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Get to know the power behind the Hershey Bears bench.
Bryan Helmer was named Hershey's Vice President of Hockey Operations in July 2016, moving to the front office after spending time as a player and assistant coach with the Bears during his Hall of Fame career.
After spending two seasons working on Troy Mann's staff as an assistant coach, Helmer was named the Vice President of Hockey Operations following the retirement of General Manager Doug Yingst. Helmer, a native of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, oversees the day-to-day operations of the club's hockey department. He works closely with team's coaching staff, as well as the Washington Capitals, Hershey's NHL affiliate, on all decisions involving players and personnel.
Helmer was inducted in the AHL Hall of Fame in 2017 after an illustrious playing career. He is the AHL's all-time leader in points by a defenseman. He recorded 564 points (129 goals, 435 assists) in a remarkable 20-year career that totaled 1,117 regular-season games. Helmer is also the AHL's all-time leader in Calder Cup playoff appearances, having played in 159 postseason games. He won three Calder Cups in his career, including captaining the Bears to back-to-back titles in 2009 and 2010. Helmer also played 146 games in the NHL with Phoenix, St. Louis, Vancouver and Washington, totaling 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists).
Prior to returning to Hershey, Helmer served as an assistant coach with the Peterborough Petes of the OHL in 2013-14. Helmer resides in the Hershey area with his wife Pam, son Cade, and daughter Rylan.
Todd Nelson was named the 28th head coach in franchise history in August 2022. The former Hershey defender brings more than two decades of coaching experience to Hershey, and is one of just three individuals to win a Calder Cup as a player, assistant coach, and head coach in league history.
Nelson brings vast coaching experience and a championship pedigree to Hershey. The veteran bench boss has experience in the United Hockey League, American Hockey League, and NHL. The native of Prince Albert, Saskatchewan spent the previous four seasons prior to joining the Bears as an assistant coach for the NHL's Dallas Stars, and returned to Hershey after skating in one season with the club during his playing career, donning the Chocolate and White during the 1995-96 campaign.
Overall in his accomplished professional career, Nelson has won six championships, including one as a player, one as a player/assistant coach, one as an assistant coach, and three as a head coach. Nelson led Grand Rapids to a Calder Cup Championship in 2017, becoming only the third person in AHL history to win the Calder Cup as a player (1994, Portland), assistant coach (2008, Chicago) and head coach, joining former Bears Bob Woods and Mike Stothers on that exclusive list.
In Nelson's tenure as an AHL head coach, he worked parts of eight seasons with Oklahoma City (2010-15) and Grand Rapids (2015-18), posting a 309-189-16-47 (.607) regular season record. Additionally, Nelson owns a 42-31 (.575) record in 73 career Calder Cup Playoff games. As a head coach, he's helped his team qualify for the Calder Cup Playoffs in all eight seasons he's worked in the AHL.
Nelson earned AHL All-Star Classic coaching nods in 2012 and 2017. With Grand Rapids, he helped 24 Griffins move on to the NHL, including current Washington Capitals Nick Jensen and Anthony Mantha.
In the NHL, Nelson was named the interim head coach of Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 15, 2014, guiding the club to a 17-22-7 record in the season's final 46 games. He also has experience as an assistant coach with Atlanta (2008-10), Edmonton (2014), and most recently with Dallas (2018-22). Nelson served as part of Rick Bowness' staff in 2019-20 as the Stars reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Overall, Nelson owns a 475-269-48-47 (.623) record as a professional head coach. He spent three seasons (2003-06) as head coach of the UHL’s Muskegon Fury, winning consecutive Colonial Cups (2004, 2005). He won his first Colonial Cup with Muskegon during the 2001-02 season while serving as a player/assistant coach.
Over his 887-game playing career, Nelson skated in three NHL regular season games, including two for the Capitals, notching his lone NHL goal with Washington on Apr. 12, 1994 versus Winnipeg. He also appeared in four postseason games with the Capitals during the 1994 Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the Bears in 1995-96, Nelson logged the most productive season of his 12-year playing career, collecting 50 points (10g, 40a) in 70 games.
