Ethan Bear

Hometown:

Regina Saskatchewan

Team:

Edmonton Oilers

Currently Playing In:

CHL

Birthday:

1997-06-26
Position:

D

Eligible for draft:

2015
Shoots:

Right
Drafted:

2015
Height:

5-11
Acquired:

5th round (124th overall), 2015
Weight:

201 lbs.
<<<<<<< Updated upstream
History

2011-12: Ethan Bear skated for the Pursuit of Excellence bantam team in British Columbia. He was selected by Seattle in the second round (25th overall) in the 2012 WHL bantam draft. 

2012-13: Bear made his WHL debut, skating in one game for Seattle in March following his midget season with the Yorkton Harvest in Saskatchewan. He had no points nor penalties for the Thunderbirds. In 38 regular season games for Yorkton he scored 7 goals with 28 assists and 30 penalty minutes. Bear scored 1 goal with 1 assist in the five-game SMHL quarterfinal series against the Regina Pat Canadians.  He played for the bronze medal-winning Team Saskatchewan U16 team at the Western Canada Challenge Cup. 

2013-14: Bear skated in 58 regular season contests and nine playoff games for the Seattle Thunderbirds in his first WHL season and was a team captain for Canada Western at the 2014 U17 World Hockey Challenge. He scored 6 goals with 13 assists and was +1 with 18 penalty minutes in the regular season. Seattle finished second in the U.S. Division and reached the second round in the playoffs. Bear scored 2 goals with 2 assists and was an even plus/minus with 6 penalty minutes in nine playoff games. He had 1 assist in five games for Canada Western at the WHC. 

2014-15: Bear skated for Canada’s gold medal-winning U18 team at the Ivan Hlinka Memorial Tournament in August before returning to Seattle for his second season. He re-joined the Canada U18 team following the WHL playoffs, winning a bronze medal at the 2015 World Juniors. Bear scored 13 goals with 25 assists and was +1 with 23 penalty minutes in 69 regular season games for the Thunderbirds. Seattle finished third in the U.S. Division, falling to Portland in a first-round playoff series. Bear scored 1 goal with 2 assists and was -8 with no penalties in six playoff games. He scored 1 goal with 1 assist and was +7 with 2 penalty minutes in five games for Canada at the Ivan Hlinka tournament and was +7 with 3 assists and 6 penalty minutes in seven games at the WJC. Canada defeated host Switzerland in the bronze medal game. Bear was ranked 97th amongst North American skaters in the Central Scouting final rankings and was invited to the NHL Prospects Combine. He was selected by Edmonton in the fifth round (124th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Talent Analysis

Bear is a short but compact skating defender who can move the puck. A playmaker who can generate scoring chances, he can also get the puck to the net from the point. Despite his lack of stature he has the stamina to play a lot of minutes on a nightly basis. He does not run around looking for hits but does not shy away from contact and will use his body when necessary.

Future

Bear attended his first NHL training camp with Edmonton and has blossomed as a top pairing defenseman for the Seattle Thunderbirds in his third WHL season. Playing in all situations for the Thunderbirds in 2015-16, he has logged large amounts of ice time and is among the team leaders in assists and points. Bear is still developing both physically and in terms of his tactical game. His play to this point has been impressive and he has the makings of being a late-round steal.

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