Games 1 and 2 of the 2024 American Hockey League’s (AHL) Calder Cup Final are officially in the books. A rematch of last season’s Final, the first two games of this season’s championship rematch were a split in Hershey. The defending champion Hershey Bears defeated the Cleveland Monsters in a best-of-seven-game series (4-3) to earn the right to play for their second-straight Calder Cup. As the series heads to Acrisure Arena in Coachella Valley for the next three games, the Bears, AHL affiliate of the Washington Capitals, will look to secure victories in hostile territory to win the series on the road or force its return to the friendly confines of the Giant Center. The Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL affiliate of the Seattle Kraken, punched their ticket to the Final by defeating the Milwaukee Admirals (4-1) in the Western Conference Final. They are looking to fend off the Bears and secure their first Calder Cup victory on home ice in front of the club’s passionate, Southern California fans.
Related: 2023-24 Cleveland Monsters Defined By Pain, Pride & Promise
For fans of the Philadelphia Flyers and their minor league affiliates, four players on the Hershey roster should be familiar faces. One of these veteran players had a “cup of coffee” in the big leagues, while three more spent considerable time in the AHL with Flyers’ affiliates over the past 13 seasons.
Mike Vecchione
A star player and two-time captain for NCAA Division I Union College, Mike Vecchione signed with the Flyers on March 31, 2017. Immediately after signing his first professional contract, the forward appeared in two NHL games with Philadelphia. The following season, he was assigned to club’s AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, where he remained for two seasons. During the 2017-18 campaign, the Massachusetts native appeared in 65 games for Lehigh Valley, recording 40 points. He also added another seven points to his season totals in 12 postseason games. The following season, he added another 15 goals and 23 assists to his professional totals. After the 2018-19 season, his time with the Flyers’ organization came to an end as he signed with the AHL’s San Antonio Rampage to begin the 2019-20 season.
After spending the shortened 2020-21 season with AHL’s Colorado Eagles, Vecchione signed with the Capitals for the 2021-22 campaign. He appeared in one NHL game that season, with the bulk of his time, 59 games, spent with Hershey. The last two seasons, Vecchione has established himself as a leader in the Bears’ locker room, wearing the alternate captain’s “A.” He helped lead the Bears to a 2023 Calder Cup championship.
The 31-year-old played well during this regular season, scoring 17 goals and tallying 21 assists. In 16 playoff games, he has been an offensive contributor, recording nine points (two goals and seven assists). An interesting statistic over the long AHL postseason are the 10 penalty minutes he racked up against his former team, the Phantoms, during a May 4 Atlantic Division Semifinal game. This is quite the accomplishment considering the fact that Vecchione only has 12 total penalty minutes this postseason.
Matthew Strome
Matthew Strome was selected 106th overall by the Flyers in the 2017 Draft. The big left-winger, who stands at 6-foot-4 and weighs 205-pounds, was praised by a number of scouts and analysts leading up to his draft year. The Ontario native was described in one report as a, “skilled winger that plays a complete and consistent game.”
Unfortunately, since making his professional debut with the Phantoms during the tail end of the 2018-19 campaign, Strome has struggled to make the case for his promotion to the NHL. During his time in the Flyers’ system, the forward bounced back and forth between the AHL and ECHL until his departure from the organization following the 2021-22 season. He has been with Hershey the last two seasons, having appeared in 50 regular and 11 postseason games this campaign. A major career accomplishment came last season when he captured the Calder Cup with the Bears.
This postseason, the 25-year-old recorded two assists in the series against his former Phantoms squad and added a goal and and assist in the Atlantic Division Final against the Hartford Wolf Pack. Strome made his Calder Cup Final debut in Game 2 on Jun. 16, recording a plus-1 rating in this appearance.
Logan Day
After finishing up his college career with NCAA Division III school Endicott College, Logan Day signed with the Bakersfield Condors, AHL affiliate of the Edmonton Oilers. After spending parts of three seasons with the Condors, the defenseman signed with the Phantoms leading up to the 2020-21 campaign. During that shortened season, the Florida native recorded 14 points in 23 games before the season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The following season, Day returned to the ice with the Phantoms, scoring six goals and tallying 13 assists.
Day has been under contract with the Bears since the 2022-23 campaign. His best professional campaign came this season when he recorded 25 points (six goals and 19 assists) in 54 games. He has played well this postseason, collecting six points in 11 games.
Garrett Roe
The term “hockey lifer” is an appropriate one for veteran forward Garrett Roe. The 36-year-old has played in professional games all over the world, with stints in North America, Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. Prior to joining the Bears this season after a decade playing overseas, the center completed a stretch of six campaigns in Switzerland where he served as an alternate captain for the ZSC Lions. He was also a member of the 2018 United States Olympic Games hockey roster.
A standout player and alternate captain for St. Cloud State University, Roe was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in 2008. He made his professional debut for the Adirondack Phantoms, then-AHL affiliate of the Flyers at the time, during the 2011-12 season. In 72 games, he had 40 points (eight goals and 32 assists). The following season he returned to Adirondack, scoring 12 goals and tallying 14 assists in 57 games. This season, Roe had 21 points in 48 regular season games for Hershey. In the postseason, he had been a reliable contributor to the quest for a Calder Cup. He has 10 points in 12 postseason games, including a three-point (two goals and one assist) appearance in the Atlantic Division Final against the Wolf Pack on May 22.
The Calder Cup Final
The AHL Calder Cup Final continues tonight in Coachella Valley. Game 3 of the best-of-seven starts at 9:00 PM EDT; the Final is available for streaming on AHLTV.com.
