Photo credit: Sweetest Hockey On Earth’s Kyle Mace

Washington Capitals 2012 first-round pick Tom Wilson has played just two games for the Hershey Bears, but he’s already made a huge impact. After scoring 9 goals (including a hat trick) and 17 points in 12 playoff games with the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers, Wilson scored his first professional goal on Sunday for the Hershey Bears. And it happened because he got under the skin of 2011-12 AHL leading scorer Chris Bourque.

View video of the play here. (GIF by welshhockeyfan)

Early in the second period, Wilson — skating on Hershey’s fourth line — decked the former Capitals draft pick along the boards. Bourque responded by tripping Wilson to the ice, which drew a power play for Hershey.

Video via welshhockeyfan

Bourque and Wilson met again late in the third period. Wilson once again knocked Bourque over after the diminutive forward passed away the puck. Both players got matching minors, Wilson for interference and Bourque for unsportsmanlike conduct (diving).

I nominate this for goal call of the year by the way. It begins at the 4:03 mark. (Video via The Hershey Bears)

When the two penalties expired, the Bears controlled the puck in Providence’s offensive zone. Wilson sprinted towards the net as Julien Brouillette unleashed a shot from the point. Wilson beat the speedy Bourque to the rebound, giving Hershey the lead for the first time and nearly giving Scott Stuccio, the voice of the Bears, an aneurysm.

The goal would have stood up as the game-winner, but the Bears wilted during the stretch, losing to the number one-seeded Providence 5-4 and forcing a fifth and decisive game on Wednesday.

Regardless of the outcome, Hershey Bears Head Coach Mark French was excited about the expanded role Wilson earned in his first two professional games over the weekend.

“I thought Wilson was really good,” French said after the game. “[Saturday] night, his first pro game, we monitored his minutes a little bit. He played about 10. And [Sunday] I thought he looked good again. We elevated him in our line combinations and he responded to that.”

When I asked French about how Wilson, a prospect known for his size, won a foot-race with one of the quickest players on Providence for his goal, French gushed. “I think that’s the reason why people are so high on him,” he said. “He’s obviously got the size and for a big guy he uses it. But as you mentioned, he’s got some underrated speed and puck skills. I think that’s the combination that everybody’s excited about.”

As the game went along, Wilson could also be seen getting into the game another way. Standing on the Hershey bench, Wilson constantly yapped at Providence Bruins players as they came back. He also got in a verbal sparring match with Chris Bourque while in the penalty box. French appreciated the sandpaper Wilson brought to the game.

“He gets involved!,” French exclaimed. “You know, it’s funny because when we had him in Development Camp, there was a part of his game where he liked to get involved in the discussion. I didn’t see it much [Saturday] night, but I assume with him being a little bit more comfortable, he got involved.”

Yes, yes he did. After seeing Wilson’s big night tonight, I would not be surprised if he makes the Capitals out of training camp next season. Despite only being 19-years-old, Wilson is a fiery competitor who skates really well and has good hands. His physical game can be game-changing.

Additional Photos

Photo credit: Sweetest Hockey On Earth’s Kyle Mace

One look at the dismantling of the Chicago Blackhawks and it becomes apparent that the life blood of any hockey organization is its youth. If you can bring in young players that provide value at reasonable prices you have the ability to succeed in the long term. In the case of the Hershey Bears, it allows the Caps to fill their team with players who know how to win and execute Bruce Boudreau’s system.

The challenge then becomes not only which players to promote, but which players should be dangled in a trade and which you can simply cut bait with. The underlying question in all of this is simply: Does the front office feel a certain prospect can make it in the NHL?

The Copper & Blue has been doing some excellent analysis evaluating all of the forwards drafted in 2009 and in 2010 using NHL equivalencies, a tool developed by Gabriel Desjardins.

NHL equivalencies try to figure out: How will a player’s performance translate to the NHL? It won’t tell you what a player’s stats will be once they make the jump but instead tries to give you a feel for, all things being equal (games played, PP time, etc.), what could you expect that player’s NHL offensive performance to be given his AHL boxcar stats.

We thought we would do the same focusing on the Hershey Bears and also bringing another element into the mix, one introduced in baseball by Tony Blengino: Relative Production Potential:

The method adjusts for league context, measuring all players’ performance relative to their league. Therefore, a massive offensive season as measured in traditional numbers in the pitcher-dominated High-A Carolina League carries more weight than a similar campaign in the hitting-crazy Triple-A Pacific Coast League. The RPP method also adjusts for a prospect’s age in relation to his level, weeding out all of the Phil Hiatts and Dale Sveums who create the illusion that they are long-term major league prospects with their pounding of minor league hurlers.

