Hershey Bears: 2026 Off-Season/Free Agency HUB
Hershey Bears
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Written by Joe Syzmanski, Lead Writer - The Chocolate Roar
@JosephSyzmanski and @ChocolateRoar on Twitter/X
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Hershey would end up finishing fifth place in the Atlantic Division after a season that saw the Bears best two players on paper in preseason, Ethen Frank and Sheldon Rempal, leave the team via call-up and a return to Russia respectively after only five games.
This group of so-called “Baby Bears” were led by their youth as rookies Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall helped break some records for rookies in Hershey this year.
Protas also was named the AHL’s Rookie of the Year for the 25-26 season.
The season would end on a high, even with an elimination at the hands of in-state rivals Wilkes/Barre-Scranton in the Atlantic Division Semifinals, falling in four games.
Hershey was competitive throughout that series though and their well-played two game sweep of the Bridgeport Islanders (RIP) in the play-in round left Hershey fans optimistic about the team headed into 26-27.
Internally it has been a calmer offseason for the Bears so far.
After losing both Head Coach Todd Nelson and Assistant Coach Patrick Wellar to the NHL in the offseason, Hershey will have a full offseason with Derek King settled into the head coach position, giving him increased say on how the team is built for next year.
Just as it was for the team, King had his ups and downs as a coach this year too.
The pressure to win in Hershey, even in the face of mass change, is unmatched anywhere else in the league.
King, while connecting well to the players, did not seem to connect with the fans in year one, with one of the worst home records for the Bears in recent memory not doing him any favors.
As it did for the players though, the competitiveness the Bears showed in their short, but fun, playoff run seemed to win King back a little bit of favor, but with many of the rookies returning for season two in Chocolatetown, the pressure won’t go away.
There are still question marks for next year’s team though.
With Protas on track to stay in Washington next season with the Capitals, who will replace his production?
Who will fill the leadership gap left by the retiring Aaron Ness?
Will some of the few players who won a Calder Cup with Hershey return in Ivan Miroshnichenko, Henrik Rybinski and Matt Strome?
Those are questions yet to be answered, but Hershey will return much of a young, but well-regarded group of players… so long as Washington doesn’t trade them.
