Hershey Bears Alumni: March 2007

Hershey Bears of the past. A Blog devoted to the past players of the American Hockey Leagues Hershey Bears. Once a week a former Bear will be profiled. Learn about the individuals who made the Bears the greatest team in minor league hockey history.

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Ron Areshenkoff


Grand Forks, British Columbia native Ron Areshenkoff played only 38 games as a member of the 1978-79 Hershey Bears Team. However, "Resh" was in Hershey when Three Mile Island erupted. He spent the day "listening to the radio with my roomates wondering if this meant our kids would be born with two heads." The Buffalo Sabres draft pick is happy to report his son and daughter are just fine. In a partial season with the Bears, he scored 9 goals and 14 assists. During the season, Areshenkoff also scored a goal in an exhibition loss to a travelling Soviet team.
After playing with the Bears, Areshenkoff was selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the special draft that was held when the NHL and WHA merged. He managed to play in four games with the NHL Oilers at the same time Wayne Gretzky played his initial NHL season.
At last report, Areshenkoff was living in Estevan, SK and working as a financial planner.

Friday, March 23, 2007

Jim Wiley


Jim Wiley is a Gorilla- the head Gorilla as a matter of fact. Former Hershey Bear Jim Wiley currently is the Head Coach of the Amarillo Gorillas of the Central Hockey League. The Ontario native has also coached in the IHL, AHL, ECHL and even some time in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.
As a player, Wiley made it to the National Hockey League as a center for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks. In 62 NHL games, Wiley posted four goals and 10 assists over parts of three seasons. Wiley played two seasons in Hershey in the 1970's and produced 129 points in only 118 games.

Thursday, March 15, 2007

Wendell Young



12 wins, 0 losses and a Calder Cup Championship in 1988. It was an unbelievable run for the Hershey Bears and Goaltender Wendell Young. The single season spent in Hershey produced the greatest playoff performance ever by a professional goalie.
During the regular season, Young led the AHL with 33 wins and turned in a solid 2.77 GAA. However, it couldn't compare to the 12-0 record with a 2.19 GAA.
Now Young begins his third year as the Chicago Wolves assistant coach, while continuing to serve as the team’s executive director of team relations. He previously served as the goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames from 2001-2003. Young is the only man in hockey history to win all four major North American championships: the Stanley Cup, Turner Cup, Calder Cup and Memorial Cup.
The 42-year-old was a member of the 1981 Kitchener Rangers Memorial Cup team, the 1988 Hershey Bears Calder Cup Championship squad and the 1998 and 2000 Wolves Turner Cup Championship clubs. Young and his wife Paula reside in the Northwest Chicago suburbs with their daughter Gabrielle and sons Matt and Jack.

Thursday, March 08, 2007

Dave Parro


Dave Parro is from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan and proved to be one of the greatest hometown players the city produced. Parro was a star goalie in junior for both the Saskatoon Olympics and the Saskatoon Blades. His junior play made him the number two goalie prospect coming out of the WCHL in 1977.
Parro was drafted by the Boston Bruins and started his professional career with the Rochester Americans. Parro was soon claimed by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1970 expansion draft. Two days after claiming the goalie, the Nordiques sent him to the Washington Capitals for former Hershey Bear Nelson Burton.
Parro's arrival in Hershey for the 1979-80 season ended in a Calder Cup victory. Parro completed a solid regular season and contributed in the playoffs with a 5-3 record. Parro played with the Bears until 1984 with the exception of the 1981-82 season. The Saskatoon native spent the entire 81/2 season in goal for the Washington Capitals.
Today, Parro remains in Hershey and is a member of the Philadelphia Flyers Alumni team. In recent years Parro has even been forced to dress as a backup for the Bears when injuries or illness hits the AHL team.

Saturday, March 03, 2007

Don Cherry



A Nominee for "The Top Ten Greatest Canadians" by the CBC, Don Cherry has roots in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
A high school dropout from Kingston, Ontario, Cherry laced up with the American Hockey League's Hershey Bears in 1954 to begin what would be nearly a two-decade playing career. During the 1954-55 season, Cherry played 63 games for the Bears and played in his single NHL game with the Boston Bruins.
There were a couple AHL stops along the way for Cherry. The defenseman played for Springfield and Rochester in the 1950s and 1960s.
Cherry went on to coach the Boston Bruins and Colorado Rockies in the 1970's.
Today, Cherry is one of the most recognizable personalities in Canada. Cherry is well-known for his "Coaches Corner" on Hockey Night in Canada. He is also frequently seen on TV pitching products. The Kingston native was also part owner of the OHL Mississauga Ice Dogs, stars in a wildly popular hockey video series and owns restaurants across Ontario.
In addition to these ventures he has spent the past year raising funds for Rose Cherry's Home for Kids, a hospice for terminally ill children. Named after his beloved wife (a native of Hershey, PA), who died of cancer in June 1997, Don Cherry has passionately campaigned for the Milton, Ontario hospice both on and off the air.