For example, there is no denying that Keith Aucoin had a dominating season for the Calder Cup winning Bears. Heck, he was even named the MVP of the League. But what else should we expect from a 32 year old career AHLer going up against 22 year olds?

On the flip side, Mathieu Perreault at age 22 had a much stronger campaign when you factor in age. While it may not translate to a better NHL equivalency, the upside of Perreault is probably greater than Aucoin since he has only been eligible to play in the AHL for two years versus Aucoin’s twelve.

So here’s the method:

1. Tabulate each forwards NHLE using Desjardins’ article for the translation from AHL to NHL.
2. Look at the Points per game and Shooting % for the entire AHL.
3. Calculate the amount of standard deviations each player is from the mean.
4. Make an adjustment based on the player’s age, subtracting one for each year they are over 25, adding one for each year under.

The NHLEs (based on an 82 game season) of last year’s Calder Cup winners (forwards only) listed in descending order of RPP:

As we would expect, the younger players gravitate towards the top if they had a “better than average” campaign compared to other forwards who played more than 20 games at the AHL level.

Mathieu Perreault leads the list explaining why he could be Marcuss Johansson’s main competition for 3rd line center at the NHL level this upcoming season. As to whether he can sustain the production over an NHL season while still improving remains to be seen.

Another interesting name on the list is Francois Bouchard, an adept playmaker, with a quick release and great vision in the offensive zone currently looked upon as a Top 10 prospect in the Caps system. With six forwards becoming UFAs in 2010-11 it may make sense to give Bouchrad a shot at the 3rd line if he comes in with another stellar AHL season.

RMNB blogger Andrew Gordon also showed he deserves a shot at the NHL level. If we look at his NHLE of .39 Points per game at age 25 his career could translate into something similar to Fernando Pisani or Joel Ward – a perennial 15+ goal scoring threat that doesn’t shy away from getting physical to win the battles for pucks or space on the ice.

Alexandre Giroux looks impressive with an NHLE of 54 points but when we look at his boxcar stats in context he has a nine year advantage on some of the competition. He should dominate them. We’ll know soon enough as he signed a one-way NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers earlier this off season.

Chris Borque‘s 52 point NHLE combined with a second best RPP on the Bears makes me wonder if his decision to go to the KHL was a hasty one while Steve Pinizzotto 21 point NHLE at age 26 makes me disagree with the notion he should be one of the first call-ups from Hershey.

NHL equivalencies are just a tool that help us put offensive stats for forwards in context. It takes nothing into account how a player is defensively, whether he is a good skater or performs well in the clutch. It simply tells us “would this player perform on the NHL level and if so what would those stats look like.”

Well, what do you think of our post? Do you think defensive contribution and “hockey intangibles” could provide better insight? Let us know in the comments.

Readers, we politely remind you of our policy regarding hockey rumors from Russia:  Lie down until it goes away.

The news out of Russia today has been dissonant. The KHL club Atlant, based in the Moscow region, updated its roster with one noteworthy addition.  According to atlant-mo.ru, Atlant has signed three-time Calder Cup Champion Hershey Bear Chris Bourque to a  two-year deal.

From the press release:

American forward Chris Bourque agreed on our offer and signed a contract with our club today. Terms of this agreement are intended for two years.

Later, in an interview with Tim Leone of The Patriot-News, the playoffs MVP said he hasn’t signed a contract yet: “It’s not official. . . I’m talking to them. But nothing official, that’s for sure.”

Has Atlant jumped the gun?  Is Chris entertaining other offers?  Or is he just waiting for the right time to let us down easy.  If the news is true, we’ll be very bummed that Chris is leaving Hershey.  On the other hand, that KHL contract probably comes with a car, a condo, and a handle of excellent vodka.

What do you make of the news?

Here is Kyle’s video:

Glorious stills after the jump!

Keith Aucoin with the familiar “Are you not entertained?” pose.

Andrew Gordon waves at his– dear God look at those arms!  It’s like someone transplanted horses’ legs on his shoulders.

Alexandre Giroux has been doing this for three days straight.

Probably because it looks so cool.

Imagine a Kid Rock song playing in the background.

Center Andrew Joudrey incognito as a goalie.

I would do anything to get ahold of Braden Holtby’s video camera from the last week.

Bryan Helmer, portrayed here by Ted Nugent, celebrates with his daughter.

