“When they won the Calder Cups here, they had pretty solid teams. They didn’t have nine or 10 young guys and three or four guys called up from the coast (ECHL) playing in the lineup,” Derek King
The standard in Hershey is a Calder Cup or bust, and this season, the Bears are not playing to that standard. It’s why Sunday’s game, the final one of the season, was tension-filled. Fans booed, a few “Fire King” chants could be heard in the crowd, and the team battled to avoid a playoff matchup against the Charlotte Checkers without any home games.
The Bears defeating the Rochester Americans 5-4 gave them the fifth seed in the Atlantic Division. This is a team that hopes to win the Calder Cup but isn’t built to win one. “When they won the Calder Cups here, they had pretty solid teams. They didn’t have nine or 10 young guys and three or four guys called up from the coast (ECHL) playing in the lineup,” head coach Derek King noted after the 5-4 win on the contrast between this team and the recent ones that won it all.
Hershey’s Highs & Lows as a Young Team
King has talked all season about how the Bears need to clean up and work on the bad habits. It’s cost them games all season, and even recently, it’s let them down a few times. The April 18 game against the Bridgeport Islanders, the team they will face in the Calder Cup Playoffs, saw them mishandle the puck and fail to generate much offense in a 2-1 loss.
This comes with the team the Bears have. It’s a young group and the American Hockey League equivalent of a rebuild. Many of the Bears are rookies or still learning the pro game, and it shows in how they play. The problem is that in the playoffs, mistakes are amplified. The good teams make the most of them, and the Bears can put themselves in a hole not just in a game but also in a short series.
At the same time, the youth is their strength. The team has matured and improved since the start of the season and looks a lot better down the stretch because of it. “That’s maybe what makes us a good team is that it doesn’t matter who is in the lineup, we find ways to work hard and play hard. As long as we play hard and compete, we’ll see where it takes us,” King added after the latest game. Likewise, the young players have plenty of skill and play well on the road.
It’s another plus to how the Bears play. They went 18-15-1-2 on the road by playing a simple road game, something King wishes they did at home as well. So, when the Bears play a simple game and don’t make mistakes, they have the edge.
Can The Star Power Help or Hurt The Bears?
This version of the Bears is led by rookies, at least on the offensive end. Ilya Protas and Andrew Cristall led the team in points with 66 and 60, providing plenty of optimism for the Washington Capitals. Likewise, Bogdan Trineyev and Ivan Miroshnichenko, two borderline NHLers, have rounded out the top six. In short, it’s a young group that carries the offense.
It makes the group tough to evaluate heading into the playoffs. They can take over a game on any shift, and Protas, particularly, does it all as the top-line center, making him built for the playoffs. At the same time, the young players don’t play a complete two-way game and have notably struggled on the defensive end.
It’s left King frustrated at times. The April 18, 2-1 loss to the Islanders was a prime example as King called out the Capitals' prospects after the game. “Those guys should be embarrassed,” King stated as the Bears scored only one goal in the defeat. “Our top three guys were a joke,” he added.
To make it in the NHL, prospects must develop a two-way game. Protas, Cristall, and Trineyev have plenty of skill but it’s about the defensive side that will get them to the NHL. “You want to play at the next level? If somebody was watching that, they would think these kids can’t play,” King added.
At the same time, these young players are the ones who will lead the Bears on a run. It’s why King, while frustrated at times, can’t go too hard at them, something he’s acknowledged in the past and mentioned again after the 5-4 win over the Amerk.s
How Hershey Matches Up With Bridgeport
The Islanders are a tough matchup for the Bears. They play a high-pressure game and force the defense and goaltender to stop 30 or 40 shots in a game. Moreover, the Islanders, like the Bears, have elite prospects in their lineup, playmakers like Victor Eklund and Cole Eiserman who can game the dynamics of a game in one shift.
“They’re a good team, they’re well coached, so they’re going to be tough to beat in the playoffs, no matter who plays them,” veteran defenseman Aaron Ness noted after the loss to the Islanders. The Bears must play a sound game against the Islanders, or it will be a short two-game series.
The Bears have one notable edge, and it’s in the net. Henrik Tikkanen is the Islanders' primary starter and has an .897 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.65 goals-against average (GAA). Clay Stevenson has a .912 SV% and a 2.62 GAA while spending time in the NHL.
On top of that, Stevenson can handle a high volume. “Honestly, I really don’t see the difference in a 23-shot game to a 44-shot game. I see every puck the same way,” Stevenson noted after the Amerks game, a game where he had to save over 40 shots to win the game. It’s why the series between the two teams should be a good one.