Bears Mailbag: What Happened With Sergei Shumakov?

Bears mailbag: What happened with Sergei Shumakov?

A new feature to Chocolate Hockey will be our regular mailbags! Every once in a while, I will answer any Bears related questions you might have with a goal to help clarify or provide a different perspective on different topics.

Two thoughts on this topics: one, Jonsson-Fjallby was in Hershey for 16 games and posted only three points. I think his speed is the best part of his game, but I’m not sure I would put him in the top five forward prospects Washington has right now. Same with Shumakov, he never really impressed. But in regards to chemistry, I think due to the ages of this team, and how long everybody has known each other through development and rookie camps, this team plays well together. If you were to watch a Bears practice, Spencer Carbery always tries to keep it loose and fun for a reason. Players respond well and click together in a way I’m not sure we’ve seen in a few seasons in Hershey.

Lots to tackle here. Shumakov left because he finally realized he wasn’t in the top five for call-ups to the NHL for the Caps at this time. He went to Florida to see if there was an opportunity to get called up quicker, but clearly, that didn’t work either after he got released from his PTO with Springfield.

With Hershey not naming a number one goalie, there’s really no reason to. These are two young netminders who are both just getting reps to become better day in and day out. If it’s a three-in-three, maybe Vanecek gets two games and Samsonov gets one, and then switch the next three-in-three with Samsonov getting two and Vanecek one. Most back-to-back weekends they’ll just split the two games.

I don’t have an answer to the question of if Washington controls Hershey’s goalie choices, but the two are property of the Capitals and if the Caps front office told Hershey’s staff “we would like to see this guy play against this team,” my guess is Carbery and company would take the suggestion into consideration when building their line-ups.

And finally, Hershey still has not named a captain. At this point, it wouldn’t surprise me if they didn’t name one. The team has a strong leadership core and the younger players probably know who to turn to in the room when they need to. Liam O’Brien, Riley Barber, and Aaron Ness all sport the alternate captain’s As at home and are the main leaders of this group, but both Ness and Barber have received call-ups, and O’Brien should be one of Washington’s top choices for a call-up if a forward is needed. That being said, if one of them were to get the title of Hershey Bears captain and then get called up, now you’re in a weird spot. Tyler Lewington is an alternate captain on the road, and he’s was called up to Washington on Saturday morning. Keeping multiple guys wearing As (Nathan Walker sported one during the game Barber missed when he was called up) will not pin the main leadership role on a guy who could easily get called up at any time.

Pat M via Facebook: What’s going on with Samsonov?

A very open-ended question here best answered with this: Samsonov is a 20-year-old Russian goalie in his first season in a brand new country that speaks a language he’s still learning. Some guys respond to coming to the United States for the first time in different ways. When Semyon Varlamov first came to Hershey in 2008-09, he played really well and ended up becoming Washington’s go-to netminder for the playoffs in his first season. Compare that to Michal Neuvirth, who went back home to the Czech Republic at the start of the year and was playing most of the year in South Carolina, lead Hershey to a Calder Cup that same season. I think Samsonov will continue to get comfortable with North American hockey and living in the United States, and that will show on the ice as well.

Ralph G. via Facebook: Would like to know injury updates and when expected returns
Hershey only has a few injuries right now. Both Lucas Johansen and Shane Gersich have upper body injuries and are week-to-week. Johansen has been out since getting injured on November 23rd, and Gersich sustained his injury on a hit from David Kase in Lehigh Valley. Because of the hit, Kase was suspended two games for an illegal check to the head.

Kris Bindilus has an upper-body injury and is out indefinitely. He was injured in the game against Wilkes-Barre on November 28, and at the next game, he was wearing a sling while walking around Giant Center. On top of Geisser leaving for the World Juniors and Logan Pyett leaving for Europe, Hershey has brought in three new defensemen to fill gaps over the last two weeks.

While not Hershey’s roster, Mathias Bau has not skated this year after an injury at the IIHF World Championships where sustained broken ribs and a tear in his spleen according to the Denmark National team. Bau is on Washington’s injured non-roster list but was with Hershey to start the season. He was allowed to return home during his recovery but is expected to return back to North America soon.

We appreciate all the questions. If you have any Bears questions you want to be answered, tweet them using the hashtag #chockeymail, comment down below, or e-mail them to contact@chocolatehockey.com!

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