Chris Bourque holds aloft the Calder, seemingly undamaged.

Things take an odd turn as Chris Bourque’s teammates decide the celebration must continue shirtlessly.

BONUS:  Andrew Gordon Hugs Someone’s Grandmother
RMNB reader Sarah shares her celebration story:

I’m a fan of your site and follow you on twitter. A hockey fan, I’m from the Hershey area. I was in attendance at game six and also made it to Giant Center last night for the celebration. I love that you guys got Andrew Gordon to blog for you – it’s easy to see he’s genuinely nice. Last night he proved that and did something so sweet that I felt like I should share.

Yesterday happened to be my grandmother’s 80th birthday. A long time season ticket holder, she’s one of Gordon’s biggest fans. After waiting over an hour in line to see him, not only did he sign a card saying happy birthday to her but I asked him to turn around a wave to her in the stands (as she was unable to stand and wait in line with me). He initially waved to her, but then he got up out of his chair, climbed over the boards, and got up onto the visitor’s bench to reach over to hug her. It absolutely made her day, and I was able to get a photograph of it for her to remember.

What a boy scout!  Dude is making the rest of us look terrible by comparison.  Maybe we can dig up some dirt on Gordo to even it out.  We’re hovering dangerously close to Tiger Beat territory lately.

Tonight, we had the pleasure of having our own Hershey Correspondent Kyle M. down on the ice as the Hershey Bears celebrated their 11th Championship in Franchise History. And boy did he get some great photos.

Below the jump, check out Bryan Helmer hoisting the Calder Cup, the Bourque family celebrating Chris’s MVP Award, Doug Yingst getting a champagne shower from Michal Neuvirth and Francois Bouchard losing his dang mind. The overriding theme of these photos is “WOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!”

Bieber-Mania hits the Bears lockerroom.

After losing the first two games of the Calder Cup Finals at home, the Hershey Bears are now one win away from raising the Calder Cup for the eleventh time in club history, and in back-to-back years. Holy Schnikes!!

What stands in their way? A Texas Stars team that is “trying to stay positive.” Yeah. (It’s like they finally realized who they were playing against.)

But despite Hershey’s 3 game sweep of Texas at Cedar Park Center, the Stars can still draw confidence off Games 1 and 2 where they frustrated the AHL’s highest scoring team. Which Bears team will show up Monday for Game 6? The one that tried to play fancy, stick around the perimeter and let it’s emotions get the best of them, or the one that played simple, went hard to the net and kept its cool?

Today, Hershey held a 45-60 minute practice at Giant Center and Bears first line center Keith Aucoin hoped it was the latter:

“The main thing is we need to keep our heads into it. We know what we have to do, and we know we have to play the same. We kept it simple on the road, and we’ve got to make sure we play the same way and not be to cute. We can’t get too wrapped up into stuff. We’ve got to take care of business one period at a time, one shift at a time, and go from there.”

Chris Bourque: 'We've got a chance to clinch in front of our fans and it's an exciting thing.' (Photos by Kyle M.)

Meanwhile, it’s fair to say that the Bears were, uhhh, a bit loose after practice. Kyle observed a few of the guys playfully screaming and ribbing each other during interviews, and some players – who we dare not name – decided to blast Justin Bieber in the lockerroom while changing. Is this a sign of a team that got its swagger back?

Chris Bourque just thinks his teammates are giddy to finish what they started:

“I think the guys are excited for tomorrow night. We’ve got a chance to clinch in front of our fans and it’s an exciting thing. We want to stay up-beat and positive and everybody is looking forward to tomorrow.”

Awesome. Well since we’re in a giving mood, here are a few other Hershey-related tidbits to get you by until tomorrow’s night game.

I. History Could Be Made

If the Bears manage to win tomorrow or Wednesday night, Hershey will be the first team in AHL History to lose their first two home games of the Calder Cup Finals and come back and win the series. But let’s revel in the past shall we? Thanks to youtube user puckgodz, we can relive Alexandre Giroux’s epic Game 5 OT winner which is masterfully called by John Walton.

II. Fan Painted Shirts

King Karl, you're loved. Make sure to seek out Christine who will be wearing this homemade shirt to Game 6 at Giant Center.

