With the 2023-24 American Hockey League (AHL) season now in the books, we continue our annual Washington Capitals prospect review and forecast series for the past season. Next up, right winger, Ethen Frank. (You can find all of our previous prospect reviews on our Prospects Page right here).
VITALS
Frank, 26, is a 5’11” right-handed center from Papillion, Nebraska. He signed an AHL contract with Hershey on April 11, 2022, following a five-year collegiate career at Western Michigan University. [Note: he had an extra year of college eligibility due to the Covid pandemic.] The Capitals announced on March 2, 2023 that they had signed Frank to a one-year, two-way deal for the 2023-24 season. He re-signed with the Capitals after the 2023-24 season.
CAREER SUMMARY
Ethan Frank played hockey for five years at Western Michigan University, 2017-18 through 2021-22, getting an extra year of eligibility due to the Covid pandemic. He served as one of the alternate captains for his last two seasons. In his last season at Western Michigan, he scored 26 goals and recorded 13 assists in 38 games. He joined the Bears for five games at the end of 2021-22.
The 2022-23 season was a breakout season for Frank. He finished the regular season with 30 goals and 19 assists and was selected to the 2023 AHL All-Star Game, which took place in Laval, Quebec. “It means a lot. I’ve been putting in a lot of hard work, so it’s nice to get a little recognition,” Frank told Bears Radio. As part of the All-Star Game festivities, Frank participated in the fastest skater competition. He not only won with a time of 12.915 seconds, but he set a new All-Star Game record. Frank cooled off in the postseason, scoring two goals and recording four assists in 20 games.
Related: Rookie Ethen Frank Leading The Way In Hershey
The 2023-24 season was another standout season for Frank. This time his regular season totals were 29 goals and 18 assists in 64 games. Once again, he was selected to the AHL All-Star Game and once again, he won the fastest skater contest. He had a much better postseason in 2023-24 with 10 goals and 7 assists despite missing two games due to injuries. He ranked first on the Bears in goals and fourth on the Bears in points overall.
2023-2024 MONTH-BY-MONTH RECAP AND TREND ANALYSIS
The following is a compilation of our month-by-month prospect reports for Ethen Frank for the 2023-2024 season. You can find all of our monthly prospect reports on our “Prospects” page in the top menu.
OCTOBER
Hershey’s leading goal scorer from the 2022-23 season continued where he left off from the previous year. Frank found the back of the net five times in the season’s opening month. The Nebraska-Omaha alum opened his campaign with a three-point night in game two against Cleveland on October 15. He snapped a shot past the pad of Pavel Cajan for the second Bear goal in the first period. Later in the frame, Frank set up Mike Vecchione’s marker that gave the chocolate and white a 3-1 advantage. The Papillion, Nebraska native would add a secondary assist on Mike Sgarbossa’s third-period goal. He had an assist on Sgarbossa’s game-winner in Providence the following Friday and then scored a pair of goals against the Bruins on Saturday to run his point streak to three games. Frank would go on a three-game scoreless drought, before snapping out of it in October’s final game on Sunday, October 29. Frank one-timed a shot over the blocker of Garrett Sparks to give the Bears the lead 1:11 into the first. He then converted a wrist shot from the high slot for a power-play goal less than two minutes later. The Western Michigan product is second in the AHL in power-play goals with four and his eight points are the third most on the Bears.
NOVEMBER
Frank was held without a point in eight of his 12 games in November, including going scoreless in his first five games. In the four games where he scored, the Papillion, Nebraska native produced three multi-point games. After earning an assist on Mike Vecchione’s opening goal against the Bridgeport Islanders on November 17, Frank tallied early in the third to give the Bears a 5-1 lead. The marker ended up as the game-winner as the Islanders staged a third-period fight back with three goals in the third period. In Bridgeport the next night, once again the second-year winger posted a two-point game. He had the secondary helper on Vecchione’s opening goal and then netted the game’s next goal in the second period. His final multi-point game of November came versus the Iowa Wild on the 26th. The Western Michigan alum ended Hershey’s long power-play drought in the first period by one-timing a shot over the blocker of Zane McIntyre. He added a power-play assist later in the period.
DECEMBER
The second-year winger continues to be one of the most productive players for the Bears. Frank produced 12 points in December. The Western Michigan product started the month strong with a hat trick versus Charlotte on December 2. He fired a one-timer past the blocker of Ludovic Waeber in the second period. Frank netted his second tally later in the second, elevating a shot over Waeber on a breakaway. The Papillion, Nebraska finished off his hat trick with an empty netter. On December 9, Frank recorded a four-point game against the Cleveland Monsters. He was involved in Hershey’s first four goals. Frank had the primary assist on Alex Limoges’ power play marker in the first and then tallied a power play goal of his own later in the frame when he deked Pavel Cajan and elevated a shot over the netminder’s glove. He added a pair of assists to complete his four-point night, which matched a career-high. The Nebraskan registered another multi-point game in a 3-2 overtime win over Providence on December 13 when he assisted on the opening goal and the overtime winner. The assist on the overtime goal came after he stole the puck from Anthony Richard in the defensive end. Frank also potted the game-winner against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on December 27.
