COLORADO, USA — Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar will be inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2020, the league announced Monday.
Bednar will be inducted with Dany Bousquet, Derek Clancey and Glen Metropolit into the Hall of Fame on Tuesday, Jan. 21, in Wichita, Kansas.
Bednar spent 15 years in the ECHL as a player, assistant coach and head coach.
"I'm real proud of [being inducted]. I think, you know, I got my playing career start in the ECHL and my coaching career start," said Bednar. "I spent a lot of time with one organization there in South Carolina, so it's a big part of my hockey career and my background. I learned a lot there and did a bunch of different things, and I was able to play and coach with them and coach some awesome players too. It's a part of my life that I'm real proud about. It's an honor to be named to the ECHL Hall of Fame, no question."
Bednar was the first person to win three ECHL Kelly Cup titles, twice as a player with South Carolina in 1997 and 2001, and as South Carolina's head coach in 2009.
Bednar competed as a player in 434 career ECHL games for the Huntington Blizzard and South Carolina Stingrays, tallying 173 points (43 goals, 130 assists). Bednar retired as a player after the 2001-02 season.
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league with teams scattered across the United States and two franchises in Canada.
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