John Severn Bednarski was an ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League. Over the course of his career, he played the New York Rangers and the Edmonton Oilers. An alumnus of the Manitoba Junior Hockey League, he signed with the Rangers as a free agent in 1972 and began play in the American Hockey League with the Rochester Americans. He made his NHL debut in 1974 with the Rangers playing 99 games and scoring 2 goals and 18 assists. In 1977, he returned to the minor leagues before signing with the Oilers for their first year in the NHL, playing only one game before being sent back down to the minors. He later signed a contract with the Buffalo Sabres but never played another NHL game. He would eventually become the radio and TV analyst for the Americans for many years before resigning prior to the 2005?06 season. [More at Wikipedia]

July 4th, 1952 in Thunder Bay (Age 72)