The Washington Capitals, the National Hockey League affiliate of the Hershey Bears, have re-assigned goaltender Garin Bjorklund to Hershey from the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. Additionally, the Bears have recalled goaltender Seth Eisele from South Carolina, and Hershey has released goaltender JaCob Mucitelli from his tryout agreement.
Bjorklund, 22, went 21-4-3 in 29 games with the Stingrays this season. His 2.02 goals-against average ranked second in the ECHL while his .927 save percentage was third. He won his lone playoff start for the Stingrays before suffering an injury that kept him out for the remainder of South Carolina's first-round series versus Orlando.
He appeared in two games for Hershey, going 2-0-0 with a 1.49 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. He made his AHL debut on Mar. 26 at Bridgeport, stopping 26 shots in a 4-1 win.
Eisele, 26, went 19-10-1 with three shutouts in 31 appearances with South Carolina this season. Eisele ranked sixth among ECHL netminders - and first among rookie goaltenders - in goals-against average (2.30) and tied for 13th in save percentage (.914). He went 1-1 in the Kelly Cup Playoffs with a 2.35 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
He made his AHL debut with Hershey on April 19, stopping 16 shots in a 4-3 loss to Lehigh Valley.
The Bears continue the 2025 Calder Cup Playoffs when Hershey opens the best-of-five Atlantic Division Finals against the Charlotte Checkers on Friday, May 16, at 7 p.m. at Bojangles Coliseum. The series resumes in Hershey with Game 3 on Wednesday, May 21 at GIANT Center. Tickets for Bears home games for the Atlantic Division Finals are for sale online via Ticketmaster.