Hershey Bears Weekly: AHL Trade Deadline

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With their playoff chances in limbo, the Hershey Bears made a move on AHL trade deadline day, adding veteran forward Kris Newbury on loan from the Philadelphia Flyers. Hershey General Manager Doug Yingst shipped away often scratched forward Derek Whitmore to Adirondack, giving the veteran winger a chance to find a spot in the Phantoms’ lineup on a regular basis.

Kris Newbury (Annie Erling Gofus/The Hockey Writers)
Kris Newbury (Annie Erling Gofus/The Hockey Writers)

Newbury, 32, has amassed 645 total American Hockey League games throughout his career, including stints with the St. John’s Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies, Grand Rapids Griffins, Hartford Wolf Pack/Connecticut Whale and Adirondack Phantoms prior to his arrival to Hershey. He likely fits in as a top six forward for the Bears, along with aiding the Bears’ slipping special teams.

In his 11th pro season, the 5’10” forward contributed six power play goals and 36 points for the Phantoms. With the addition of Newbury however, the Bears will continue to be forced to scratch a veteran. Slumping forward Ryan Potulny, who has just eight points in 29 games this season and is scoreless in his last five games, will likely be the healthy veteran scratch for the majority of the games left on the docket this season for Washington’s AHL affiliate.

After a two game set in Norfolk last weekend, the Chocolate and White continue another three games in three nights stretch this weekend. Read below for some notes on the Bears and capsules for their three matchups beginning Friday in Syracuse.

Bears Notes and Numbers

  • Forward Brandon Segal has just one point over his last nine games
  • The Bears’ top line of Ryan Stoa, Nicolas Deschamps and Segal will likely be reunited after Stoa’s assignment from Washington
  • Kris Newbury becomes the Bears’ third leading scorer, behind Segal and Jeff Taffe who have 39 points apiece on the season
  • Michael Latta picked up goals in two straight games in Norfolk last weekend and has three points over his last two games
  • The Bears’ power play has fallen to 20th in the AHL, at 16.1%

March 14th at Syracuse

  • Power Play: 15.9% (21st)
  • Penalty Kill: 82.4% (16th)
  • Goals per Game: 2.60 (24th)
  • Goals Against per Game: 3.02 (20th)
  • Goalies:Kristers Gudlevskis (12-9-2, 2.76 GAA, .899 SV %) and Cedrick Desjardins (7-15-2, 2.72 GAA, .904 SV %)
  • Offensive Leaders: Jonathon Marchesault (42), Vladislav Namestnikov (38), Brett Connolly (37) and Cedric Paquette (36)

March 15th vs. Adirondack

  • Power Play: 14.7% (26th)
  • Penalty Kill: 86.3% (3rd)
  • Goals per Game: 2.40 (28th)
  • Goals Against per Game: 2.88 (13th)
  • Goalies: Yann Dannis (8-10-3, 3.02 GAA, .894 SV %) and Carsen Chubak (1-2-0, 2.53 GAA, .917 SV %)
  • Offensive Leaders: Jason Akeson (52), Tye McGinn (32), Ben Holmstrom (26) and Brandon Manning (25)

March 16th vs. Norfolk

  • Power Play: 16.5% (19th)
  • Penalty Kill: 86.2% (4th)
  • Goals per Game: 2.64 (23rd)
  • Goals Against per Game: 2.47 (2nd)
  • Goalies: John Gibson (18-13-4, 2.28 GAA, .922 SV %) and Brad Thiessen (3-2-2, 2.07 GAA, .940 SV %)
  • Offensive Leaders: Andre Petersson (42), Emerson Etem (39), Rickard Rakell (37) and Devante Smith-Pelly (36)

Bears Links

  • The Bears fell to the Admirals 3-1 last Saturday [Sweetest Hockey on Earth]
  • Hershey hopes defenseman Nate Schmidt won’t need surgery after suffering a right knee injury last weekend in Norfolk [Patriot News]
  • College rivals Chris Brown and Dustin Gazley become teammates with the Bears [Patriot News]
  • Quotes from new Bears forward Kris Newbury and GM Doug Yingst on his loan to Hershey from the Philadelphia Flyers [Patriot News]
  • Former Bears forward Derek Whitmore looks forward to more playing time after his trade to Adirondack [Patriot News]
  • Defenseman Steve Oleksy discusses going through waivers and returning to Hershey after a stint with the Washington Capitals [Lebanon Daily News]
  • Admirals defenseman Kevin Gagne is finding success with Norfolk who visit Giant Center Sunday [The Hockey Writers]

You can follow Matthew on twitter @m_speck and email him at mspeck21@yahoo.com with any questions or comments.