Hershey Continues to Soar

One of the reasons the Caps are enjoying an unprecedented run of success is organizational depth. When GM George McPhee needs to fill a vacancy, he doesn't always have to make a trade or sign a free agent. He can look down the road to Hershey, home to the two-time defending Calder Cup champions.

"Hershey's philosophy is 'earned never given,'" Bears President Doug Yingst says in the Aug. 2 issue of The Hockey News.

The article in which Yingst is quoted details how Hershey is not your average AHL team, starting with the fact that McPhee signs players specifically to play with the Bears. However, there are some players (such as Keith Aucoin) who can seamlessly fill in with the Caps and others who don't need too much time in the minors to start soaring in the NHL.

"The organization believes that players develop quicker through winning and being in a winning culture," Yingst said in the same issue.

The new class of recruits from up Route 15 include John Carlson, Karl Alzner and Michael Neuvirth, all of whom have tasted NHL experience but will be up full time this upcoming season. Semyon Varlamov spent last season with the Caps, joining former Bears Mike Green, Eric Fehr, Brooks Laich and Jeff Schultz on the squad.

It also doesn't hurt that Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods spent a few years coaching with the Bears, and Boudreau's system is still used in Hershey. This kind of organizational synergy isn't as common in hockey as it is in baseball, but the Caps certainly are showing they're onto something.

Note: The same issue also debuts a sweet ad for the AHL's 75th season. The four players on the page are Dustin Byfuglien, who just won a Stanley Cup with Chicago before being traded to Atlanta; Mike Richards, who won a goal medal with Canada at the most recent Olympics; Ryan Miller, most likely the best goaltender on the planet right now; and Carlson, a two-time Calder Cup champion and a favorite to win the 2011 Calder Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year.