The Hershey Bears saw more turnover in their organization on Wednesday.
Adam Purner, the team’s beloved video analyst, received a promotion to the NHL, getting hired by the Seattle Kraken. The announcement of Purner’s hiring came along with the news that Charlotte Checkers captain Zac Dalpe was named the Kraken’s new player development consultant.
Purner, first employed by the Bears in 2022, helped guide the team to a 141-53-12-10 record (.704 points percentage) during his 216 regular-season games as video coach. Hershey won back-to-back Calder Cups in 2023 and 2024, and set a new AHL record with nine consecutive playoff series wins during that span.
With the Kraken, Purner joins video coach Tim Ohashi, a former staff member of the Washington Capitals’ Stanley Cup championship team in 2018. Ohashi, a Washington, DC native, was hired by the Kraken ahead of their inaugural season in the NHL (2021-22).
The Bears thanked Purner for his work and congratulated him on his jump to the NHL on social media.
“Congrats to @adam_purner who is a great guy,” Zack Fisch, the voice of the Bears, said on X. “He worked his way up from outside the hockey world, to climbing the ladder, to the NHL after two Calder Cups in Hershey. He was fantastic to work with and an unsung hero behind the scenes. Good luck, Blade!”
Purner is just the latest Bear to depart the team this offseason. Head coach Todd Nelson was hired by the Pittsburgh Penguins as an assistant coach, while Hunter Shepard, Alex Limoges, Riley Sutter, Mike Vecchione, Chase Priskie, Pierrick Dubé, and Mike Sgarbossa all signed elsewhere.
The Bears are expected to be much younger next season under new head coach Derek King, with many of the team’s top prospects, like Andrew Cristall, Ilya Protas, and Ryan Chesley, potentially playing big roles on the team if they don’t make the Capitals out of training camp.
Here’s the full press release from the Hershey Bears:
ADAM PURNER NAMED VIDEO ANALYST FOR SEATTLE KRAKEN
Hershey’s video coach for the past three seasons departs for NHL opportunity
(Hershey, PA – August 13, 2025) – The National Hockey League’s Seattle Kraken have announced the hire of Adam Purner as video analyst.
Purner served as video coach for Hershey for three seasons after he joined the staff in 2022. The Glens Falls, New York native helped Hershey to back-to-back Calder Cup titles in 2023 and 2024.
In Purner’s tenure with Hershey, the Bears posted a 141-53-12-10 record in 216 regular-season games, for a points percentage of .704. Hershey won the Atlantic Division twice in that time span, while also claiming the Macgregor Kilpatrick Trophy in 2023-24 as the AHL’s regular season champions. In 2025, the Bears defeated the Lehigh Valley Phantoms 3-2 in the best-of-five Atlantic Division Finals to win their ninth consecutive playoff series during Purner’s run (2023, 4; 2024, 4, 2025, 1), establishing a new AHL record.
Prior to joining Hershey, Purner spent two seasons working as video coach for the New Jersey Devils’ AHL affiliate (Binghamton 2020-21, Utica 2021-22). He has also worked with USA Hockey, serving as the video coordinator for the Women’s National Team at the 2022 IIHF Women’s World Championship. Additionally, Purner was a goalie video analyst for the St. Louis Blues in 2020, and worked for the Western Hockey League’s Portland Winterhawks as hockey video coordinator from 2016-19, and held the title of video coach in 2019-20.
Hershey opens its 88th regular season of American Hockey League competition versus the Syracuse Crunch on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 7 p.m. at GIANT Center. Single-game tickets to all Bears home games for the 2025-26 season will go on sale to the public on Thursday, Sept. 11. For more information, visit HersheyBears.com.
