Jake Massie named Hershey Bears Specialty Man of the Year
HERSHEY, Pa. (WHTM) – The Hershey Bears named defenseman Jake Massie the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year on Thursday for his community work throughout the 2023-24 season.
Massie was part of 20+ community events this season in collaboration with the Hershey Bears Cares initiative.
Massie started the season by taking the Calder Cup to multiple first responders at the Penn State Health Life Lion’s Hershey-based hanger. In November, Massie kicked off his Penn State Health Children’s Hospital visits, eventually totaling four throughout the season. Massie played games with the children, signed items, visited with families and took pictures with patients and staff.
The St. Lazare, Quebec native was also part of the inaugural Leukemia & Lymphoma Light the Night in-patient activation at the Penn State Health Cancer Institute.
Massie also made an impact on the children at Milton Hershey School (MHS). Massie practiced with the middle school hockey team, played board games and floor hockey with elementary school students, and had lunch with the senior division hockey team across six MHS events.
Other actions by Massie that led to him receiving this award include distributing Hershey Bears tickets to service men and women for the annual Hometown Heroes game, attending a charity dinner for a local fan’s birthday, and giving holiday gifts to families at the Cocoa Packs Presents toy drive.
With this honor, Massie is now one of 32 finalists for the AHL’s 2023-24 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award, which goes to the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year. The award is named in memory of the former Hershey Bear and AHL All-Star.
The winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award will be announced late this month.
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