Patrick Wellar returned to Hershey as an assistant coach ahead of the 2018-19 season after playing parts of six seasons with the Bears from 2008-2014.
Under his watch, the Bears were the AHL’s best defensive team in 2020-21, allowing just 2.33 goals per game, en route to winning the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy as AHL regular season champions.
A former defender, Wellar was a stalwart on Hershey's blue line during his playing career. He was part of Hershey's 2010 Calder Cup Championship team that went 60-17-0-3 in regular season play before ultimately claiming the franchise's 11th title. In total, the Carrot River, Saskatchewan native appeared in 260 games with Hershey, scoring 46 points (7 goals, 39 assists), and posting a +24 rating. He also appeared in 36 playoff contests with the club.
Following his departure from Hershey, Wellar served as a player/assistant coach with the ECHL's Utah Grizzlies in 2014-15, and Alaska Aces in 2015-16. Upon his retirement, Wellar moved behind the bench permanently as an assistant coach with the ECHL's Cincinnati Cyclones, guiding the club to a 36-29-6-1 record in 2015-16. He joined the ECHL's Reading Royals for the 2017-18 season in the same capacity, helping the club secure a playoff berth with a 39-24-9-0 record, good for a third place in the North Division.
In his 12-year playing career, Wellar, a third round selection of the Capitals in 2002, amassed over 300 games in the AHL, making stops in Peoria, Worcester, Toronto, and Hershey. His resume also includes 441 games at the ECHL level, including an All-Star Game appearance in 2005. Wellar won the Kelly Cup three times, including with Alaska in 2006, South Carolina in 2009, and Reading in 2013.
Nick Bootland returned to Hershey in 2022 after a 13-year run as the head coach of the ECHL’s Kalamazoo Wings. Bootland played parts of three seasons for the Bears from 1998-2003 prior to moving behind the bench.
Bootland became head coach of Kalamazoo in 2008-09 when the club was a member of the International Hockey League, and continued with the organization in its shift to the ECHL. He owned a coaching record of 481-366-82 in 929 career IHL and ECHL games with Kalamazoo, helping the club qualify for the playoffs nine times.
While at the helm, he guided the Wings to an appearance in the 2011 Kelly Cup Finals and in his tenure, the team won four division championships and one conference championship.
In his playing career, Bootland skated in parts of three seasons with the Bears from 1998-03. The forward appeared in 208 career games with the Chocolate and White, posting 42 points (15g, 27a) and 350 penalty minutes. The Shelburne, Ontario native spent the last three seasons of his career in Kalamazoo, serving as team captain. In 2006, he led the K-Wings to a UHL championship, capturing Colonial Cup Playoffs Most Valuable Player honors with 16 points (10g, 6a) in 13 playoff games.
Juha Lehtola was hired as Hershey’s associate goaltending coach in August 2022, bringing experience in both North America and overseas to the club’s netminders.
Lehtola joined the Bears from his native Finland where he worked with in the country's top league, Liiga, for HPK Hameenlinna as goaltending coach and video coach since 2016. He was part of HPK's 2018-19 club that won the league championship, and the former netminder was a product of HPK's junior program during his playing days.
The native of Hameenlinna, Finland was selected as the goaltending coach for Finland in the 2021 and 2022 World Junior Championships.
From 2011-13, Lehtola worked alongside Washington Capitals goalie coach Scott Murray with the Ontario Hockey League's Sudbury Wolves. He served as Murray's assistant goaltending coach and also held the video coach title during the 2011-13 campaign.
Adam Purner was named Hershey’s video coach in 2022 after spending the previous two seasons working in the same role in the New Jersey Devils organization.
Prior to joining the Bears, Purner was the video coach for the Devils’ AHL affiliate, working in Binghamton in 2020-2 and in Utica during the 2021-22 campaign. The Glens Falls, New York native also has experience with USA Hockey, serving as the video coordinator for the Women’s National Team at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship.
Additionally, Purner was a goalie video analyst for the St. Louis Blues in 2020, and worked for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks as hockey video coordinator from 2016-19, and held the title of video coach in 2019-20.
