Jared Bednar will be inducted into a hockey Hall of Fame tonight

Jared Bednar will become a Hall of Famer tonight. In Wichita, Kansas, the Colorado Avalanche coach will be officially inducted into the ECHL HOF, which occupies a section of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Bednar played eight seasons in the ECHL (formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League – they just call it by its initials now) for the Huntington Blizzard (three seasons) and the South Carolina Stingrays (five). Bednar, in fact, maintains his family residence in South Carolina.

Bednar could have been inducted in either of the past couple of years, but commitments with the Avalanche prevented him from being there on induction day, and he asked to have his induction deferred until he could be there in person, because that’s how much the league means to him.

With the Avs on a 10-day break from all hockey activities (well, except for all-star Nathan MacKinnon), Bednar had the time free finally and he will be at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview in Wichita, to be inducted along with three others. Former Edmonton Oilers player and GM Kevin Lowe will be the keynote speaker.

Here is a look a Bednar’s professional playing career: