On Matt Moulson's future, Beck Malenstyn & Pheonix Copley Prepping For Potential Black Aces Squad

HERSHEY, PA - Hershey Bears forwards Matt Moulson, Beck Malenstyn and goaltender Pheonix Copley took some time out of their day on Wednesday to Zoom conference with various members of the media and were asked about their thoughts on the abrupt season ending, what is up next for them, and how they’ve been spending their time.

“This definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth,” Moulson said in reference to how the season ended, especially in light of Hershey’s terrific chemistry and record.

“I think we were starting to hit our stride there and everyone’s feeling pretty comfortable about the team and getting the news was definitely, definitely sad because I felt like we did have a good chance to make some noise and go deep in the playoffs,” added Copley.

The unresolved feelings and the quick goodbye in the middle of the week was strange and maybe a bit easier for Malenstyn, not having closure on the season has been harder.

“There was a cluster of us just standing in the Giant Center parking lot at our cars,” Malenstyn said. “I’m a big goodbye guy...it’s tough just because we don’t have that closure that you have at the end of the year whether you weren’t able to put things together to make the playoffs or, you know, you lose out in the first or second round or you go for a deep run and lose. There’s just no emotion really tied to having to stop playing.”

With Malenstyn and Copley on two-way contracts with the Washington Capitals, their seasons are still up in the air as Black Aces if and when the NHL season resumes.

“They’ve told me I’ll Black Ace if that happens, but I haven’t heard anything about a timeline,” Copley said, noting that he’s been trying yoga and other exercises to maintain his flexibility and fitness levels while waiting things out in Pennsylvania.

Which brings to light another issue for these athletes - finding a gym when many across North America are closed and all players are locked out of their team facilities.

“I’m fortunate enough to have a small home gym here in Vancouver to be able to do some of the lifts and workouts in, but yeah, it’s that unique balance of having to find ways to keep you body feeling fresh...it could be in two weeks, in three weeks, we have no idea,” added Malenstyn.

But the hiatus is not all negative for the duo who may see a return to action this season.

“We’ve been gifted with a unique opportunity with a lot more time than we usually have to maybe spend a little more time on certain areas of weakness we want to work on and just try to perfect those things in the time that we have for when we get back going,” Malenstyn said.

But for Moulson, who just learned he came to the end of his one-year AHL contract with the Bears, there is no chance to get back out there this year.

“I looked at my wife (and) I said I can’t, I can’t go out like this,” he said, opening the door for another year back in Hershey. “It was a privilege to play on that team and I’m very lucky to be around that group and the Hershey organization and the Capitals organization. It’s been an unbelievable experience and an awesome ride. We’ll see if we can do it one more time,” he added.

In the interim, Moulson found a silver lining in the early end to the season. “I definitely get to spend a lot of time with the kids. I’m playing with them, I’m teaching them, making up for a lot of lost time throughout the year...I think I’ve made up for six seasons in the last two months, so it’s been fun.”

And while Moulson’s off-season has already begun and the other two are still waiting for the phone to ring, if the NHL season resumes, Copley will be reunited with some of his former goalie partners and possibly his most recent, Vitek Vanecek too.

“It was my rookie year he (Vanecek) first came over to practice with the Bears and he can hardly speak and English and I’d pick him up in the morning at the hotel and all he could really say was, ‘Hello,’ and so I really had no clue what kind of person he was at that point, but now, you know, obviously he speaks English really well and I got to know him as a person. He’s a really great guy and a great goalie partner, and I consider myself fortunate to be able to work with him,” Copley said.

And so the book closes on a very promising 2019-2020 season for the Hershey Bears. The “What ifs?” will never be answered. Nobody will know if the skill and cohesiveness of this team and a bit of luck would have ended in Calder Cup #12, but the waiting game continues for many. Some are noted as Black Aces and anxiously await word from the NHL, but others ponder where they will end up next season as their contracts have come to an end. But one certainty is that almost every player, if they were assured their families would be safe, would do just about anything to get back on the ice today.

“I think if they told me to drive back tomorrow to start the playoffs I’d do that,” said Moulson, who noted that many players are just so competitive that they need the doctors and health professionals to stop them from doing further harm to themselves following an injury and they’d look to medical personnel before endangering their families. “I think we just love playing hockey, so that’s what we want to get back to doing.”

Until then, the memories of the team that Hershey and Washington put together will have to overshadow what could have been.