Capitals Sign Forward Wayne Simpson

July 11, 2017

The Washington Capitals, the NHL affiliate of the Hershey Bears, have signed forward Wayne Simpson to a one-year, two-way contract. The announcement was made by Washington's senior vice president and general manager Brian MacLellan.

Simpson, 27, is coming off a strong season with the Providence Bruins in 2016-17. The forward scored 16 goals, led the team in assists with 33, and tied for second on the team in points (49). He finished with a team-best plus/minus rating of +22, and logged just 10 penalty minutes. His success continued into the playoffs as the Bruins advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals. Simpson posted 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in 17 playoff games, good for second on the team. In the regular season, Simpson had five points (two goals, three assists) in six games versus Hershey, and also collected five points (three goals, two assists) in the seven-game playoff series versus Hershey. 

The 5-foot-11, 194-pound winger has skated in 148 AHL games with Providence and Portland, scoring 86 points (25 goals, 61 assists) and posting a +40 rating. The Boxboro, MA native played with Hershey's ECHL affiliate, the South Carolina Stingrays, for two seasons from 2013-2015. In 2015, Simpson helped lead the Stingrays to the Kelly Cup Finals, scoring an ECHL record 38 points (13 goals, 25 assists) in 27 playoff games. 

This is Simpson's first NHL contract. He was signed as a free agent by South Carolina out of Union College, where he played four years of NCAA hockey.  He helped the Dutchmen to a pair of ECAC conference championships, and tallied 115 points (56 goals, 59 assists) in 159 NCAA games. 

Information on full season tickets, 22-game and 12-game plans and flex-10 ticket plans for the 2017-2018 season is available now by calling (717) 508-BEAR or by visiting HersheyBears.com.  Flexible ticket plans start as low as $195 per seat.