Prospect Info: Hershey Bears/South Carolina Stingrays 2023-24 Seasons | Hershey 12x (and Defending) Champions Edition

[DWGie26]

Bears did this last year. Reassigned a bunch of guys. Some stayed less than a week. They have a HUGE roster right now! And it will get bigger as other seasons end.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Bears did this last year. Reassigned a bunch of guys. Some stayed less than a week. They have a HUGE roster right now! And it will get bigger as other seasons end.

With the struggles we've had with consistency I could see some guys getting to play. Mainly Cristal and Protas as their seasons conclude. They're a little different tier of prospects as some of the black aces we've had on the past two teams.

 

[DWGie26]

With the struggles we've had with consistency I could see some guys getting to play. Mainly Cristal and Protas as their seasons conclude. They're a little different tier of prospects as some of the black aces we've had on the past two teams.

Agreed. Those are the only forwards likely to see any action. And then Gucciardi and Chesley. Muggli maybe since he is a lefty.

 

[trick9]

53 goals and 139 points for Protas in his 66-game OHL career so far. 8 goals and 26 assists for 34 points in his last 10 games.

I don't know if he'll get any games in the Playoffs but valuable experience atleast. That man isn't going back to Juniors.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Bears looked like hot ass in the first period. Being outshot 6-2. Against a UDFA goalie in his first professional game.

 

[MFHOOD2]

NEW GUYS SCORE BACK TO BACK WOO!

 

[MFHOOD2]

TWO GOALS IN LIKE A MINUTE OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDD

 

[Ridley Simon]

Uh, for those not watching?

 

[Coldnwindy]

Uh, for those not watching?

Chesley and Miro scored.

 

[DWGie26]

What in the world were those jerseys the Bears were wearing?

Nice win! Love that Chelsey scored today after Gucchiardi scored yesterday!

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Not a Picasso, as Nelson might say, but they did enough in the third to get the job done. Clay stepped up when it counted. Didn't watch Friday but he apparently had a great game then too by all accounts.

What in the world were those jerseys the Bears were wearing?

Nice win! Love that Chelsey scored today after Gucchiardi scored yesterday!

Autism awareness

 

[hb13xchamps]

Chelsey goal. He also received high praise from Nelson after the game and was out at the end to help close the game out. That seems like a pretty good indicator that he will be counted on down the stretch IMO

 

[Holtbyisms]

Agreed. Those are the only forwards likely to see any action. And then Gucciardi and Chesley. Muggli maybe since he is a lefty.

Agreed on the forward front. I'd be a little surprised if Muggli was a playoff option though if his WJC was any indication of how he progressed since the draft. Maybe he just had a bad tournament but he definitely looked like he wasn't ready for AHL action in the u20s. He could get a game or two if we lock down the east quick.

 

[Corby78]

So these two new D? Kinda showed up at a good time no?

 

[Holtbyisms]

So these two new D? Kinda showed up at a good time no?

Yeah, the D has been an issue all season. If these two can continue to build confidence with the coaching staff you could very well see them both starting come playoff time. We've been using one, sometimes two ECHL level players on D almost all season.

 

[Kazer]

Yeah, the D has been an issue all season. If these two can continue to build confidence with the coaching staff you could very well see them both starting come playoff time. We've been using one, sometimes two ECHL level players on D almost all season.

To that end, Hershey has been allowing 2.91 goals per game this year. This weekend, the team allowed 4 goals in 3 games. Some of that is better goaltending but a lot of that is better defensive play. Having Ness back (played 2 of 3) is a big factor but Gucci played Saturday and Chesley played Sunday.

On Muggli, he had a rough WJC, but that was also a bad Swiss team which put him in a lot of bad situations. He has played top level Swiss professional hockey for two full years on a good team. He's young (doesn't turn 19 until July), but he has more pedigree than a player coming out of juniors with his professional experience. Hershey all of a sudden has a lot of mouths to feed with more to come.

Final thought while I'm here - Bjorklund with .942% in two games. Small sample size, obviously, but he has clearly put himself in the AHL mix for 25-26. Would not be surprised at all to see a Stevenson/Bjorklund tandem next year. A thin silver lining to Thompson's injury is giving Garin a chance to prove what he can do at the AHL level.

