Several Hershey Bears Players Ready To Make Jump To NHL
Photo credit: USA Today Sports
The Washington Capitals have set a clear priority of becoming younger, and some of their prospects are ready to impress GM Chris Patrick this coming fall.
The AHL may be the minors, but it is also a league for opportunists, and those willing to work hard, improve their skills and be seen by their NHL general managers.
"The personnel side would like one or two of them to make it," Capitals GM Chris Patrick said. "The coaches would probably have a little longer timeline than we do. We'll see where it ends up."
The one, or two, to whom Chris Patrick refers are those Hershey Bears players that have taken advantage of their opportunity, by being productive and being noticed.
Hendrix Lapierre scored at a point-per-game rate this season with Hershey, something that is difficult to do in any league, including the AHL.
Ivan Miroshnichenko had 23 goals in 53 games with the Bears, and added 18 games of NHL experience with the Capitals, experience that will no doubt help him at the upcoming training camp.
In terms of rookie prospects, Bogdon Trineyev made significant breakthroughs this season in the AHL.
A fourth-line candidate, Trineyev had a career-year, scoring 14 goals and 8 assists in 62 games, and led all Bears players in this year's playoffs, with 5 goals and 2 assists in eight games.
The other group of young talent includes those that are ready to make the jump to pro. Andrew Cristall is only 20 and had a record-breaking season.
Cristall, who is eligible to play with the Bears if he doesn't crack the Washington Capital's lineup, scored 48 goals and 84 assists, for a total of 132 points in only 56 games with the Kelowna Rockets and the Spokane Chiefs.
Some of the dark horses this year include RFAs Pierrick Dube' and Henrik Rybinski. Riley Sutter, a group 6 UFA, is also a possible candidate, if he resigns with the club.
"Our goal, as within the last two years, is to get younger. We're transitioning from a mature, older team," Patrick said. "We're going to inject a bunch of prospects into Hershey next year that we're pretty excited about."
| POLL | ||
MAI 23 | 55 ANSWERS Several Hershey Bears Players Ready To Make Jump To NHL Do you believe Andrew Cristall should spend time with the Hershey Bears next season? | ||
| Yes | 46 | 83.6 % |
| No | 9 | 16.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
