Bears Sign Cal Petersen to AHL Contract

The Hershey Bears have signed goaltender Cal Petersen to an American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season. The announcement was made by Hershey vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.

Petersen, 31, participated in the Washington Capitals’ training camp on a professional tryout. He appeared in 33 games with the Iowa Wild last season, posting a 13-16-2 record with a 2.73 goals-against average, an .896 save percentage, and four shutouts. He was named Iowa’s IOA/American Specialty Man of the Year for his outstanding community contributions.

The 6’1”, 180-pound goaltender has appeared in 248 career AHL games with Ontario, Lehigh Valley, and Iowa, going 105-114-21 with a 3.07 goals-against average, a .901 save percentage, and 15 shutouts. He is a two-time AHL All-Star, representing the Ontario Reign in 2018 and 2020. He has also appeared in 15 Calder Cup Playoff games, posting a 2.94 goals-against average. 

A native of Waterloo, Iowa, Petersen spent parts of six seasons in the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings and the Philadelphia Flyers. He won 20 games for the Kings in 2021-22, and overall in his NHL tenure, Petersen has gone 46-44-10 with a 2.96 goals-against average, a .903 save percentage, and four shutouts. 

Petersen represented Team USA at the IIHF World Championship three times, and in 2021, he helped the Americans win a bronze medal. That year, he had the tournament’s best goals-against average (1.29) and save percentage (.953) and was named the event's best goaltender. 

Prior to turning pro, Petersen played three years at the University of Notre Dame. In his final season (2016-17), he was a team captain and an NCAA First Team All-Star. While playing with his hometown Waterloo Black Hawks in the United States Hockey League in 2013-14, he won the Dave Peterson Award as the USA Hockey junior goalie of the year while leading Waterloo to the Clark Cup Finals. 

Petersen will wear #40 for Hershey. 

Hershey opens the 2026-27 regular season, presented by Penn State Health, against the Charlotte Checkers on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at GIANT Center. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.