take his mind off the outcome.
“It still hasn’t really sunk in, to be honest,” Nelson said. “It’s been a good run. To win one championship is tough. To win back-to-back is incredible. Going after three, it would have been fantastic, but it just didn’t work out.”
Hershey won a league-record nine consecutive playoff series. The previous record of eight was held by the Bears’ back-to-back Cup teams of 2009 and 2010. Coincidentally, the Charlotte Checkers ended both streaks.
“We had a special group,” said Lapierre, the MVP of the 2024 playoffs. “We really thought we could win it all.”
Still, the Bears can take plenty from these past three seasons. The two championships both came with historic, dramatic moments. The stunning comebacks in the 2023 Finals against Coachella Valley, first winning three straight home games after being shut out in Games 1 and 2 and then rallying from 2-0 down to win Game 7 in overtime. Losing a 3-0 series lead in last year’s conference finals before another Game 7 OT win to put away the stubborn Cleveland Monsters. Matt Strome’s Cup-winning overtime goal to again vanquish the Firebirds last June. In three years under Nelson, the Bears have won a remarkable 172 regular-season and playoff games.
And the Hershey pipeline continued to benefit Washington. Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael had breakthrough years with the Capitals. Dylan McIlrath spent the entire season with the Caps after captaining the Bears’ two title teams. Ethen Frank shined in his first taste of the NHL after three straight 20-goal seasons in Hershey.
“I’m extremely proud of the work we did last year,” said defenseman Chase Priskie, a member of the 2024 Calder Cup team. “(And) extremely proud of the work we did this year. We had a great year. I think a lot of guys took big steps forward. They should be proud of that.”
All of that work had clearly taken a toll, however, by the time they encountered the Checkers. The fatigue, physical and mental, became much more apparent. Forty-eight playoff games over the last three springs represent two-thirds of an entire additional 72-game season. They fought off elimination – surviving four win-or-go-home games during their reign. They trailed in four of the nine series they won. And they overcame opponents bringing forth their best efforts nightly. Spencer Smallman, who signed with Washington last July, said that he noticed early in the season that opponents’ celebrations after wins against Hershey carried just a little bit extra emotion.
“It was a tough year,” Nelson explained. “Every game we played this year, we knew it was going to be a tough game. It didn’t matter who you played. It doesn’t help when teams come in here, and they’re on the ice skating around, and all of a sudden they say, ‘Welcome back your back-to-back Calder Cup champion.’ Plus we have a logo right in the middle of the ice with ‘Back-to-Back Champions’ staring you in the face.”
Nelson frequently uses the word “family” to explain what he wishes to instill into his teams. Demanding but sociable, he makes the rounds in the Hershey dressing room, chatting with his players, keeping a light mood. He does not panic. His players took on that personality as well. Expectations are clearly outlined. Communication is frequent. Everything the Bears do is with purpose. It’s a direct, straightforward approach. There is not merely a hope of winning, a thought that if everything goes right, then maybe, just maybe, they might win. They expect to develop, to win. And they vocalize both objectives. The Bears never shied away from discussing their pursuit of a third straight Calder Cup title.
“Our coaching philosophy as a group, and me personally,” Nelson said, “is to have the guys wanting to come to the rink every day and be a part of a family atmosphere, coming here to work hard, make themselves better. But you have to do it in a fun environment. I want them to jump out of bed and say, ‘I want to get to practice and see the boys, the coaches, make myself better.’”
Having a strong group dynamic helped to make the Bears champions. It also helped them to deal with the increased pressure that comes with more and more success. That pressure comes externally as well as internally.
“It’s a lot of pressure, but I relish that,” Nelson said. “I think everybody who comes to Hershey understands what it’s all about. That’s what makes this place so special. It was tough on our guys, so I’m proud of how they handled it.
“We’re all proud to work for the Hershey Bears and the Washington Capitals. We’re proud of their expectations. That means that you’re champs, and you’re champs for life.”
On the American Hockey League beat for two decades, TheAHL.com features writer Patrick Williams also currently covers the league for NHL.com and FloSports and is a regular contributor on SiriusXM NHL Network Radio. He was the recipient of the AHL’s James H. Ellery Memorial Award for his outstanding coverage of the league in 2016.
