The Capitals’ AHL affiliate Hershey Bears have named Aaron Ness as their new captain. The news comes after former Bears Captain Dylan McIlrath made the Capitals’ roster out of training camp this season.
Ness is currently in his seventh season with the Bears, and just signed a one-year extension to keep in Hershey through the end of the 2025-26 season. He has served as an alternate captain for the Bears since 2022.
Ness has scored 171 points (29g, 142a) in his career, and is seventh-highest scoring defenseman in Bears franchise history. He is the top-scoring American-born blueliner in Hershey history. Notably, Ness scored 2 goals and one assist combined in the playoffs during Hershey’s back-to-back Calder Cup wins. So far this season, Ness has one point in five games.
In 72 career NHL games with the New York Islanders, Washington, and Arizona, Ness has scored seven points (1g, 6a). Internationally, Ness represented Team USA in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, with one assist in four games.
Your first chance to see Ness with the C on his jersey is Friday Oct 25 when the Bears take on Providence Bruins at 7pm away. The Bears will return home on Weds Oct 30 to take on the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. The rest of the leadership group for the Bears includes full-time alternate captain Mike Vecchione, and split-time alternate captains Riley Sutter and Brad Hunt.
Ness bobbleheads will be given away at the Bears game on Dec. 14.
