Each season players from juniors and lower minor leagues arrive in Hershey, a town known for its hockey heritage and chocolate with only one goal – to make the team. As the new players lace their skates in this NHL lockout era, they prepare for the best as they fight for their own spot. This year the new Hershey Bears are prepared to follow their new motto “up close and personal.”

Last season, despite their dual affiliation with Tampa Bay Lightning and the Colorado Avalanche, the club failed to make the playoffs. Now that the Lightning contracted players moved to the Springfield Falcons, the Bears must count on both new and familiar faces to get the job done. They are prepared for a comeback.

They opened their second training camp under head coach Paul Fixter with a total of 39 players.

“I thought our work ethic was tremendous,” commented the coach after the first exhibition game against the Wilkes-Barre Penguins. This season General Manager Doug Yingst and head coach Fixter are prepared to create a winning team by balancing solid goaltending, offensive speed and sound defense. Their style will be quick, gritty, sharp and extremely competitive.

Goaltenders

The goaltending roster includes 22-year-old Peter Budaj, 20-year-old Tyler Weiman and 25-year-old Tom Lawson. Peter Budaj returns to the Bears after a brief appearance on Team Slovakia at the World Hockey Championships. He did not see any game action at that time during that stint but learned from watching experienced goaltenders such as Martin Brodeur. During training camp scrimmage, Budaj proved that to catch pucks he must use his whole body. He is aware that he still needs to work under the tutelage of Craig Billington to improve his ability to catch rebounds and improve his line of vision in front of the net.

Newcomer Tyler Weiman at 5’11 was Colorado’s sixth pick, 164^th overall in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. eHeH He played last season for the WHL, Tri-City Americans and presented to camp with great professional potential. A virtual unknown to Hershey hockey, his style is reminiscent of Wilkes-Barre goaltender Andy Chiodo.

Weiman who started skating by the age of two in his hometown of Bruno, Saskatchewan was trained by his father to play forward. But as a child, he became fascinated with goaltending equipment, choosing to play this position. Weiman developed an edge to accurately read plays. During training camp, he proved his ability to spot the puck despite net crowding and easily pressured menacing defensemen away. Scouts believe that his only detriment in development is his size. The young goaltender was cut from camp and sent down to Fort Collins, Colorado in the CHL to further develop his abilities.

Returning in Hershey Bear uniform is veteran goaltender Tom Lawson who trained on Toronto Maple Leaf ice. “Lawdog”, as he is usually called by fans, is a favorite to beat out Peter Budaj for starring goaltending role. The mammoth player’s goaltending ability is based upon his outstanding reflexes. He is also experienced on one on one shoot-outs as he proved during training camp. This skill will give the Bears an edge.

Defense

Back in Bears uniform is Colorado notable prospect and ex-St. Cloud hockey star, 24-year-old Jeff Finger. Last season, Finger took great strides in his hockey training. He learned to play a more gritty defensive style. This training camp proved to be a starting point for a fruitful year. Finger is not afraid to shoot the puck or drop the gloves to protect his teammates.

But 23-year-old Tomas Slovak, a top 10 Colorado prospect, still appears to show signs of arrested development. He lacks intensity in his hockey game something that his teammate 22-year-old Mikko Vittanen apparently seemed to pick up overall. Viitanen who was injured during the 2002-03 season worked on strength conditioning to gain form. Last season, he only played 20 games with the Hershey Bears and barely kept up with the fast pace and was eventually sent down to the ECHL. This training camp, Viitanen’s performance was remarkable even scoring his first goal against Binghamton goaltender Billy Thompson during a scrimmage game with help from Johnny Boychuk, a 6’2, 215 lb in-your-face defenseman from Edmonton, Alberta.

Boychuk means business despite the fact that he is just a rookie. The 20-year-old defenseman is what a scout wants in a player. He checks the opposition never letting his guard down. He passes with great ability and always focuses on the game. The local media had nothing but accolades for his performance during the first exhibition game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. They reviewed his performance as a “promising sign for long-term success of the Bears.”

Focusing on gaining greater strides in playmaking is Agris Saviels, a notable player who played in the 2002 Winter Olympics for Team Latvia. This 22-year-old defenseman who was Colorado’s fourth round pick and 63^rd overall in the 2000 NHL draft improved greatly in the latter part of the 2003-04 season even showing off his scoring abilities. Saviels needs to learn consistency in order to better contribute to his development and the team.

Offense

This season the team has added the expertise of Hockey’s Future’s No. 1 Colorado Avalanche prospect, Marek Svatos. Svatos who at 22 years of age has undergone three orthopedic surgeries, continues to amaze with his rapid puckhandling. With great speed, he is able to pounce on the puck with confidence. Svatos gained experience with the Colorado Avalanche scoring 2 goals in 4 games played near the end of the season. He continued through the postseason scoring against the experienced Dallas Stars on April 14, 2004. His abilities stand out and are even noticed by his Slovakian countryman and teammate Peter Budaj. Budaj admires that Svatos is the type of player that goaltenders fear. This season Svatos must gain chemistry with his fellow Hershey Bears teammates. Fixter will place most of the pressure on his shoulders to lead them in the locker room.

Frantisek Skladany, nicknamed “Pharaoh”, is the mirror in speed of his Slovakian teammate Marek Svatos but on the left wing. This 22-year-old 2001 NHL draft pick holds Boston University experience. He is quick, strong on the puck and can spot breakaways easily. During the training camp scrimmages, he created instant chemistry with his teammates.

Returning in Bears uniform is right winger Cody McCormick. He gained a roster spot out of training camp with the Avalanche last season but still appears to have a hard time adapting to AHL play. The 21-year-old player from London, Ontario seems to do best with structured play. Simply put, he is a team player and depends on the abilities of his teammates. In the AHL, players are at times more prone to make mistakes and must trust their ability to adapt their skills at a much slower pace than in the NHL. McCormick can have a hard time chasing the puck when his teammates are unable to follow through. This training camp McCormick battled with adapting his own style of play. He will continue to make strides as his teammates improve and develop into better players.

One newcomer to training camp is Ryan Steeves, the pride of the Yale ice hockey team. The 22-year-old center from Rockland, Ontario majored in political science and pre-med and finished his Yale career earning 37 goals and 54 assists. During the Bears training camp, he showed versatility on the ice. His abilities in point producing and physical two-way play made him the key man up at Yale. The Bulldogs succeeded given the leadership talents of this 2002 NHL draft pick. This season Fixter will depend on his ability to create more cohesiveness on the team.

Outlook

Paul Fixter and GM Doug Yingst know that responsible team play is what will make the Hershey Bears succeed. Creating a cohesive hockey playing system will be an easier task with the NHL lockout. Call-ups which affected the team tremendously last season, hindering their chances for a playoff spot, will no longer be a factor.

The power play no longer appears to be the weak for the Hershey Bears with strong forwards in the line-up. It appears that the penalty kill might be their weaker spot averaging around 50 percent during the first two exhibition games something that Paul Fixter will certainly address early on in the season. Overall, the Hershey Bears are prepared to get more “up close and personal” delivering in-your-face hockey.

Copyright 2004 Hockey’s Future. Do not duplicate without permission of the editorial staff.