(WHTM) – Hershey Bears went 13 years between winning their 11th and 12th Calder Cups.
In 2010 a group of championship players earned the cup and have since moved on from Hershey. Here’s what the last victorious team members accomplished after earning the cup.
Karl Alzner
Alzner went on to play for the Washington Capitals in the NHL following the cup. The lefty shooter scored two goals in his first season with the Capitals who he stayed with until 2017. In total Azner scored 18 goals for the Capitals, with a high of five in the 2014-15 season. In his last full season playing in the NHL, Alzner played 82 games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring one goal. Alzner primarily played for the Laval Rocket in the AHL until the end of his career in 2020.
Gregg Amadio
Amadio never went to the NHL, staying in the AHL for the remainder of his career. The defenseman played for Grand Rapids Griffins from 2010 to the 2011-2012 season before joining the Springfield Falcons where he retired after 2013. Amadio scored two goals during the rest of his career.
Keith Aucoin
Aucoin stayed with the Bears until 2012 when he went to the Toronto Marlies. Aucoin was called up to the New York Islanders where he appeared in 41 games in the 2012-13 season before returning to the AHL in the 2013-14 season to play for the Chicago Wolves. In 2014 he joined the Swiss-A league before finishing his on-ice career with a German ice hockey league, the Munich EHC, for three seasons until 2018.
Jay Beagle
Beagle played seven more seasons with Washington after the cup until 2018. Beagle got a bigger cup, the Stanley Cup, with the 2018 Capitals team during their first time winning the championship. Beagle accumulated a total of 116 points with Washington, including the times he played for them while also suiting up for the chocolate and white. Beagle played with Vancouver from 2018 until 2021 before finalizing his NHL stint with Arizona.
Francois Bouchard
Bouchard played one more season in the AHL with the Connecticut Whales before joining the Austrian league to play for the Zagreb Medvescak KHL for a year, and then joining the Swe-1 league for two seasons. The following seasons from 2015 to 2019 he played in the Italy-A league and for France with Bordeaux. Bouchard joined the Elite Hockey League (EIHL) with the Dundee Stars for one year before joining his retirement team the Lawal North Petroliers in the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey (LNAH) for two seasons.
Chris Bourque
The following season after winning Borque went to Mytischi in Russia and then played with Lugano in Switzerland before returning to Hershey for the 2011-2012 season. After coming back, Borque bounced around for four years between different leagues and even countries before coming back to Hershey for two seasons from 2016 to 2018. In the 2017-18 season he also played with Team USA. To finish his career, he played for the Bridgeport Islanders, EHC München and finally ERC Ingolstadt before hanging up his skates in 2022.
John Carlson
Carlson joined the Capitals in the 2009-2010 season, but played 48 games with the Bears that year, culminating in the cup. Carlson also played with Team USA that same year. The defenseman has played with Washington since 2009, where he continues to make an impact at 33 years old. The Massachusetts native helped Washington to their first Stanley Cup in 2018.
Carlson was injured on Dec. 23 after taking a slapshot to the face, but was able to make a comeback and made a power play goal in his return game against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 23.
Sean Collins
Collins shifted to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia the season after the Calder Cup where he stayed until 2020. He played for Kunlun Red Star and Sochi HC. Since then Collins has played in a German, Finland and Swiss hockey league, most recently with the Olten EHC for the 2022-2023 season.
Stefan Della Rovere
Rovere competed in the Canada U20 the same season as the cup run. The following year he switched to the Peoria Riverman in the AHL where he played until going to the ECHL during the 2012-2013 season, playing for the Evansville Icemen, Florida Everblades and the Orlando Solar Bears. He switched to the Italian league in 2015 and then played with the Alps hockey league in 2016. Rovere had stints with the EIHL before transitioning to the German hockey league DEL2 where he has stayed since the 2018-2019 season.