JANUARY
Frank netted six goals for the second consecutive month. He failed to record a point in the first two games of the month but snapped out of it by setting up Alex Limoges for an overtime winner on January 7. The Papillion, Nebraska native ended a five-game goal-scoring drought in his next contest. After being held off the scoresheet in Bridgeport in his next outing, Frank embarked on a four-game goal-scoring streak. The stretch began with an empty netter in Hartford on January 19. One night later, he lifted a backhander past Joel Blomqvist’s glove to provide the decisive goal in a 1-0 win over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The streak extended to three games when he potted an empty net goal against Springfield on January 24. Frank then terrorized the Penguins once again on January 27. He lasered a wrist shot from above the right circle off the crossbar and in to make it a 1-1 game in the first period. The Nebraskan then delivered the winning marker in the third when he elevated a wrist shot from the high slot by the glove of Blomqvist. The second-year winger was selected for his second straight AHL All-Star Classic.
FEBRUARY
Frank’s February was limited to three games after he suffered a lower-body injury in Providence on February 9. The injury occurred when he hit the goalpost after being knocked down. The Western Michigan product tallied a power play goal in Lehigh Valley on February 2, the lone point of the month. The highlight of the month for Frank came at the AHL All-Star Classic in San Jose when he successfully defended his Fastest Skater Crown in a time of 13.032 seconds.
MARCH
Frank returned on March 8 after missing a month with a lower-body injury. The winger showed some rust and was held without a point in the first four games following his return. Then, he found his groove. His first-period power play marker would be all the Bears would need in 4-0 win over Hartford on March 17. The Papillion, Nebraska native tallied again in his next game, putting a wrist shot off a Mike Vecchione feed over the glove of Cleveland’s Jet Greaves in the first period on March 22. Frank made it three games in a row with a goal in Cleveland the next night. He one-timed a Joe Snively pass from the right point over Malcolm Subban’s glove for a power play goal. The tally was the first of three points that night for the Western Michigan alum. Frank recorded an assist on both of Alex Limoges’ power play markers in the third period. He netted his fourth and final goal of March in Hartford on March 30.
APRIL
On April 6, Frank scored a hat trick and contributed an assist during a 7-2 Hershey win against the Iowa Wild. His first goal (and 26th of the season) came at 4:20 and put the Bears ahead 1-0. He added two goals during the second period, the first at 4:08 and the second at 14:16 to complete the hat trick. The score was now 5-1. He scored his 29th and last goal of the regular season during a 4-1 win against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms on April 12. His goal came at 6:38 during the second period and broke a 1-1 tie, holding up as the game-winner. His last point of the season was on April 17 against the Charlotte Checkers where he assisted on a third-period goal by Alex Limoges at 5:05 which allowed the Bears to tie the game at 3-3. The Bears went on to win that game 4-3.
POSTSEASON
During the Bears’ first-round series against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, he scored three goals and had one assist. He performed especially well in the series’ second game on May 4, where he had two goals and one assist. He scored the first two goals of the game, both in the first period. The first came at 4:47 and the second at 8:18. He also assisted on a Limoges goal at 15:24 in the second period. The Bears went on to win 5-1 to take a 2-game to 0 edge in the series. He scored again in Game 4 on May 11, this time at 10:57 during the second period when the Bears led 3-2. His goal turned out to be the game-winner as the Phantoms scored again. The final score was 5-3 in favor of the Bears who won the series.
He scored in the first two games of their series against the Hartford Wolf Pack. He scored the second goal in their first game on May 16 which put the Bears ahead 2-0 in a game they won 6-1. Thus, it was the game-winner. The goal came at 3:58 in the second period. In the second game, on May 18, he scored the Bears’ third goal at 4:25 in the third period which proved to be the game-winner. Unfortunately, he missed the series-clinching game on May 22 due to injury.
He scored in his first four games during the Bears’ series against the Cleveland Monsters. Those goals had given him a streak of seven games where he had scored a goal. His goal in the opener on May 30 put the Bears up 1-0 in a game they won 5-4 in Overtime. In the second game, on June 1, he scored the Bears’ second goal which put them up 2-1. They won 3-2 in Overtime. He scored again in the third game and also had an assist in a game they won 6-2. He scored the Bears’ second goal at 5:45. He also assisted on Joe Snively’s late second period goal. His goal in the fourth game was in a losing cause as the Bears lost 3-2. He did not score for the rest of that series and missed the series-clinching win on June 12.
He only had one goal in the Calder Cup Finals against the Coachella Valley Firebirds but contributed four assists. This included an assist in the first game on June 14 and an assist in the third game on June 18, both losses. But Game 4, a 3-2 win, was a great one for him. He scored the first goal of the game (and his 10th in the postseason) at 18:37 during the first period which put the Bears up 1-0. He also assisted on Hendrix Lapierre’s second-period goal at 18:00 and on the game-winner by Joe Snively which came at 4:21 during the third period.
PLAYER FORECAST
Frank has exhibited NHL-level skills during both his seasons with the Bears. His speed is well documented, but the power and accuracy of his shot is also NHL-caliber. He’s more than earned a shot at the Capitals roster. But will he get it?
Frank will battle for a wing spot or the 13th forward spot when camp begins. He’s on a two-way deal next season, so he may start in Hershey but will most definitely see games with the Capitals this coming season.
By Diane Doyle
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By Diane Doyle
