Prospect Info: Hershey Bears/South Carolina Stingrays 2020-2021 Vol. 1

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Oof, brutal night all around.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Pain.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Well, I'm glad they didn't just roll over and die... I thought for sure they were dead in the water after it was 3-1.

But I think I would've rather they just lost 3-1 in regulation than make that comeback just to lose in ot.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Black aces prediction:

Sgarbossa, Pilon and Protas for some center depth even though Protas and Pilon primarily play wing. Leason for sure and maybe Malenstyn and Snively if healthy.

On defense my guesses are Alexeyev and LuJo with an outside chance of Geisser.

They’ll carry two of Fucale/Shepard/Copley just in case of injury. My guess is Copley is the odd man out due to UFA status.

 

[DWGie26]

Black aces prediction:

Sgarbossa, Pilon and Protas for some center depth even though Protas and Pilon primarily play wing. Leason for sure and maybe Malenstyn and Snively if healthy.

On defense my guesses are Alexeyev and LuJo with an outside chance of Geisser.

They’ll carry two of Fucale/Shepard/Copley just in case of injury. My guess is Copley is the odd man out due to UFA status.

that is a lot of black aces. I don’t suspect we’ll see Wilson for a while and I think it is a knee (not an ankle). For that reason I think you’ll see at least one physical black ace (Malenstyn or McIlrath. Most likely to get a game from black aces is Protas.

 

[hb12xchamps]

that is a lot of black aces. I don’t suspect we’ll see Wilson for a while and I think it is a knee (not an ankle). For that reason I think you’ll see at least one physical black ace (Malenstyn or McIlrath. Most likely to get a game from black aces is Protas.

Yeah true. I think Protas and Leason are locks at forward and Alexeyev at D. LuJo depends on how they feel he progressed this season and if they keep him around. If not, there were times this year that Tarik said they were excited about Geisser’s progress so he makes sense. I only added Sgarbossa/Pilon because our center depth is dismal. I guess they could view Protas and McMichael as desperation centers barring injury.

I personally would carry 4 goalies but unsure if they do that. I wouldn’t want to send a guy home and potentially have to recall him if both goaltenders go down.

I kinda hope they give Snively time to recover and get to training. He had the wrist surgery and then apparently took and elbow to the face in game one against WBS.

 

[AlexBrovechkin8]

Saw this on the SidelineSwap app this morning which, by the way, is an awesome app. Got a lightly used $150 Nike baseball glove for $29 and $180 Warrior hockey gloves for $70.

Hershey Bears Capitals Alternate 70th Anniversary AHL hockey Jersey L | SidelineSwap

Shop Used Reebok Jerseys up to 70% off – or start selling in seconds. SidelineSwap is where athletes buy and sell their gear.

sidelineswap.com

 

[Random schmoe]

More than a little surprised that the caps didn't sign Hughes to an ELC considering his numbers and "late bloomer" path.

 

[hb12xchamps]

Beary nice

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Also I was unaware until about three days ago that Geisser signed a three year deal in the Swiss league.

 

[Holtbyisms]

Also I was unaware until about three days ago that Geisser signed a three year deal in the Swiss league.

Saw the Geisser news awhile back, was sad to see it. Super pumped about Ness though, he'll be a nice add for a young team in need of leadership.

 

[swansonsays]

I take it the Ness signing & Moulson's announcement about taking a scouting job are related. As mentioned, Ness would make a nice "A" (if not a "C") to mentor the youngsters.

 

[DWGie26]

Ness is a good veteran AHL signing. Didn’t realize he was 30, and he signed an AHL deal only so there will be no call ups. But yes on the leadership side of things!

 

[hb12xchamps]

Both Matt Moulson and Chris Bourque were hired as scouts for the Leafs within the past week. Moulson as a pro scout and Bourque as an amateur scout. Moulson doesn’t surprise me. A back surgery at his age didn’t bode well for his chances to return. Plus when he was on Spittin Chiclets he mentioned he wanted to get into the front office side of things once he retired.

 

[DWGie26]

Both Matt Moulson and Chris Bourque were hired as scouts for the Leafs within the past week. Moulson as a pro scout and Bourque as an amateur scout. Moulson doesn’t surprise me. A back surgery at his age didn’t bode well for his chances to return. Plus when he was on Spittin Chiclets he mentioned he wanted to get into the front office side of things once he retired.

ahh… didn’t know they both moved on to be scouts. I knew Moulson was a question mark to come back. Good luck to both of them in their next hockey journey.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Notable AHL forwards on the market:

Sam Anas (MD kid, PPG AHL player... just saying)
Kyle Rau
CJ Smith
Justin Bailey
Chris Terry
Michael Chaput

There's some guys who had decent production last year but don't have a long history of offense (Frederik Gauthier, Mackenzie MacEachern, Ryan MacInnis), guys who had down years (Buddy Robinson)

With offensive depth being the biggest issue by far last year it's a little disheartening to see Borgstrom be the only addition so far (besides the rookies like Lapierre and Rybinski). Free agency is still young but a lot of the bigger AHL names are already off the market. They've lost Pinho, probably losing AJF and Snively to the Caps, possibly Leason I guess? Gersich probably isn't coming back. I suppose the Caps' forward crunch could *possibly* see some guys trickle back down to Hershey but a lot of them would have to clear waivers. I'd like to see at least one or two more vets signed.

