Jaroslav Bednář

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team = HC Slavia Prague
former_teams = Los Angeles Kings
Florida Panthers
league = Czech Extraliga
position = Right Wing
shoots = Right
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 176
nationality = CZE
birth_date = Birth date and age|1976|11|9|mf=y
birth_place = Prague, CS
draft = 51th overall
draft_year = 2001
draft_team = Los Angeles Kings
career_start = 1994

Jaroslav Bednář (born November 9, 1976) is a Czech ice hockey winger, who currently plays for HC Slavia Prague in the Czech Extraliga.

Playing career

Born in Prague, Bednář began his career with Slavia Prague in 1994 and stayed there for three years before moving to rivals Sparta Prague. He played just 14 games before moving to Plzeň and then returned to play for Sparta for the next season. He then spent the next two seasons playing in Finland's SM-liiga with spells at Jyp and HIFK where he led the teams in goals and points.

NHL career

Bednář was drafted 51st overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, but never managed to recapture the form he had in Finland. He played 37 games for the Kings, scoring 4 goals and 11 assists for 15 points. On November 26, 2002, Bednář, along with Andreas Lilja was traded to the Florida Panthers for Dmitri Yushkevich, he played 65 games for Florida, scoring 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points. Overall, Bednář played 102 regular season games, scoring 10 goals and 25 assists for 35 points.

Back in Europe

Bednář moved to Russia during the cancelled 2004–05 NHL Season and played for Avangard Omsk where he played alongside Jaromír Jágr, Alexander Perezhogin and Oleg Tverdovsky. In 2005, Bednář returned to Slavia Prague where he has become one of their core players.

External links

*hockeydb|50539