Cody Eakin
Cody Eakin went on to have a successful career in the NHL, playing for Washington for 30 games in the 2011-2012 season before joining the Dallas Stars for five seasons. Eakin was a part of the Vegas Golden Knights’ inaugural season, playing with them until the 2019-20 season. Later, he played for the Winnipeg Jets and Buffalo Sabres before joining the Swiss-A league in 2022. Eakin did return to the Bears, playing 43 games in the 2011-12 season where he scored 13 goals and had 14 assists.
Simon Ferguson
Ferguson went back to the ECHL to play with the Utah Grizzlies the season after becoming a Calder Cup Champion and then played in Denmark and Austria before finalizing his career in 2013 with the Sheffield Steelers in the Eliter Hockey League. Ferguson never played in the NHL.
Alexandre Giroux
Giroux moved to the Oklahoma City Barons the season after the Calder Cup and then went to the Springfield Falcons. Giroux went to the KHL in 2012 and then joined the Swiss-A league that same season. He returned to the KHL in 2016 and then went to play for France in 2017. Giroux finished his career in his home providence Quebec with the Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey league, playing until 2022.
Andrew Gordon
Gordon saw NHL time following the cup, playing for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2011-12 season before returning to the AHL with Syracuse Church that same year. Gordon stayed in the AHL until 2015 when he joined the Swedish Hockey League, playing there until 2021 except for a few games with the Finnish Elite League. Gordon finished playing in 2022 with the Graz EC in Austria.
Bryan Helmer
Helmer only played for three more seasons after he left the Bears in 2010, staying in the AHL with the Oklahoma City Barons for two seasons and then finishing with the Springfield Falcons. Helmer started a coaching career as an assistant with Peterborough Petes in the Ontario Hockey League immediately following leaving the ice himself. In 2014 he returned to Hershey as an assistant coach where he helped lead the team for two seasons. He is now the club’s general manager.
Andrew Joudrey
The center stayed with the Bears for one more season after taking the cup, culminating in a five-season stint with Hershey, four of which were full seasons. Joudrey stayed in the AHL for two more seasons with the Springfield Falcons before joining the German hockey league DEL where he played for three seasons. Joudrey had the chance to play in one NHL game with the Columbus Blue Jackets during the 2011-2012 season before finishing his career in 2017.
Boyd Kane
Kane stayed with the Bears until his final professional season when he joined the KHL with Zagreb Medvescak. In total, Kane played 365 games with Hershey during his tenure.
Johann Kroll
The defenseman played one more season with the Bears, getting to appear in his first regular season game with Hershey during the 2010-2011 season. Kroll finished his career playing for two seasons with the South Carolina Stingrays until 2012.
Grant Lewis
The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania native went to Milwaukee the season after the championship for his last season in the AHL. Lewis played in the KHL, in Germany, Austria and the ICEHL before finishing his playing career in 2016.
Grant McNeill
McNeill played one more season before leaving professional hockey. McNeill split the 2010-2011 season between the Bears and the South Carolina Stingrays.
Patrick McNeill
McNeil stayed with Hershey for three more seasons before going to the Springfield Falcons. The Ontario native stayed one more season in the AHL with the Portland Pirates in the 2014-2015 season before going to the DEL German hockey league. There McNeill played for the Ingolstadt ERC and Augsburg Panthers before retiring from playing.
Zach Miskovic
Miskovic continued playing for the Bears for two more seasons before going to the Chicago Wolves in 2012. The Illinois native stayed in the AHL until 2015, playing with San Antonio, Rockford and Iowa. In 2015 Miskovic went down to the ECHL with the Indy Fuel where he stayed until the end of his playing days in 2019. He had one stint with the AHL again for seven games with the Charlotte Checkers during the 2015-2016 season.
