HERSHEY, Pa. – The Hershey Bears announced on Friday that the team has extended defenseman Aaron Ness to a two-year American Hockey League contract. The deal keeps the veteran in the fold for his sixth and seventh seasons overall with the Bears, his longest with any team. The extension was signed six days before Ness turns 33, an early birthday present for the team’s alternate captain after appearing in 69 of Hershey’s 72 games in 2022-23.

Ness returned to the Bears after a very successful stint of four seasons from 2015-2019, adding a familiar presence on the blue line. Hershey went to the Calder Cup Playoffs in three of four seasons when he patrolled the blue line, including a trip to the Calder Cup Finals in 2016. Simply put, his return has been integral to the team’s success and development of the team’s young defenseman. His hockey IQ and experience are on full display every night he pulls on a jersey.

In 2022-23, Ness posted five goals and 14 assists in 69 games played, and although that’s a far cry from the 55 points he piled up to lead all AHL defensemen in 2018-19, he’s honed his play to be a defensive specialist reflected in his plus-14 mark, his second-best mark in a single season in his career. Ness hit several milestones this year. He dressed in his 600th career AHL game on November 12 and joined the fairly exclusive club of players in the 85-year history of the Hershey Bears to skate in 300 games with the Chocolate and White. He is the 48th player to be added to that list. He ranks 12th all-time among defensemen in terms of games played and tenth all-time in franchise scoring with 147 points in 308 games.

Aaron Ness sneaks it into the back of the net (where it stays) for his fifth of the season to send us into the locker room tied! 👀

🍎 Strome pic.twitter.com/BSkOUDoj4Y

— Hershey Bears (@TheHersheyBears) April 11, 2023

Ness is a veteran of 660 regular-season games in the AHL with Hershey, Bridgeport, Tucson, and Providence. He represented the United States in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics with an assist in four games played and skated in the 2015 AHL All-Star Classic. He has 72 games of experience at the National Hockey League level with the New York Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, and the Washington Capitals.

The extension further helps solidify Hershey’s group going into next season, joining the likes of Mike Vecchione, Mike Sgarbossa, and Ethen Frank to sign extensions either with the Bears or the Capitals. Hershey has a lengthy list of players whose contracts will expire at the end of the season, and the team has begun to take care of business by extending some of those key players. Ness will be with the Bears through the 2024-25 season. The once-rare two-year AHL contract is becoming more commonplace, with Vecchione signing a similar contract earlier this year. Ness has missed Hershey’s past two games due to injury, but his presence will be important for the Bears as their playoff run continues.