Detroit Hockey Now’s Bob Duff spotted an article in which Red Wings prospect and Czechia goaltender Jan Bednar spoke with iSport.cz’s Michal Kosturik, and Duff offers a translation of said article, in which Bednar discusses whether he’s going to remain with the QMJHL’s Acadie-Bathurst Titan, or whether he expects to earn an NHL contract:
“I can stay in the junior, which is also a great option,” Bednar said. “I have everything there that I need for my development.”
Just 19 and with a year of junior eligibility remaining, the 6-foot-4, 196-pound Bednar isn’t of the opinion that he needs to take a step up in competition in order to further his progress as a puckstopper.
“I do not think so,” Bednar said. “A lot of people say: ‘Why would you go back there, when you can play senior hockey somewhere?’ I’m happy where I am and I don’t want to rush anything. I consider my step to leave Vary to go overseas to be 100% correct. I don’t regret it.
“From a personal point of view, the (2021-22) season was not bad at all,” Bednar said. “I stayed in the better waters of statistics. As a goalkeeper, I have progressed a lot.”
Duff continues…And, put bluntly, it’s not Duff’s fault that Kosturik is trying to stir up controversy.
The whole premise of the Czech article is that Bednar, whose Czech hockey rights belong to HC Energie Karlovy Vary, would surely be better-served (emphasis mine) playing “senior hockey” in the Czech Extraliga instead of playing in some tiny backwater city in faraway Quebec, playing junior hockey.
Bednar’s response, basically, is that he likes Acadie-Bathurst, he likes his billet family, and he likes the QMJHL, where he earned the majority of the starts in Acadie-Bathurst after the New Year.
It’s a less-than-nuanced premise given that Bednar is 19, and would probably be playing in the Czech Under-20 league for Karlovy Vary if he’d stayed home.
Also: Kudos to Duff for finding this one. It took me ten minutes to find this article, and I knew where to look. It was hidden not in the hockey section, but in the general sports section instead.