Friend of the blog, Christine B. (who some of you may know as itsabeta on twitter), is going all out for Game 6. Not only will she be making the drive from DC, she will be wearing this sweet shirt she painted herself. Christine explains the inspiration below:

Why did I make the shirt? Well, I just made a pact with myself that if the Bears won game 5 then I would do something special for Game 6. So I decided to make myself a homemade “King Karl” shirt. I just wanted to do something fun for the finals and Karl Alzner is my favorite Bear (though Braden Holtby is a close second). The response I’ve gotten thus far has been pretty fantastic. I might have to make a few more! Though hopefully with a 27… and in red. I’ll be wearing the shirt tailgating tomorrow, so if any of you see me, please come say hi and shout a loud “let’s go Bears!!!” at me!

III. Japers’ Rink Discusses Gordo’s Take

ABC27's Gregg Mace interviews Andrew Gordon

Japers’s Rink contributor Your Nation’s Capital wrote about our collaboration with Andrew Gordon during this year’s Calder Cup Finals and discusses the narrative that has unfolded throughout his posts. It’s a great read.

Check it out here.

Well, don’t forget that tomorrow night’s game 6 will be shown on ABC27′s digital channel 27.2, Comcast 246, Verizon 461, CSN Mid-Atlantic, and the NHL Network. We’ll see you on Twitter with all our funny musings at 7pm tomorrow night. I’ll be at Peter’s house in Frederick. Should be fun! (The last time I was there THIS happened.)

Above: Chris Bourque skies in the air to keep the puck on his stick. Top: Bourque and Andrew Gordon celebrate the GWG. (Photos by Chris Knight, The Patriot-News)

After an absolutely dreadful start which saw the Bears take a 3-1 deficit into the first intermission, even the most optimistic of Bears fans would have thought that the chances of Hershey coming back in this series were slim. But Head Coach Mark French showed confidence in his players and made the necessary adjustments. He allowed Michal Neuvirth to return in net for the second period, despite witnessing last year’s playoff MVP flub a clearing attempt on a first-period powerplay. Neuvy’s whiff led to Texas’s second goal of the night, an unassisted short-handed goal by Francis Wathier. French then subtlety tinkered with his forward combinations promoting Chris Bourque to the top line and dropping the 2008-09 AHL MVP, Alexandre Giroux, to the second. It paid immediate dividends.

Hershey went on to score five unanswered goals, punctuated by two third period tallies by Andrew Gordon which included the eventual game-winning goal. The Hershey Bears win 6-3. The high-octane offense has returned!

• Tonight marked Hershey’s 9th game in 39 days. Maybe the rust is starting to come off? (Special thanks to fan of the blog Emily Bennett for pointing this out to me via email.)
• I swear Bears’ third-line center, Kyle Wilson, must love NHL10 like I do. He scored both of his goals tonight, Hershey’s 1st and 2nd of the night, via one timers from odd areas in the offensive zone.
• Not to be outdone, Mathieu Perreault had a pair of tallies, and both Keith Aucoin and Chris Bourque had two assists.
• Andrew Gordon’s game-winning goal tonight was a perfect example of why he is such an invaluable player to this club. Gordo set himself in front of the net, and after multiple failed whacks at a loose puck, finally connected on his backhand to give Hershey it’s first lead of the game. John Walton said of the goal, “That is paying the price to win.” While Gregg Mace responded, “Andrew Gordon is one of the heart and soul guys on the Bears.” We agree. We totally agree.
• After giving up 3 tough goals on 11 shots in the first period, Neuvy responded in the clutch by stopping the Stars next 19 shots on goal. He finished with 27 saves on the night and deserves a lot of credit for Hershey’s comeback tonight.
• Patrick Wellar deserves props for his penalty killing tonight. At one point during the second period, I thought I was watching Rod Langway incarnate on the ice as he delivered hit after crunching hit. Wellar also received a Game Misconduct in the third period for his part in a brawl. Well done, Patrick!
• Once again, Steve Pinizzotto played a charged-up game which yielded multiple takeaways and great defense. And once again, Steve Pinizzotto took a completely unneeded penalty, this time a charging call in the third period.
• Caps Employee and reserve goaltender Brett Leonhardt noticed from the stands during a second period TV timeout that Stars Goalie Matt Climie was chirping at the Bears bench. Four goals later, he might have regretted that.

The Bears will now look to even the series at two Wednesday night at 8:30. Make sure to check back in the morning for another installment of Gordo’s Take, as Andrew Gordon will give his view on Game 3. See you then.

Bourque Scores, Bears Win. Hershey only 2 more victories away from returning to the AHL Finals. (Photos by Kyle M.)

For Game 2 of the AHL’s Eastern Conference Finals, the Hershey Bears were in front of a sold-out and enthusiastic Saturday Night crowd of 10,726 and they did not disappoint. Chris Bourque tallied the game’s first goal with a slapshot from the right faceoff dot. The Monarchs’ Gabe Gauthier would then score back to back goals to make it 2-1. It would stay that way until the 3rd period when Hershey’s Steve Pinizzotto would score his second goal in two games and send it into overtime. That’s when the miniature-sized Chris Bourque would take in a pass from Keith Aucoin on a 2 on 1 and score short-side at 10:28 of the first OT giving Hershey their 5th playoff OT win of the year. Bourque’s (6g 12a) clutch second goal of the night also tied him for first place in the AHL Playoff Scoring Race with teammate Alexandre Giroux (10g 8a). Both have 18 points a piece and are now 1 point ahead of the Texas Stars’ Jamie Benn (who none of us have ever heard of).

Hershey now has a record of 10-1 in the playoffs and have won all 5 games that have gone into OT. The Bears will now travel to Manchester, New Hampshire and try to take a 3-0 series lead Monday.

Take a look at the rest of Kyle’s incredible photos from the game after the jump.

Here’s a photo of the first faceoff of Game 2 at the Giant Center.

Manchester Goaltender Jonathan Bernier whacks Alexandre Giroux in front of the net.

Michal Neuvirth makes one of his 31 saves on the night.

Chris Bourque’s OT Game Winner went in as the net came off its moorings behind Monarchs goaltender Jonathan Bernier, but it was determined that the net had been pushed off by Manchester defenders, allowing the goal to stand.

Michal Neuvirth and Karl Alzner, Key catalysts in tonight's game, celebrate a job well done. (Photos by Kyle M.)

It had been 12 days since the Hershey Bears last played. And tonight it only took 16 seconds for them to shake off the rust.

Sean Collins wicked shot from the point opened the scoring in Game 1 of Hershey’s Eastern Conference Finals Series against the Manchester Monarchs, and Andrew Gordon’s rebound tally on the powerplay 10 minutes later in the first period gave Hershey a 2 goal lead they’d never relinquish. Steve Pinizzotto (GWG) and Karl Alzner also chipped in with goals for the Bears on a night where they improved to 9-1 in this year’s postseason and won their 6th consecutive playoff game.

Michal Neuvirth got the start tonight and played big making 24 saves and stopping 3 breakaways. The third period was Hershey’s only bad period, as they seemed to come out of the lockerroom fatigued and a little overconfident with a 3-0 lead. The Monarchs managed to score twice and outshoot the Bears 11-6 in the period, but Karl Alzner’s late goal sealed the game for the Chocolate and White.

Hershey will now go for a 2-0 lead Saturday Night in front of their home fans at Giant Center.

Make sure to check out the other fantastic photos RMNB correspondent Kyle M. took from tonight’s game below and make sure to follow him on Twitter for all your Bears Updates.

Other Photos:

Mathieu Perreault praises God after scoring the game winning goal in OT. (Photo by The Patriot-News)

Tonight, the Hershey Bears rallied to win 5-4 in OT and swept the Albany River Rats in their second round series four games to none. With the thrilling victory, the Bears now advance to the 2010 Eastern Conference Finals for the fourth time in five years! HERSHEY RUSSIAN MACHINE NEVER BREAKS!

Left Wing Chris Bourque accumulated a third of his 15 total points in the playoffs tonight, as he scored or assisted on every Bears goal. He finished the game with 2 goals, 3 assists and 5 points. Bourque scored at 8:23 in the first period and then again 59 seconds into the second frame. However, the River Rats answered each of Bourque’s talleys with two goals of their own, and entered the third with a commanding 4-2 lead.

But the Bears battled back, just like they have all year long. Alexandre Giroux cut the Albany lead to one with just over three minutes left in regulation and then Mathieu Perreault took over. The Washington Capitals’ fan favorite scored the tying goal to force overtime, and then after only 2:23 into the extra period, the 22-year-old Quebecois ended the River Rats season and its franchise existence (Albany will relocate to Charlotte, North Carolina next year, becoming the Charlotte Checkers) with the biggest goal of his young career. The Bears win 5-4. Time to party!

Due to the frantic schedule of AHL PLayoffs, Hershey will have to wait a week to find out their opponent from the Worcester-Manchester series but they’ll be ready. John Carlson and Karl Alzner, the future #1 defensive pairing of the Washington Capitals, returned to the Bears before the game and combined to have 6 shots and an assist.