by Jesse Liebman | AHL On The Beat
Hershey Bears ahead Ethen Frank was already off to a decent begin in his first skilled season when he was chosen to symbolize his staff on the American Hockey League’s All-Star Traditional in February of 2023.
The day Frank celebrated his twenty fifth birthday, he electrified the Place Bell crowd – and hundreds extra throughout North America on tv and social media – within the CCM Quickest Skater occasion with a blistering lap of 12.915 seconds, changing into the primary participant to ever break the 13-second threshold within the quickest skater competitors in both the AHL or NHL, and incomes the moniker of the “Quickest Man in Hockey.”
The accolades quickly adopted. Frank completed the 12 months with 30 targets (good for a tie for seventh amongst all skaters, and tops amongst rookies), signed an NHL contract with the Washington Capitals, earned a spot on the AHL’s All-Rookie Crew, and helped the Bears seize the Calder Cup, aiding on Mike Vecchione’s Recreation 7 extra time clincher over the Coachella Valley Firebirds.
The next 12 months, Frank went on to defend his quickest skater title – he led the sphere on the 2024 occasion in San Jose with a lap clocked at 13.032 – and performed a significant function as Hershey repeated as champions over Coachella Valley.
As Frank instructed Drew Remenda in an on-ice interview after his victory within the 2024 quickest skater competitors, “pace kills.”
Whereas it’s evident Frank clearly possesses NHL-caliber pace, he has additionally constantly demonstrated he possesses a aim scorer’s contact over the previous two and a half seasons within the AHL.
To wit: he recorded his first profession aim – a power-play one-timer from the left circle with the person benefit – on April 15, 2022 at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton; since that date, Bear Nation and the remainder of the AHL has witnessed Frank fill the web a complete of 79 occasions within the common season, a mark that’s exceeded in that span solely by the 81 targets scored by Ontario’s Samuel Fagemo. Frank tied for fourth within the league in 2023-24 with 13 power-play targets, and because the Bears hit the vacation break this previous weekend, Frank is tied with Calgary’s Rory Kerins for first within the AHL with 19 tallies. He seems nearly a certain wager to be chosen to as soon as once more symbolize the Bears for a 3rd straight season on the AHL All-Star Traditional, which might be hosted in February at Acrisure Enviornment.
“There’s no query [his 2023 performance] positively put him on the map, simply speaking with the league officers and administration with the league. They wish to see gamers excel like that within the abilities competitors,” Bears head coach Todd Nelson mentioned. “He’s positively within the dialog to get to go for the third 12 months in a row; he’s main the league in targets and I’m certain that he’s going to advantage some consideration for that.”
“It could be very particular to have the ability to symbolize Hershey and take part in one thing like that once more with some teammates, coaches and employees once more.” Frank mentioned. “I do know that it’s in [Coachella Valley], so I would hear a number of boos right here and there, however it’s all in good enjoyable.”
However Frank has his sights set on utilizing his pace and goal-scoring capability – in addition to a dedication to elevating his 200-foot sport – to deliver him nearer to one thing that has eluded him thus far: receiving that first NHL call-up. For as a lot as he has already completed, there have additionally been rising pains alongside the best way.
Frank notably stumbled close to the top of his rookie season and struggled to seek out the web because the staff went by way of the Calder Cup Playoffs, even getting scratched for parts of the Jap Convention Finals and championship spherical in opposition to the Firebirds. After lifting the Calder Cup in 2023, Frank spent the whole lot of the 2023-24 season with Hershey, and critically missed eight video games for the Bears with a lower-body harm from mid-February to early March, at a time when he would have been a possible recall possibility for the Capitals as they made a late-season push to earn a berth within the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
However Frank additionally exorcised his playoff demons later that spring, tying for the league playoff lead with 10 targets – at one level notably placing collectively a six-game aim streak – and notching 4 game-winners for Hershey because the staff as soon as once more defeated Coachella Valley to repeat as Calder Cup champions.
The expectations have been maybe as excessive as they’ve ever been this fall, however Frank was not capable of make sufficient of an impression in three preseason contests with Washington to crack the Capitals’ lineup.
