Bears Sign Patrick Guzzo and John Fusco

August 19, 2025

The Hershey Bears have signed forward Patrick Guzzo and defenseman John Fusco to American Hockey League contracts for the 2025-26 season. The announcement was made by Hershey vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer.

Guzzo, 23, scored 16 points (9g, 7a) in 36 games with Ohio State University in 2024-25. The Marysville, Michigan native served as the club's co-captain for the second straight season, and his 171 games at Ohio State over five seasons are the most in the program's history. In his NCAA career, he recorded 62 points (34g, 28a), and was a five-time Ohio State Scholar-Athlete and earned four Academic All-Big Ten selections. 

Following the conclusion of his NCAA career, he joined the AHL's Manitoba Moose in April on a professional tryout agreement, appearing in three games.

Prior to his time at Ohio State, the 6'3", 191-pound forward scored 40 points (18g, 22a) in 100 career USHL games with the Waterloo Black Hawks.

Fusco, 24, spent his senior year of collegiate hockey at Dartmouth College during the 2024-25 season, where he posted a career-high 21 points (11g, 10a) and plus-minus of +15, and ranked sixth in the nation with six game-winning goals.

The 5'10", 190-pound blueliner began his NCAA career at Harvard University in 2021-22, where he was teammates with current Bears-contracted goaltender Mitch Gibson, before transferring to Dartmouth for his final three seasons, accumulating 51 points (22g, 29a) in 112 career games.

Fusco was originally a seventh-round selection (189th overall) by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Fusco's father Mark played two seasons in the National Hockey League with the Hartford Whalers and was a member of the United States hockey team at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo.

The Hershey Bears will return for their 88th season of American Hockey League competition when they open the 2025-26 regular season at home against the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center. Single-game tickets to all Bears home games at GIANT Center for the 2025-26 season will go on sale to the public on Thursday, Sept. 11. For more information, visit HersheyBears.com.

Fusco Photo credit: Ryan Yong