Thank You. 2015-16 Hershey Bears Season

Saturday night in Cleveland, the 2015-16 Hershey Bears season came to a heartbreaking end. But despite the end being disappointing, that does not mean the season was a failure. This was a team that was not picked by many people to make it past the second round. This was a team that once they made it past the second round, was expected to lose in five games to one of the best teams to ever play in the league. They did the exactly the opposite, making it to the Calder Cup Finals with eight players who are in their first or second year professionally, three rookie defensemen and three rookie forwards. If anything, the 2015-16 Hershey Bears season was a success.

Would have it been nice to have been able to raise the Calder Cup at the end of the season? You’re damn right it would have been nice. But everybody associated with the Bears, from the players on the ice to the fan sitting in the last row of 226, should hold their head high.

The Bears made the Calder Cup finals after being written off by many people. The Bears made the Calder Cup finals after their top point per game getter received an NHL offer, but not before he turned many bubble prospects into major, Top 25 NHL prospects. The Bears made the Calder Cup finals after having one of their top ten scorers suffered a season-ending injury in the thick of a playoff race. The Bears made the Calder Cup finals after their top scoring defenseman was traded for nothing in return to help their team. The Bears made the Calder Cup finals after receiving zero support from their parent club after their elimination, unlike their opponent in the finals.

As a credentialed member of the Hershey Bears media, I’m not supposed to show any favoritism towards a specific team in my coverage, but I’m not going to lie here. I want to see the Bears succeed and do well. When you follow a team this closely and this often, you begin to build an emotional connection to them. As much as I try to stay unbiased, I just can’t, especially with this team this season.

Coming into this year, I expected the Bears would be a pretty good team with a decent shot to make it to the third round of the playoffs, but not any further. Before free agency, the average age of players under contract that should be in Hershey for the 2015-16 was 21. It was going to be a pretty young squad, still adjusting to life as professional hockey players.

To see this team accomplish what they accomplished this season is amazing. Some teams will look at any season that they did not win a championship as a failure. A franchise with as rich history as Hershey normally would, too, but this season should be looked at as anything but a failure.

The future is bright, both for Washington and Hershey. The Washington Capitals have four restricted free agents on their main club, all expected to receive qualifying offers, and three players that are unrestricted free agents, meaning Hershey could possibly lose a max of three players from the current 11 resigned for next season, leaving a pretty strong core for next year.

Who would have thought back in October that this Bears team would make the Calder Cup Finals, and in the process would have the most entertaining series in Bears history and beat the best team from the regular season to win the Eastern Conference? I know I didn’t.

Be proud of your team Bears fans. Be proud of everything this team accomplished in the 245 days they were a team. There’s a reason you bleed Chocolate and White, and this past season took all of those reasons and wrapped them up into one.

Thank you.

Only 2,664 hours until October.