 

[Random schmoe]

Related to the Patrick Thomas signing, just curious what those who watch the Bears think of their center depth next season?

In Hershey's last game, their centers were:
Smallman (re-signed for next season)
Vecchione (AHL UFA)
Rybinski (NHL RFA w/ Arb)
Sutter (NHL Group VI UFA)

Lapierre (NHL RFA) and Sgarbossa (NHL UFA) were out with injuries.

I know Smallman and Vecchione often play on the wing when the team is otherwise fully healthy.

And I'd operate under the assumption that LaPierre plays next season in DC, I think we all hope that to be the case, and he certainly has a shot.

Sutter recently passed the games played threshold to be a 'veteran player' under the AHL rules for such.

Can't imagine the Rybinski contract would pose much of a problem if they want him back on an NHL deal. (Side note, PuckPedia seems to imply he will have 3 years of arbitration eligibility, from this offseason until becoming a UFA in 2028. I'm not sure I've seen that before. But not many guys sign their first ELC at age 21, either.)

 

[hb13xchamps]

That’s probably the one position group that gets a major overhaul this offseason. They’ll have an abundance of wings to choose from, especially with all the prospects potentially making the jump.

Rybinski should be back and I could see Sgarbossa getting signed again if he doesn’t go the Europe route. The rest are gone IMO. They’ll most likely target a player under the vet threshold who is a center. They’ve done that the past two offseasons with Jimmy Huntington and Philip.

 

[Random schmoe]

Thanks, HB.

I am a little fascinated by what they do this off-season, blending the need/desire to stay a top competitive team while also finding room for all the DC prospects who should probably be playing at the AHL level next season.

Just spitballing some names of guys that might deserve to be there:
Lil Pro
Thomas
Cristall (if not in DC)
Allen
Chesley
Gucci
Miro (if not in DC)

 

[hb13xchamps]

Thanks, HB.

I am a little fascinated by what they do this off-season, blending the need/desire to stay a top competitive team while also finding room for all the DC prospects who should probably be playing at the AHL level next season.

Just spitballing some names of guys that might deserve to be there:
Lil Pro
Thomas
Cristall (if not in DC)
Allen
Chesley
Gucci
Miro (if not in DC)

The defense won’t be too bad to figure out. They have Ness signed for next year for sure. Plus Big Mac signed with Washington but his contract would be easy to burry if someone beats him out. And the only winger on an AHL deal is Strome I believe. Center really is the only glaring position of need for next years squad

 

[AlexModvechkin8]

Suzdalev reassigned to Hershey from SC.

 

[Random schmoe]

Suzdalev reassigned to Hershey from SC.

That's a bit interesting, because he's a fairly important player for the Stingrays, and they only need 2 points in their last 3 games to wrap up the ECHL version of the President's Trophy. (Regular season ends Sunday the 13th.) I'd wonder if he's only up in Hershey to let them rest some other guys.

Suzdalev leads all U21 ECHL players in scoring, both totals and per game pace. 15 + 24 in 50. He's 8th in total points if you make it U22. (Pace gets wonky because of so many guys only playing a few games.) He's one more guy that could probably warrant a longer term look in Hershey.

(Side note 2: The Stingrays had a guy on the ECHL all-rookie team, Kyler Kupka. He's 25, played 5 seasons at St Cloud State, and played 12 games in the AHL this year on loan to the Calgary Wranglers, between Feb 23 and March 29.)

 

[wickedwitch]

Can someone familiar with Hershey tell me why neither of the new D are playing?

 

[Holtbyisms]

Can someone familiar with Hershey tell me why neither of the new D are playing?

Todd brings new guys along slowly. He's a very detail oriented coach and likes his guys to be students of his game/system. I'd hope they'll get looks on the backside of the b2b cause we're icing two bonafide ECHLers and one borderline on D tonight. Gucciardi and Chelsey will need to earn it in practice consistently before Todd hands them a starting gig.

 

[usiel]

Don't know if its both drafting and Hershey (who also wants to compete for AHL championship) but caps have been rather underwhelming in their D development....Fever, Seigs, AA.