At the NHL Draft, there are high-risk home run swings and safe picks. Kamil Bednarik, a left-shooting center out of USA Hockey’s National Team Development program, qualifies as the latter.
On Saturday at the Sphere in Las Vegas, the New York Islanders selected select Bednarik in the second round, No. 61 overall. He was better than a point-per-game player with the U.S. NTDP this season, aided offensively by his strong hockey sense, his quick release and especially his motor for retrieving pucks and chasing down rebounds. But make no mistake: Bednarik’s calling card is his two-way game. He shows pretty much every trait you’d want from a defensively conscientious forward.
Bednarik, 18, is a Boston University commit who will be joined there next season by his USTDP teammates and fellow 2024 draftees Cole Eiserman and Cole Hutson. With San Jose Sharks No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini all but guaranteed to go pro, the Terriers welcome the reinforcements. Bednarik’s mature 200-foot game gives him potential to play all over an NHL team’s lineup someday, but some time in the NCAA will do him good.