“Incredible Teammate, Incredible Player, and Even Better Person,” Massie Always Ready for Hershey
Over the past three years, Hershey Bears fans have had an up-close look at who Jake Massie is.
We already know that he’s an awesome guy away from the ice, and that belief was cemented when the Bears nominated him for their AHL Man of Year.
You can read more about Massie’s involvement in the community here: https://chocolatehockey.com/2024/04/18/who-is-jake-massie-hershey-bears-ioa-american-specialty-ahl-man-of-the-year/ [chocolatehockey.com]
On the ice, Massie’s smile stands out more than his #2 chocolate sweater.
Since arriving in Hershey, Massie has played in 100 regular season games scoring five goals and tallying 17 assists. In the playoffs, he has played 11 games over the past two postseasons (two games in 2024) with an assist in each year but make no mistake, Massie is a big part of this team.
“I mean, just not even hockey wise. I mean, he brings a great attitude every day, like everyone’s joking around, hanging out with him all the time,” Lucas Johansen says in the hallway of the Giant Center after practice.
“The camaraderie revolves around him a lot of times. So even when you know he’s not in the lineup, he’s still a huge positive impact for our team, and just a great person.”
Veteran Aaron Ness has been around for a long time (over 800 games), and he knows a good guy when he sees one.
“You can’t say enough good things about Mass,” Ness says with a smile.
“He’s been incredible for us. It’s been a pleasure playing with him. He brings it every day and I think that’s huge. He brings a lot of guys, drags a lot of guys in, whether it’s a practice day or game. Incredible teammate, incredible player, and even better person.”
Massie is one of those guys that is needed to win the cup. Take a scroll through the Hershey Bear’s Instagram and you will see his personality around the locker room. Ask anyone in the organization or close to the organization about his golf game, they will rave about the personality on the course as well. Did we mention that he also saves animals in need? Yes, he does that too, taking wild animals to sanctuaries.
These are reasons why in the last series against Hartford it was great to see Massie on the ice once again because of all the hard and gritty work he puts in.
“Tremendous skater, “ Head Coach Todd Nelson said of Massie after game two against the Wolf Pack.
“He keeps his game simple. He’s really effective. He got a nice assist by walking the line, get the puck to the net. He’s playing the penalty kill and he defends really well. It’s pretty good for him, he had a lot of time off and the way he has played the couple games it’s been good.”
Jumping into playoff hockey is not easy. The game is tighter, more emotional, and it is easy to try and do too much. Fellow blue liner Johansen knows this all too well.
“Someone you want to go to battle for,” Johansen adds.
“Then on the ice, obviously, he’s an unbelievable skater. Can close quickly, really good first pass and stuff. So when he’s in there for us, I mean, he’s always been solid even when he’s got a layover like that for a month or so, or whatever it was, he stepped in there, and I thought he did great.”
Every player on the Bears roster has a role and they all understand it. Not everyone dominates the stat sheet.
With the talent and depth on the roster it is hard to say how much any one player could shine in a series. But there is one thing for certain: No matter where Jake Massie is he will be bringing it. That could be from the bench, in Bryan Helmer’s box at Giant Center, or from the first row of the Bears box at Coachella Valley where Massie sat last year for games six and seven. The entire time he was laser focused, leaning over the rail, hanging on every shot and pass, ready to burst with excitement.
That’s a team guy. That is a guy you want on your roster. That is the type of guy that Hershey fans love forever.
