NHL Preseason Action Returns to GIANT Center on September 21

June 22, 2026

The Hershey Bears and the club's National Hockey League affiliate, the Washington Capitals, are proud to announce that NHL preseason action is returning to Hershey. For the second straight season, the Capitals will take the ice in Chocolatetown to battle the Philadelphia Flyers, with this year's contest taking place at GIANT Center on Monday, September 21 at 7 p.m. 

Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, July 10 at 10 a.m. online via HersheyEntertainment.com and Ticketmaster.com. There will be an exclusive presale for Hershey Bears Season Ticket Members and Washington Capitals Season Ticket Holders with further information to come.  

"We are thrilled to welcome the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers back to GIANT Center," said Hershey vice president of hockey operations Bryan Helmer. "Last year's event was a great success that highlighted our incredibly strong partnership with Washington, and we're excited to have this marquee showcase returning to Chocolatetown. Opening the hockey season with NHL action in Hershey is special, and we know the best fans in the American Hockey League will be ready to provide another phenomenal atmosphere this September."

This is the fifth time the GIANT Center has hosted an NHL preseason game. Last year was the first NHL preseason game in Hershey since 2006, and the Capitals prevailed 5-1 over the Flyers in front of 10,420 on Sept. 25, 2025. Washington's lineup featured two sets of brothers, something the NHL hasn't seen in the regular season since 2002, as Dylan and Matt Strome and Aliaksei and Ilya Protas skated for the Capitals. 

The Bears and Capitals have enjoyed a longstanding affiliation that began ahead of the 2005-06 campaign. Last season, the Capitals roster featured 14 players who have also played in Hershey for the Bears. Standouts Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas were part of Hershey's 2023 Calder Cup team, while Ethen Frank and Dylan McIlrath led Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024. Fellow Calder Cup champion Bogdan Trineyev made his NHL debut with the Capitals last season, while Ilya Protas, who claimed the AHL's Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding rookie with Hershey, earned a call-up to make his NHL premiere with the Capitals in April. 

The Capitals staff also has many connections to Hershey. Washington head coach Spencer Carbery, who won the 2024-25 Jack Adams Award as the NHL's coach of the year, was Hershey's head coach from 2018-21, winning the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award as the AHL's outstanding coach in 2020-21. Washington assistant coach Scott Allen, goaltending coach Scott Murray, video coach Emily Engel-Natzke, assistant athletic trainer Murphy Luatua, assistant strength coach Mike Wagner, and radio play-by-play broadcaster John Walton are all former Hershey staff members. 

In total, the Bears have won the Calder Cup five times during the current partnership with Washington (2006, 2009, 2010, 2023, 2024), and no NHL-AHL pairing has won more Calder Cups in that span. When the Capitals won the Stanley Cup in 2018, 14 players on the club's playoff roster previously played in Hershey.

In addition to last year's game, previous NHL preseason games at GIANT Center included the initial NHL contest on Oct. 2, 2003 when the Flyers were bested by the New York Islanders. On Sept. 25, 2005, the Capitals and Penguins played at GIANT Center in a game that saw Alex Ovechkin take the ice for Washington ahead of his record-setting rookie season. The following year, Hockey Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur helped the New Jersey Devils to a win over the Capitals in Hershey on Sept. 24, 2006. 

Further information on the upcoming NHL preseason game at GIANT Center will be shared via HersheyBears.com and HersheyEntertainment.com.