2 Defensemen Signed

The Hershey Bears have signed defensemen Bryan Helmer and Greg Amadio for the 2008-2009 season. You can view the entire article here.

Bryan Helmer, 6'1" 210 lbs, won a Calder Cup with Albany back in 1995 and has played the past 2 seasons with the San Antonio Rampage.

Greg Amadio, 6'2" 225 lbs, had 120 penalty minutes in 50 games last season with the Binghamton Senators. He is quick to stand up and fight.


My opinion is that Helmer, 36, is at the end of his career. He is still a solid defenseman who has been pretty healthy throughout his career. Was he the best option available? I don't know what guys like Josef Boumedienne were looking for. The Caps aren't looking for any more call-up options and the Bears were looking for defensemen so the pool was probably limited. That being said, Helmer has always been a very productive offensive defensemen. You don't stay in this league unless you can play and he has been around for a while, including over a 100 games in the NHL.

Amadio, 27, seems to be a very similar player to Grant McNeill. He is a guy that is not afraid to drop the gloves and will help on the physical end. He is not the offensive force of a Lepisto or Helmer but he will be physical along the backline.