Practice Notebook: Bites from the First Day of Bears Training Camp

The first on-ice session of the 2026-27 season for the Hershey Bears got underway Tuesday morning at Hersheypark Arena, as a skeleton crew of 16 skaters and two goaltenders took the ice for the first day of training camp.

The group was a mix of familiar faces and a handful of newcomers, along with a pinch of ECHL players attending training camp on a tryout basis.

In addition to goaltenders Garin Bjorklund and Ben Kraws, the 16 skaters were broken up into four groups of four denoted by their practice sweaters:

Black: Kyle Jackson, Rhett Parsons, Matt Strome, Aidan Hreschuk
Green: Jalen Luypen, Landon McCallum, Noah Beck, Jaxson Murray
Light blue: Cam Morrison, Dalton Smith, Ryan Sandelin, Josh Prokop
Navy blue: Grant Cruikshank, Alex Gaffney, Sam Bitten, Joey Anderson

Of course, several of the players on the ice that Bears bench boss Derek King was putting through their paces may not necessarily be on the team’s roster by the time Hershey drops the puck against the Charlotte Checkers in the club’s season opener on October 3.

A wrinkle of the National Hockey League’s new collective bargaining agreement and an expanded regular-season schedule of 84 games resulted in an abbreviated NHL preseason. Consequently, the shortened exhibition slate means Hershey’s affiliate in Washington will likely hold on to some players eventually destined for the Bears between now through this weekend’s conclusion of the senior club’s preseason schedule (and perhaps even closer to the start of the NHL regular season).

“It’s never easy,” King conceded. “It’d be nice if they did all the cuts and sent guys down right away, and then we could work on our systems and that, but we’ll start implementing some of the systems as we go here, even if it’s a low number. But, you know, it’s the American Hockey League – this is what we do as coaches – we develop them, we help out, we get a chance to see some of the guys that may not be here, may be in the [ECHL], that if we need a call-up, we know where to go and who to ask for.

Despite the lighter-than-usual personnel, King thinks the players accorded themselves well to the intensity demanded of them during today’s drills.

 “Pretty good. I think they had enough. They battled hard – it’s not easy,” King said. “And some of those guys, they probably don’t get those skates in the summer. I know when I was playing, trying to skate like that, I wouldn’t go out and give myself a skate like that by myself. So it was good to see them, see who can handle it, and for the most part, I think all of them did.” 

Looking ahead

Among the players King is eager to eventually see back in Hershey is Ryan Chesley. The sophomore defenseman enjoyed a standout performance in Washington’s 5-2 exhibition win over Philadelphia on Monday night at GIANT Center by collecting three assists.

“You kind of put your list together of guys you’re probably going to have, and it’s no secret – even the players know – a guy like Chesley knows when he comes into [NHL] camp, you can fight for a spot, but you’re going to have to do pretty miraculous out there to beat out the ‘D’ corps they have. [...] And then Chesley goes out and puts up a nice performance, a solid game, gets three assists, and I’m just like ‘you guys are killing me right now,’ because then they’ll last a little longer,” said King, flashing some of his dry sense of humor. “But it’s good for him. That’s what it’s all about, especially a guy like Chesley.

Home sweet Hershey

Back to the Bears at present. Among the returners is Matt Strome (at 27, the forward is the longest-tenured Bear on the roster), back for his fifth season in Chocolate and White. When he first arrived in Hershey in 2022, Strome was still attempting to establish his role as a player in the AHL, but he has since matured into one of the leaders for a Bears team that has transitioned from the dynastic back-to-back Calder Cup squad under Todd Nelson into the reloaded youth movement with King at the helm. Now considered a veteran by AHL standards under the league’s rules with an emphasis on player development, Strome was not necessarily a lock to be re-signed by the organization at the end of last season.

“This is the longest place I’ve kind of lived as an adult. Being here for five years now – at the end of last year, not knowing what was going to happen, it was obviously emotional. And you knew guys were leaving like Aaron Ness […], it’s hard not to get emotional,” Strome said, acknowledging the uncertainty of his status. “That was a little crazy, and the coming weeks after were pretty nuts. But once talks kind of picked up with Washington and Hershey, I could kind of settle down and take a sigh of relief. I’m just so happy to be back and ready to get going.”

The continuity of Strome’s tenure provides an active link to the standard set by the Bears.

“Like always in Hershey, it’s Calder Cup or nothing. That was our message on Day One of camp. And obviously it depends on who comes back from Washington, what happens up there, and we can’t control that. For our first preseason game, whoever’s here is here. We’ve just got to set that tone, that we’re not going to get pushed around,” Strome said. “We’re not going to be that young team who’s trying to figure things out. [...] For most guys, it’s kind of a make-or-break, whether they’re going to get a chance up in Washington or you might be traded, or you might not ever be up there. So it’s a really big make-or-break year for some guys, and if I can help them any way, I’m going to do that.”

Strome’s coach knows that he will have to find the right balance juggling a mix of several players with veteran status who could wind up in Hershey this season, and when exactly to insert them into the lineup.

“It’s going to be on me to manage that with all of them, and I’ll have to have a little chat with them, but it’s not easy getting a job nowadays, especially with being a veteran or with all the youth that’s coming into the American Hockey League,” King said. “It’s good to see Stromer back. His understanding and my understanding when we talked was maybe limited games. It just depends – you know, all of a sudden you get some injuries like we did last year, and all of a sudden you’re playing every shift and killing penalties, you’re net-front on the power play.

“Even if we have 10 of them, I don’t care, we’ll just have to find a good rotation.”

Anderson embraces opportunity

King also expressed his bewilderment that the Bears managed to score a potential coup in the signing of veteran forward Joey Anderson to a professional tryout agreement, announced earlier today.

“Joey Anderson on a PTO, which is crazy. I don’t understand how we did that, but I’ve had him before,” King mused. “I know what he can do, and he's another great vet to have.”

Anderson, who possesses 169 games of NHL experience with New Jersey, Toronto, and Chicago and was an AHL All-Star in 2019-20, played under King when the latter was an assistant coach for the Blackhawks.

“It’s awesome. Some familiarity with Kinger from back in Chicago, but it’s been unbelievable so far,” Anderson said. “The organization’s amazing, facilities are great, guys are awesome. The first thing I think of is the fans, one of the most attended teams in the league, very passionate fanbase, and expects to win.”

Winning isn’t new to Anderson, who won an IIHF World Junior Championship gold medal for Team USA in 2017 and an NCAA Frozen Four title with the University of Minnesota Duluth the following year. The veteran liked what he saw on the ice today.

“It’s not easy with the low numbers, a lot of up-and-down [the ice] competing, battling, one-on-ones, two-on-twos, but guys stuck together, didn’t dog it at all. It was good to see guys battle through, and it was a good day one, a good starting block.”

Written by Bears media specialist Jesse Liebman