Maybe James Neal pulls a Moulson and decides he'd like to finish his career in Hershey

 

[swansonsays]

Funny you posted this. I was just looking at the Hershey player tracker & told the wife that they better hope whichever goalie is up with Fucale is ready to play. It's looking like a high scoring game for the Bears is going to be scoring 2. Lots of time left, but offensively challenged seems like a theme with the roster "as is." The above assumes that Fucale clears waivers, of course, or else we are looking at Hunter as the experienced goalie of the bunch!

 

[hb12xchamps]

Potential Hershey lineup so far assuming all of Leason, Snively, AJF make the Caps and one of LuJo/Irwin make the final roster

Protas-Sgarbossa-Pilon
Vecchione-Lapierre-Napravnik
Malenstyn-Borgstrom-Rybinski
Morelli-Sutter-Clark
Kessy
Frank
Bear Hughes

Ness-McIlrath
Lujo/Irwin-Iorio
Nardella-Maas
Massie

IR: Alexeyev

Fucale
Any of Shepard, Stevenson, Bjorklund

They need to add another scoring piece and arguably another season defenseman. We've seen how fast the roster can change with injuries and COVID. More depth is needed but a majority of the premier AHL guys have already signed deals around the league.

 

[Langway]

They're at 47 contracts at the moment so I'm not sure they'll be adding much. As-is I've got to think there's a very good chance Leason will eventually be waived and return. But there's still probably room for a veteran top-six winger on an AHL deal at least. Someone to replace Moulson. Maybe they bring Gersich back if he doesn't get any NHL offers.

Have to believe Shepard, Sutter and Clark will be fighting to remain in the organization. Pilon can be a Group VI UFA next summer so have to believe this may be his last year if he doesn't get a chance.

 

[hb12xchamps]

I think they could potentially add a body or two contract wise. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Washington unload some contacts now that the main roster seems to be set other than some training camp battles.

I’d say no to bringing Gersich back. That ship has sailed at this point. He wouldn’t be bringing much more than they already have. Still expecting some depth signings as AHL/ECHL tweeners. Rhymsha might also be signed but I can’t recall off the top of my head.

 

[DWGie26]

Potential Hershey lineup so far assuming all of Leason, Snively, AJF make the Caps and one of LuJo/Irwin make the final roster

Protas-Sgarbossa-Pilon
Vecchione-Lapierre-Napravnik
Malenstyn-Borgstrom-Rybinski
Morelli-Sutter-Clark
Kessy
Frank
Bear Hughes

Ness-McIlrath
Lujo/Irwin-Iorio
Nardella-Maas
Massie

IR: Alexeyev

Fucale
Any of Shepard, Stevenson, Bjorklund

They need to add another scoring piece and arguably another season defenseman. We've seen how fast the roster can change with injuries and COVID. More depth is needed but a majority of the premier AHL guys have already signed deals around the league.

This is actually deeper than I thought. Will be interesting to see if they play Rybinski at center instead of wing as that is the position he plays best and what rose his stock. I would also rank Ethan Frank higher than Napravnik and Bear can play as well. 7 forwards have had at least a cup of coffee in the ‘chelle.

I’d like to see Hugo Has get at least a Bears contract. I”m very excited about Iorio. Would not be surprised to see him be the first RD to get called up.

We’ll see how training camp shakes out, but I could also see Mojo coming to hershey since at 1.1M he can be burried. I think the Caps will keep 14 forwards, 7 dee, and 2 goalies. Probably won’t want to risk sending Snively, AJF, or Leason through waivers. All three of them would be likely to get snatched. Which is another good reason to move Eller which I suspect they are trying to do. Worst case is Eller will take 3LW. McMichael is waivers exempt but I don’t see any value in having him move back to Hershey. He needs to continue his NHL development.

 

[hb12xchamps]

This is actually deeper than I thought. Will be interesting to see if they play Rybinski at center instead of wing as that is the position he plays best and what rose his stock. I would also rank Ethan Frank higher than Napravnik and Bear can play as well. 7 forwards have had at least a cup of coffee in the ‘chelle.

I’d like to see Hugo Has get at least a Bears contract. I”m very excited about Iorio. Would not be surprised to see him be the first RD to get called up.

We’ll see how training camp shakes out, but I could also see Mojo coming to hershey since at 1.1M he can be burried. I think the Caps will keep 14 forwards, 7 dee, and 2 goalies. Probably won’t want to risk sending Snively, AJF, or Leason through waivers. All three of them would be likely to get snatched. Which is another good reason to move Eller which I suspect they are trying to do. Worst case is Eller will take 3LW. McMichael is waivers exempt but I don’t see any value in having him move back to Hershey. He needs to continue his NHL development.

The center depth is great. There’s about 8-9 guys who can play center if need be. The issue is going to be the wingers. It looks deep on paper, but the organization is putting a lot of hope that the young guys are going to step up right away. That’s the best case scenario. It’s exciting because they should be a pretty fast team with a lot of skill. There just isn’t that one guy who can put the puck in the net on a consistent basis at the moment.

One more proven winger and one more proven defenseman would go a long way. Also would help development wise to have someone with experience that the kids can talk to and learn from, similar to a Moulson. Ness is probably the best bet on defense to help nurture the guys along. Like the idea of trying to land James Neal. He showed last year that he can still consistently put the puck in the net.

 

[DWGie26]

Sgarabossa brings a lot of leadership on forward side, but I agree with they can get one more veteran like James O’Neal.

Any early favorites on who might be the next Captain?

 

[hb12xchamps]

Right now I’d say one of Sgarbossa or Ness. They might just do the rotating assistant captain thing though since there’s not a guys that absolutely stands out.

 

[Strawberry Fields]

Home opener October 15 vs Utica.