The motivation to lastly break by way of is probably what has sparked Frank’s play to begin this season. Amongst his 19 targets, he notched a hat trick on opening evening in opposition to Cleveland, put collectively a five-game aim streak in late November, and has collected 4 game-winners. However he’s fast to acknowledge those that have helped get him thus far.
“I’ve received to offer credit score to the opposite folks on the ice, even so far as the teaching and assist employees, exhibiting video and mentioning concepts on the bench on learn how to beat groups,” Frank mentioned. “Whether or not it’s energy play or 5-on-5, there’s lots of people that assist us as gamers and what we do and attempt to make our jobs as simple as potential, and it appears to be figuring out fairly properly for everybody.”
Bears assistant coach Nick Bootland oversees the staff’s energy play unit – a bunch on which Frank has paced Hershey in every of the final two campaigns and at present sits first amongst its forwards this season with 4. He’s preferred what he’s seen as Frank has continued on his upward trajectory.
“In the event you look again on the development and also you have a look at 12 months one within the playoffs, we really sat him out of video games as a result of the compete wasn’t there. And he wasn’t prepared to pay the worth fairly as a lot as we wished him to. As soon as we did that, it sparked him. And he’s by no means forgotten that second,” Bootland mentioned.
“He went again to that second at first of final 12 months within the playoffs the place he was like, ‘I’m not going to let that occur once more.’ He was excellent throughout that run, and has simply carried over proper into this season. Sooner or later you may see a possibility for him to be within the Nationwide Hockey League. I believe there’ll be an opportunity sooner or later. He’s a kind of guys that has the power to make issues occur. And I believe wherever he goes, he’s going to attain.”
Nelson has seen Frank’s effort, and is aware of the challenges he faces as a participant opposing groups commonly game-plan for.
“I believe his confidence is at an all-time excessive proper now. Everyone knows he can skate properly and he has an ideal shot, however proper now he’s hitting his mark, his shot’s gotten extra correct. He performs on the facility play and groups are beginning to sit on him and try to remove his probabilities. However he nonetheless finds a strategy to get free and he will get the puck on web.
“I believe he has the thirst to be within the dialog, to get referred to as up. I believe while you have a look at his coaching camp with Washington, it most likely didn’t go in addition to he wished it to. I believe that he’s on a little bit of a redemption tour down right here, to have Washington preserve him within the dialog if there needs to be a call-up.”
Vecchione, who was with Frank that evening in Laval on the All-Star Traditional practically two years in the past, has been witness to a lot of Frank’s success as a daily linemate, typically taking part in the left wing to Frank’s proper, and the duo think about one another shut associates on and off the ice. Vecchione continues to marvel at his linemate’s goal-scoring prowess and preparation.
“Even after two years of being a dominant aim scorer, he’s nonetheless discovering other ways to attain and never letting different groups get in his manner,” Vecchione mentioned. “It’s a credit score to him and the pre-scouting he does, and all of the little issues he does to place himself in one of the best positions to be an excellent teammate and an incredible aim scorer.”
Can Frank lastly earn an NHL call-up? Will Frank get an opportunity to defend his Quickest Skater crown for a 3rd straight 12 months? Can the Bears seize the uncommon Calder Cup three-peat (a feat completed solely as soon as earlier than within the early Nineteen Sixties by the Springfield Indians)? The solutions to all of those questions stay to be seen, however with regard to the previous, Frank stays level-headed.
“I might hope that I’m shut,” he mentioned. “I wish to have faith in myself, however in fact I don’t know what [Washington’s] record appears to be like like for call-ups, so I simply attempt to do what I can to offer myself one of the best alternative. You may’t take into consideration that an excessive amount of otherwise you received’t carry out very properly, so I’m simply attempting to remain within the second and management what I can management now. I believe most likely to assist get a call-up can be taking part in higher defensively and with out the puck, and having extra urgency somewhat extra everywhere in the ice and never simply any particular space, however clearly the NHL is quick and it’s full of fine gamers and so it’s onerous to crack it; there’s a purpose that it’s onerous to remain in it too.”