Mathieu Perreault
The Bears were the only AHL team Perreault ever played for, going to the NHL for good in the 2010-2011 season after playing for the Bears again that same season. Perreault played a total of 13 seasons in the NHL, playing for the Capitals, Ducks, Jets and Canadiens before hanging up his skates in 2022. During his tenure Perreault scores 143 goals with 209 assists in 7-8 regular-season games in the NHL. Perreault scored five goals with 11 assists in 51 Stanley Cup games.
Steve Pinizzotto
Pinizzotto played for Hershey the following season before going to the Chicago Wolves. Pinizzotto stayed in the AHL until 2015 when he joined the DEL German hockey league. The Ontario native played for San Antonio and Oklahoma City to wrap up his AHL career. He was able to play 36 games in the NHL with the Canucks and Oilers. Pinizzotto played four seasons in the DEL until 2019.
Ashton Rome
Rome played one more season with Hershey before his final AHL season with the Portland Pirates in the 2011-2012 season. Rome played in the DEL for four seasons, splitting his final fifth year with the German hockey league with the ECHL. Rome stayed in the ECHL until leaving the sport in 2018.
Patrick Wellar
Wellar is well known in the Bears fanbase as he is a current assistant coach for Hershey, holding this position since the 2018-2019 season. After winning the Calder Cup, Wellar stayed with the Bears, until transferring to the Reading Royals in the ECHL during the 2012-2013 season. Wellar returned to play for the Bears in the 2013-2014 season before culminating his playing career in the ECHL with the Utah Grizzlies and Alaska Aces. The Saskatchewan native started coaching as an assistant in the ECHL with the Cincinnati Cyclones in 2016. He moved to the Reading Royals in 2017 before settling with the Bears in 2018 where Wellar has stayed.
Kyle Wilson
Wilson played in the NHL following the cup, playing 32 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets while splitting time with the Springfield Falcons back in the AHL. The Ontario native played four seasons in the AHL after becoming a Calder Cup champion before going to the KHL. Wilson stayed in the KHL for three season before joining the Swedish Hockey League in 2015, playing in the Swiss-A National leagues for eleven games that same year. He finished his career with the Berlin Polar Bears in the DEL in 2017.
Dylan Yeo
Yeo split time between the Bears and the ECHL in the season after the cup. Yeo continued the alteration between the AHL and ECHL until moving to the DEL in 2014. There, Yeo played for the Straubing Tigers for four seasons, the Iserlohn Roosters for one and the Schwenninger Wild Wings for his final two seasons. The Prince Albert, Saskatchewan native finished his playing career in 2021.
Jason Bacashihua
Bacashihua stayed in the AHL for two seasons after the cup, playing for Lake Erie and the Adirondack. The Michigan native played for the DEL from 2012 to 2015, joining Slovakian hockey in 2015. After his Slovakian stint the goalie joined the DEL-2. In 2019 he joined the Alps Hockey League before finishing his career in the EIHL in 2022.
Braden Holtby
The legendary goalie split time between Washington and Hershey until 2013 when he officially stayed with the Capitals where he helped lead them to their first Stanley Cup in 2018. The Saskatchewan native earned the Vezina Trophy, awarded to the best NHL goalie, in the 2015-2016 season and the William M. Jennings Trophy, awarded to the goalie with the fewest goals against them in the regular season, for the 2016-2017 season. Holtby stayed with the Capitals until 2020 when he moved to Vancouver. In 2021 he joined Dallas and was unable to play in the 2022-2023 season due to a lower-body injury. His hockey future remains unknown at this time.
Michal Neuvirth
Neuvirth played with the Capitals for four seasons following the cup, playing for the Czech Republic during the 2012-2013 season. Neuvirth was brought down for one game with the Bears during the 2013-2014 season. He stayed in the NHL for seven more seasons after leaving the Capitals, playing goalie with the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers. With the Flyers, Neuvirth played in 89 games from 2015 to 2019, going back to the AHL for one game during the 2018-2019 season with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. Neuvirth finished his career with the Broad Street Bullies and had a 0.67 goals against average in three playoff games against Washington during the 2015-16 season.