NORTH CHARLESTON , S.C. – The St. Louis Blues announced the hiring of Jared Bednar, 38, Tuesday as head coach of the Peoria Rivermen, the Blues’ American Hockey League affiliate. Bednar spent 13 years with the South Carolina Stingrays organization of the ECHL as a defenseman, an assistant coach and then as General Manager/Head Coach. He was hired for the Peoria job emerging out of a pool of almost 30 candidates. He served in the AHL as an assistant coach with the Abbotsford Heat this past season. His hiring by Abbottsford last year, came after two extremely successful seasons as the ‘Rays’ GM/head coach. He led the ‘Rays to the conference finals in his first year and then guided South Carolina to capture the Kelly Cup in the 2008-09 season. Bednar has had his name engraved on the ECHL Kelly Cup three times, once as a coach and twice as a player. The native of Yorkton, Saskatchewan played in 582 games over nine pro seasons, primarily in the ECHL. He also played in the International Hockey League and the AHL. A rugged enforcer, he amassed 1,787 penalty minutes in his professional career, scoring 216 points, including 49 goals. His style of play, longevity with the ‘Rays’ organization and success as a coach, made him an extremely popular figure in the Charleston area. The vacancy in Peoria originally occurred when Davis Payne, the previous head coach was promoted as St. Louis Blues Head Coach. The NHL parent club of the Rivermen, hired Payne in mid-season. The Peoria job was filled on an interim basis by Rick Wamsley after Payne’s promotion, but the Rivermen missed the playoffs and he was recently moved to another position with the Blues organization. St. Louis Blues President John Davidson said in the team’s press release that, “the Blues organization is excited to announce Jared as our new head coach in Peoria. He brings coaching experience from the AHL and ECHL levels, which includes an ECHL championship and he’ll be an excellent teacher for our young players.” Contact the author at Phil.Brand@prohockeynews.com
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