Bears Sign Alex Gaffney for 2026-27 Season

March 24, 2026

The Hershey Bears announced today that the club has signed forward Alex Gaffney to an American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season in addition to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO) for the remainder of the 2025-26 campaign. The announcement was made by Hershey vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.

Gaffney, 23, recently completed his fifth season of collegiate hockey as a graduate transfer at the University of St. Thomas (Minn.), where he led the Tommies program in scoring with 40 points (18g, 22a) in 38 games and made an appearance in the Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) title game. He was named the CCHA Forward of the Month in October, leading the conference in scoring during that time period with 11 points (5g, 6a). 

In 138 career NCAA games with the University of St. Thomas and Harvard University, the 5'9", 177-pound forward produced 81 points (40g, 41a). He helped Harvard to a ECAC championship in 2021-22, playing alongside current Hershey goaltender Mitch Gibson. 

Before embarking on his collegiate career, the West Orange, New Jersey native played three seasons in the United States Hockey League, where he generated 84 points (42g, 42a) in 155 games between the Muskegon Lumberjacks, Omaha Lancers, and Waterloo Black Hawks.

Gaffney has also represented Greece at the 2024 and 2025 Challenger Series. In last year's event in Montreal, he helped Greece win the title, leading the series in scoring with 18 points (10g, 8a) in seven games.