Dan "Beaker" Stuck serves as the Bears Manager of Wellness and Team Affairs, a role he moved into in 2018 after serving as the team's Head Trainer since 1985.
Stuck became Hershey's assistant trainer in 1983, and then took a year away to become the assistant equipment manager for the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers. The following season, in 1985-86, he was named Hershey's Head Trainer, a position he held until moving into a new role in 2018. The man they call "Beaker," has witnessed championships in 1987-88, 1996-97, 2005-06, 2008-09, and 2009-10 under John Paddock, Bob Hartley, Bruce Boudreau, Bob Woods, and Mark French. Stuck, one of the most decorated trainers in the league history, is a veteran of over 2,600 games and worked seven All-Star games.
Stuck's main responsibilities include working with the hockey operations staff to help maintain the rich tradition of Hershey Bears Hockey within the locker room with the players and coaches. He coordinates team travel, and assists with the team’s community efforts.
Stuck lives in Palmyra with his wife Janice. He has a daughter, Alexis, as well as a son Dustin, who serves as the athletic trainer with the Providence Bruins.
Brian Riedel joined the Hershey Bears as assistant athletic trainer in Sept. 2019 and was promoted to head athletic trainer in Dec. 2020.
Riedel joined the Bears from the Greenville Swamp Rabbits of the ECHL. He spent the 2018-19 season with the club, serving as head athletic trainer. He held the same title with the Peoria Rivermen of the Southern Professional Hockey League during the 2017-18 campaign.
The native of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin is a graduate of University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. During his time in college, he worked closely with the school's men's hockey team.
Shawn Fliszar joined the Hershey Bears as assistant athletic trainer in Dec. 2020 after previously spending time in the ECHL.
Fliszar joined the Bears from the ECHL's Atlanta Gladiators. He worked as the club's head athletic trainer during the 2019-20 season. Prior to moving to Georgia, Fliszar gained experience with the ECHL's Norfolk Admirals, first serving as an athletic training intern, then being hired as the club's head athletic trainer in 2018.
A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, Fliszar holds a bachelor's degree from DeSales University and a master's degree from Moravian College. He also has past experience as an athletic training intern at Old Dominion University, Lehigh University, and Palisades High School.
Mike Wagner joined the Bears in 2016 as the club’s Strength and Conditioning Coach. He oversees the team's weight room, player workouts, and conditioning of all players.
A Hershey native, Wagner has experience working with the University of Maryland, Millersville University, and most recently Villanova University. Wagner has a Masters Degree in Exercise Science and Health Promotion with a concentration in Injury Prevention and Performance Enhancement. He resides in the Hershey area with his wife Katrina.
Josh Carter has served as the Head Equipment Manager of the Hershey Bears since 2014.
Carter has been around the Bears his whole life, and worked as a stick boy and locker room attendant for the Bears from the time he was 12 to his graduation from Elizabethtown High School in 2010. Carter is a 2013 graduate of California University of Pennsylvania, where played hockey for the Vulcans and served as their equipment manager.
He spent the 2013-14 season as an Assistant Equipment Manager for the Anaheim Ducks before returning to Hershey to take the position of Head Equipment Manager. His uncle, Doug "Sluggo" Shearer, was the equipment manager for the Anaheim Ducks until 2018, and was a former equipment manager for the Washington Capitals (1983-2007) and Bears (1981-83).
Dillon Filepas joined the Chocolate and White as an Assistant Equipment Manager in 2017 after previously working with the Bears from 2008-12.
The Elizabethtown native and is no stranger to the Hershey organization. He returned to Central Pennsylvania with the Bears after serving as the head equipment manager for the 2017 Clark Cup Champion Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League. With the Steel, Filepas was responsible for all team equipment needs including skate sharpening, jersey embroidery, equipment repair, and overseeing the team's ordering and inventory.
From 2008-12, Filepas worked with the Bears as a stick boy and locker room attendant, assisting during Hershey's Calder Cup Championship seasons in 2009 and 2010. Additionally, he worked at ProSkate, a hockey pro shop at Klick Lewis Arena in Palmyra.
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