Bryan Helmer Announced as Hershey Bears VP of Hockey Ops

An emotional Bryan Helmer, on the same day as his seventeenth wedding anniversary, was introduced as the new head man of the Hershey Bears Hockey Club. Helmer, 44, becomes the first ever former Bears player, captain, and coach to take over the franchise, as he follows the path laid out by another former defenseman, Frank Mathers.

“Now I get to call Hershey home,” Helmer said. “I have stability with this job where I don’t have to move every one to two years. My family is excited. They get to stay in one spot.

“We love this organization. I want to stay for here for a long time and help this organization win. I thought it was a great opportunity that won’t come around again, and coaching will always be there. I’ve always been intrigued about the business end of hockey. Now I can get my feet wet and I’m excited.”

This will be Helmer’s fifth year in the organization, after leading two Hershey teams to Calder Cups in 2009 and 2010, and serving as an assistant under Troy Mann in the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

“I’m glad it’s someone I’m familiar with,” Mann said. “It is a working relationship. It was nice working with Doug for all those years, especially the last two as a head coach. I don’t think in the two years we worked together as coaches, we disagreed on one thing.

“I anticipate working really well together and doing the right things to maintain a competitive team atmosphere with the Bears and chasing that Calder Cup every year.”

Helmer does replace Doug Yingst, but his duties will not be the exact same as Yingst’s. As VP of Hockey Ops for the Bears, he will not be signing and trading players with Hershey contracts. From here on out, the Bears parent NHL club will handle all player signings. “He understands the culture of the Hershey area and our fan base,” Yingst said about his replacement. “He was captain of our team. He’s excited about the opportunity.”