The Hershey Bears 2009-10 Championship Rings

Photo by Tim Stough

After four months of waiting, the returning players of the 2009-10 season finally got to put a ring on it Saturday Night at Giant Center and receive their Championship rings. And much like everything else the Bears organization does, they handled the ring ceremony with style, class, and creativity.

Since last year’s Bears club became the first Hershey team to win a Calder Cup on home ice in 30 years, the organization invited members of the 1979-80 class back to Giant Center to hand out the rings.

“The ceremony was real nice,” said right winger Andrew Gordon. “The rings are really well done. They’re big this year, too. I really want to put it side by side with my [2008-09 ring] and see how it stacks up.”

Mathieu Perreault gets his ring from Bears great Lou Franceschetti

Mathieu Perreault, one of the Capitals final cuts during training camp, got to receive his ring from one of the most popular Hershey Bears of all-time, Lou Franceschetti. Franceschetti played parts of 5 seasons in with the Bears scoring 314 points in 374 games and went on to have a solid NHL career playing 459 games with the Capitals, Sabres, and Maple Leafs.

When asked about the ring post-game, Perreault got a big smile on his face. “It’s unbelievable,” exclaimed Perry. “Last year’s was unbelievable and this year’s was even better. The ring is so beautiful. It’s so special. It’s unreal!”

So what’s the fuss all about?

There are 60 diamonds on the top of the ring, which symbolize the 60 wins the Bears had last season, an AHL record. On one side there are 34 chocolate diamonds, signifying Hershey’s staggering 34 wins at home, another AHL record. And finally, on the other side, there are 24 more chocolate diamonds which represent the 24 consecutive home win streak, yet another AHL record. In total, there were 58 chocolate diamonds and 60 white diamonds. Yes, that’s right, there were 118 diamonds in each ring. Now you know that these diamonds aren’t in there just for show.

Left side of John Walton’s ring

The right side of John Walton’s ring.

But regardless of how nice the Bears’ new bling is, Andrew Gordon cautioned that his teammates must put it behind them to start the new season off right. “We were champions last year. It’s a new league and a new team this year.”

Hey may be right, but it sure was nice to relive last year’s magical run one last time.

RMNB’s Ian Oland also contributed to this story.