Ethan Bear (born June 26, 1997) is an Indigenous Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was drafted in the fifth round, 124th overall, by the

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

He was drafted in the fifth round in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft by the

from the

Seattle Thunderbirds The Seattle Thunderbirds are a major junior ice hockey team based in the city of Kent, Washington, south of Seattle. They are part of the U.S. Division of the Western Conference in the Western Hockey League. They play their games at home in acc ...

in the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). He was signed to a three-year, entry-level contract with the Oilers on July 2, 2016. Bear made his NHL debut on March 1, 2018, in a game against the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

. He recorded his first NHL goal in a 5–4 overtime loss to the Anaheim Ducks on March 25, 2018. Bear was the first player to wear a jersey with his name written in

Cree syllabics Cree syllabics are the versions of Canadian Aboriginal syllabics used to write Cree dialects, including the original syllabics system created for Cree and Ojibwe. There are two main varieties of syllabics for Cree: Western Cree syllabics and ...

(, ''Maskwa'') during an exhibition match against the

Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary. The Flames compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

on July 28, 2020. On December 28, 2020, Bear signed a two-year, $4 million contract extension with the Oilers. After his fourth year within the Oilers organization, Bear was traded to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

in exchange for

Warren Foegele Warren Foegele (born April 1, 1996) is a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who currently plays with the Edmonton Oilers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third-round, 67th overall, at th ...

on July 28, 2021. In the following 2021–22 season, Bear tied a career high with five goals and added nine assists for 14 points through 58 regular season games. Struggling to fully adjust to the Hurricanes system, Bear was a healthy scratch through two rounds of the playoffs. As a restricted free agent in the off-season, Bear was re-signed by the Hurricanes to a one-year, $2.2 million contract on July 28, 2022. Beginning the 2022–23 season as a healthy scratch, Bear was traded by the Hurricanes alongside

Lane Pederson Lane Pederson (born August 4, 1997) is a Canadian professional ice hockey Forward (ice hockey), forward for the Bakersfield Condors of the American Hockey League (AHL) while under contract to the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

to the

in exchange for a fifth-round pick in

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

Personal life

Bear was born in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

and raised in the

Ochapowace Nation The Ochapowace Nation ( cr, ᐅᒑᐳᐍᐢ ''ocâpowês'') is a Cree First Nation in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Reserves Reserves include: * Ochapowace 71 * Ochapowace 71-1 * Ochapowace 71-2 * Ochapowace 71-3 * Ochapowace 71-4 * Ochapowa ...

near

Whitewood, Saskatchewan Whitewood is a town in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It is located approximately east of Regina on the Trans-Canada Highway Sk Hwy 1. It is situated at the crossroads of two major highways systems – the Trans-Canada, which runs east ...

. His older brother, Everett, also played hockey. He is of Cree descent. He faced

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonis ...

from hockey fans relying on

stereotypes In social psychology, a stereotype is a generalized belief about a particular category of people. It is an expectation that people might have about every person of a particular group. The type of expectation can vary; it can be, for example ...

for being a "lazy" player while growing up, which motivated him to work harder as he drew inspiration from his brother and other Indigenous hockey players, including

Carey Price Carey Price (born August 16, 1987) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is considered to be one of the best goaltenders in the world by many colleagues, fans, ''The ...

Jordin Tootoo Jordin John Kudluk Tootoo (; born February 2, 1983) is a Canadian former professional hockey player, who played for the Nashville Predators, Detroit Red Wings, New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks. Of Inuit, Ukrainian and English descent, h ...

, Brandon Montour, Arron Asham and

Micheal Ferland Micheal Ferland (born April 20, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey winger who is currently under contract for the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with the Canucks, he has previously played for the Calgary Fla ...

. In the summer, he gives back by running a youth hockey camp in Ochapowace.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honours

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bear, Ethan 1997 births Living people Bakersfield Condors players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Carolina Hurricanes players Cree people Edmonton Oilers draft picks Edmonton Oilers players First Nations sportspeople Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan People from Whitewood, Saskatchewan Seattle Thunderbirds players Sportspeople from Regina, Saskatchewan Vancouver Canucks players