Jan Bednar may have left the Detroit Red Wings organization, but that hasn’t left the Czech netminder with a bitter taste in his mouth.
In fact, Bednar gives thanks that the Red Wings were willing to take a chance on him at all.
Selected 107th by Detroit in the 2020 NHL entry draft, Bednar was limited to 13 games during the 2022-23 season due to an undisclosed injury that required surgery. He was without an NHL contract at the time. The Red Wings could’ve easily walked away from Bednar.
Instead, they would step up to help him out.
“A big thank you goes to the entire Detroit Red Wings organization, who didn’t hesitate and immediately took matters into their own hands and arranged everything for me,” Bednar recalled in an interview on the Karlovy Vary website. “I had the best possible medical care that I could get at that moment.
Jan Bednar and Brendon Michaelian have the best warm up routine #OurFishOurFight #LGRW pic.twitter.com/KNIXTMcjnY
— Hockeytown West Podcast (@HockeytownWpod) May 31, 2025
“So thanks go not only to Toledo, but also to all the people who took care of me there, the doctors, the nurses, and the entire Detroit organization.”
The Red Wings would sign the 6-foot-4, 196-pound goaltender to an AHL contract with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Bednar played four games for the Griffins, spending most of the past two seasons with the ECHL Toledo Walleye
Red Wings Draftee Still Eyeing NHL
After backstopping the Walleye to the Kelly Cup final in the spring, Bednar decided to sign a contract with Finland’s Assat Pori.
“I felt like I needed a change, a step forward, so I started talking to my agent,” Bednar said. “Pori was one of the first to call, and we felt like they were the most interested in me, so we finally made an agreement.”
Another @ToledoWalleye is leaving the pond. 🐟 Goaltender Jan Bednar, who spent the last two seasons with the Fish and tallied a 46-16-8 record, is now an unrestricted free agent. 🏒 pic.twitter.com/kXE2FRGGvq
— BCSN (@BCSNsports) June 17, 2025
Just 22, he’s not viewing this decision as an end to his North American days, but rather as a detour on the way to the same destination.
“The goal is still the NHL and that will never change until I’m there,” Bednar said. “But it’s no longer the case that I want to go to America at all costs.
“It’s more that I want to be on a team where they are interested in me, where I have a chance to play a lot. If I have a season, two or three that are successful, and then an offer comes in America, I would definitely not hesitate to come back.”