

Illustration by Kyle Mace

Steve Oleksy has been a team leader on and off the ice for the Hershey Bears. Now that leadership has been rewarded. Oleksy was named Captain of the Bears, replacing Dane Byers who is out for the season with an injury.

“To get rewarded like that is an amazing feeling,” said Oleksy after practice today at Hersheypark Arena. Not only with a team like this with so much history, but also a team with such good guys and a lot of leaders in the room.” Oleksy was the fun target of pucks and sticks while doing his media interview after practice. “I’ve been taking a little heat,” said a chuckling Olesky. “The guys were excited and that was probably the best feeling. To have them be a part of that is incredible.

“I’ve been pretty lucky being through as many situations as I have. I’ve dealt with quite a few different captains and seen their approach to things and learned from all of them. You learn good stuff and bad stuff from each and every one of them. I’ve had some great Captains along the way and have learned a lot. I’ve always tried to help the young guys out and I’m pretty excited to do that.”

Oleksy also earned praise from head coach Troy Mann. “I think O exemplifies what the Hershey Bears are all about. At the end of the day we are trying to win a Calder Cup. You are going to face adversity and momentum swings. We believe the guys know who the Captain is during those moments and we thought he was the right guy for the job.”

The Bears will play 8 of their next 9 games on the road starting Friday in Providence, before moving onto a 3pm start in Hartford, then back home Sunday against Lehigh Valley.