Greenville, S.C. — As players from the ECHL are making moves, a lot of former ones are signing with teams in Europe. Recently, several Swamp Rabbits players from last season have been signing with teams across Europe. The more recent one was Ethan Somoza, who announced that he would play in Hungary next season. However, today, it was reported that veteran goaltender Ryan Bednard will be playing in the EIHL for the Nottingham Panthers. The news comes after Bednard was crowned ECHL 2024 All-Star for the Greenville club, along with being contracted and playing a few games for the Ontario Reign – the club’s AHL affiliate.
Bednard, 27, has had a long career within the minors. First joining the ranks during the 2019–20 season for the Springfield Thunderbirds of the AHL, he played just eight games with a recorded 3.28 GAA and .899 SV% and was then sent down to play his first season for the Swamp Rabbits. In the following season, the previously young goaltender would play two games for the Syracuse Crunch (Tampa Bay Lightning AHL Affiliate), performing with a higher 2.61 and .915, before getting sent back down to Greenville, where he finished out the season by playing 35 games (2.43GAA / .917SV%). He was a Florida Panthers prospect during that time. For the 2021-22 season, the Michigan-born netminder got a one-game call-up to the Hershey Bears (4.12 GAA and .882 SV%) and then finished out that season with the South Carolina Stingrays, playing 35 games (3.10 GAA and .900 SV%). During that season, he was a prospect for the Washington Capitals. In the 2022-23 season, Bednard switched teams multiple times, as he played four games for the Wheeling Nailers (ECHL), five for the Grand Rapids Griffins, zero for the Abbotsford Canucks, and one for the Belleville Senators (AHL). During that season, however, Bednard was traded back to where his professional ECHL career began: Greenville. He received two AHL call-ups: the first from the Griffins and the other from the Abbotsford Canucks. During his time with the Griffins, Bednard earned one win with a 1.67 GAA and a .946 save percentage. From his one and only game for Belleville, he won it in OT with a 3.74 GAA and .875 save percentage. He won two games and posted a 2.06 GAA and .936 save percentage for the Nailers. He also played 20 games for the Swamp Rabbits, recording a 2.81 GAA and .913 save percentage, along with six 2023 Kelly Cup Playoff games against Jacksonville.
And for his last season in North America, Bednard signed a one-year AHL deal with the Ontario Reign and a one-year extension with the Swamp Rabbits. This was his best season by far. Despite getting fewer games in the AHL, the veteran ECHL Goalie would get crowned with multiple Warrior Hockey Awards, including ECHL Goaltender of The Month for November 2023 and January 2024, and also would be ECHL All-Star for the Rabbits. Bednard experienced highs and lows in performance during the season and was mainly rotated around backup to primary goaltender as he competed for games with Jacob Ingham. He played 33 games for the Rabbits during that season, earning 20 wins with a 2.91 and .911 and making 1000 saves. On November 23, 2023, he made history as the Rabbits’ leading shutout goaltender with seven shutouts. The only difference for Greenville this season was his absence during the Kelly Cup Playoffs, as he was called up by the Reign to be the backup goaltender during and prior to the Calder Cup Playoffs. In total, he played 112 games for Greenville, winning 61, and played one for Ontario, winning it with a 3.00 GAA and .889 Save Percentage. As for his totals in the ECHL, Bednard played 151 games (2.82 GAA and .910 SV%) with a 77-57-13 W-L-T record. In the AHL, he played 18 games with a 2.84 GAA and .910 SV%, and a record of 7-7-1.
Ryan Bednard will now embark on a new career journey in professional hockey as he is about to play professionally in the EIHL, the UK’s top hockey league.
