Aaron Ness has been named captain of the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals American Hockey League affiliate.
Aaron Ness has been named captain of the Hershey Bears, the Washington Capitals American Hockey League affiliate.
As the Hershey Bears begin their 2024-25 campaign, the Washington Capitals' top farm club announced that former New York Islanders defenseman Aaron Ness was named the 34th captain in the franchise's history:
Ness served as an alternate captain for the last two seasons as the Bears won back-to-back Calder Cup championships. In 142 games with the club, he's tallied nine goals and 34 assists for 43 points.
Prior to joining the Bears, he spent small parts of two seasons with the Islanders after they drafted him with the 40th overall pick in 2008.
In 29 games across two seasons, he owns a goal and two assists before joining the Washington Capitals and Arizona Coyotes organizations.
Ness follows in the footsteps of two other familiar names to Islanders fans.
Forward Matt Moulson served as the club's captain for two seasons after spending five seasons with the Islanders.
Brent Thompson, former head coach of the Islanders' AHL team in Bridgeport, also served the role during the 2002-03 season.
Ness will lead the Bears against the Bridgeport Islanders in their next meeting on Nov. 12 at Total Mortgage Arena.