Yesterday afternoon, the Bears officially released their opening night roster for the 2024-25 season. There were little, if no surprises, about the group selected for tonights roster to kick off the season and the Bears are expected to be near the top of the AHL again. With that in mind, I want top go through what I think are some strengths, and some potential weaknesses, as some pre-game reading before tonight’s game.

Strength: Defensive Depth

If there was one single question after the Bears clinched their 13th Calder Cup last year, it was the defensive depth. With the loss of Vincent Iorio, Lucas Johansen and Aaron Ness in the Eastern Conference Finals against Cleveland, the Bears backline was depleted going into the Finals rematch against Cleveland. While going down to the 9th defenseman on the depth chart is never a situation any team expects to be in, it is now a situation the Bears have planned for.

Of the main group last year only Lucas Johansen (left in free agency) and Dylan McIlrath (made the opening night roster in Washington) are not on the opening night roster. Key additions include veteran Brad Hunt and recently sent down from Washington Ethan Bear, who between the two combine for over 550 NHL games in their career. Those are two huge additions to the Bears blue line and both will be able to provide Chase Priskie with some help producing offense from the backline. With fellow returners Aaron Ness, Vincent Iorio, Hardy Häman Aktell, Logan Day, Jake Massie, Nicky Leivermann, Dmitry Osipov and Jon McDonald, no matter who the Bears dress on defense, the group will spell trouble for the rest of the AHL

Strength: Goaltending

You could have told me the Bears were returning only one of their two main goalies from last season and I still would consider it a strength. But, with both Hunter Shepard and Clay Stevenson returning, it is a clear and obvious strength for Hershey this season. Both put up a SV% over .920 last year, and Shepard went 27-4-3 in his 34 appearances last year. Stevenson also excelled in his first season of AHL hockey and was rewarded with a three year contract by the Washington Capitals that starts this year.

The Caps are high on Clay and we are likely to see similar game time splits between him and the more experienced Shepard this season. That can only mean good things for the Bears, as behind their strong D core is a strong goalie tandem that will carry them far this season.

Strength: Coaching

Todd Nelson is still behind the bench. That’s all that needs to be said. The now three-time Calder Cup winner is back for his third season in Hershey looking to make it three for three on Calder Cup winning seasons here in Chocolatetown. With Nelson behind the bench, I have no doubt the Bears have a high chance of doing so and helping Nelson write his name in the history books.

Strength: Bottom Six Forward Group

Since the Nelson era began, the Bears have always had very strong play from their bottom six (the third line and fourth line of forwards for any potential newcomers) and that looks to repeat again this year.

While I expect Ivan Miroshnichenko to be promoted to top six minutes in his second season in the chocolate and white, Nelson has a multitude of options to replace him on the left, with young prospects in Alex Suzdalev and Zac Funk or free agent acquisition Spencer Smallman. I do think Suzdalev will get first shout at that spot, with Smallman still not seeing anytime with this group due to an injury, likely leading to a Suzdalev-Rybinski-Vecchione third line to start the season.

Combine that with the checking prowess of the Bears reunited fourth line of 2024 Finals hero Matt Strome, shutdown center Riley Sutter, and physical right winger Bogdan Trineyev, the Bears boast one of the best bottom six groups in the entire AHL, and that’s with potentially Funk, Smallman and veteran Garrett Roe all available as options as well. The group is talented, deep and will play a huge part in the Bears season.

Weakness: Proven Top Six Scoring Depth

This is the one and only real weakness I see from the Bears as the season starts. The Bears have lost some key top six production this offseason, with Lapierre promoted full time to Washington and losing both Joe Snively (who signed with Detroit and is now in Grand Rapids) and Jimmy Huntington (who went to the dark side and signed with Pittsburgh and is now with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton). Snively was the Bears leading scorer last year and Huntington provided a solid two-way game and was a key part of the locker room.

The Bears do have some internal upgrades, with Ivan Miroshnichenko expected to take on expanded minutes this season and the return of Mike Sgarbossa, who was on pace to be the Bears leading scorer last year before performing well enough to stay up with Washington for much of the latter part of the 23-24 season.

The Bears also added Luke Philip, who dealt with injuries last year, but has a 30 goal AHL season under his belt and returned the killer winger trio of Ethen Frank, Pierrick Dubé and Alex Limoges to the group this year. Past Mike Vecchione on the third line though, there is not a lot of proven scoring options if either someone gets hurt or if players like Sgarbossa, Miro, Dubé or Frank get looks in DC this year. It was something that the Bears struggled with last year and this is a spot where you hope to see a Rybinski, Funk, or Suzdalev take a step offensively this year and be able to provide points if the top six is unable to.

The offensive additions to the defense in the form of the previously mentioned Hunt and Bear could also help alleviate some of the offensive burden, but it is the one place the Bears are a little weak in headed into game one. It is something that didn’t bother them last year though and this very well could be nitpicking from me again this season.