Grin and bear it, Bears to defend Calder title

HERSHEY, PA – The AHL is back and so are the Hershey Bears who will attempt to do something they have not done since 1959, that is to repeat as Calder Cup champions. In fact, the last team to successfully defend their crowd in the AHL is the Springfield Indians who did it in 1991.
One thing that Bears have over the Springfield franchise however are the number of titles they have one. With last seasons crowing, the Bears have now won more AHL titles than any other franchise with 10.
This year the Bears will bring back 16 players from last season’s club, which is almost unheard of in minor league hockey. Below is the opening day roster with the returning players highlighted.
1-Braden Holtby-G 2-Patrick McNeill-D 4-John Carlson-D 6-Sean Collins-D 7-Karl Alzner-D 10-Andrew Gordon-RW 11-Keith Aucoin-C 12-Alexandre Giroux-LW 13-Steve Pinizzotto-RW 14-Trevor Bruess-C 15-Anton Gustafsson-C 18-Kyle Wilson-C 19-Darren Reid-RW 20-Bryan Helmer-D 21-Jay Beagle-C 22-Francois Bouchard-RW 23-Andrew Joudrey-C 24-Mathieu Perreault-C 25-Zach Miskovic-D 27-Grant McNeill-LW 29-Brandon Sugden-RW 30-Michal Neuvirth-G 32-Greg Amadio-D 33-Patrick Wellar-D 34-Joe Finley-LW 35-Jason Bacashihua-G 36-Oskar Osala-LW
Some of the newcomers to the team that are worth keeping and eye on are:
John Carlson (Defenseman) – Selected by the Washington Capitals in round 1 (#27 overall) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Anton Gustafsson (center) – Selected by the Washington Capitals in round 1 (#21 overall) 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Braden Holtby (goalie) – Selected by the Washington Capitals in round 4 (#93 overall) 2008 NHL Entry Draft, Joe Finley (defenseman) – Selected by the Washington Capitals round 1 (#27 overall) 2005 NHL Entry Draft
The Bears look poised to be on of the elite teams in the AHL again with so many returning players to the roster.   Add top prospect Anton Gustafsson into the mix and the Bears should replace Chris Bourque nicely at center.
The overall outlook looks good for the team and the banner will go up opening nigh in Hershey to remind the players and fans what it is all about. Once the puck drops what happened last season will be in the past. Now it will be this years version of the Bears to make their own history.
Contact the author at Brian.Jennings@prohockeynews.com