Jan Benda

Jan Benda (born 28 April 1972) is a Belgian-born German ice hockey coach and retired player. He played nine games in the National Hockey League with the Washington Capitals during the 1997–98 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1992 to 2018, was mainly spent in various European leagues. Internationally Bends played for the German national team at the 1994, 1998, and 2002 Winter Olympics, and nine World Championships.

Career
Born in Belgium to Czech parents, Benda started his career in the OHL with the Oshawa Generals, where he played with future NHL stars such as Eric Lindros, Jason Arnott, and Stephane Yelle. In his final year with the Generals, he would finish with 35 points in 61 games. After playing 2 seasons in Germany, Benda would return to North America for the 1994-95 ECHL season to play for the Richmond Renegades. He would finish the season with 60 points in 62 games, which ranked fifth on the team that season. That season, he also briefly played for the Binghamton Rangers, the AHL affiliate of the New York Rangers. The next two seasons, Benda would play for HC Sparta Praha.

Benda would later return to North America for the 1997-98 season, where he was assigned to the Washington Capitals AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He was later recalled to play for the Capitals, where he would score three assists in nine games. Upon completion of the 1997-98 season, Benda would return to Europe. He would play the next three seasons in the Finnish SM-Liiga, where he would lead his team in points during the 1998-99 season (with Porin Ässät) and in 1999-00 (with Jokerit). Benda would leave Finland in 2001 to sign with Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Superleague. He would spend the next three seasons in Kazan and would split his final year between Khimik Voskresensk and Severstal Cherepovets.

Benda played in the Czech Republic for BK Mladá Boleslav, whom he joined in 2008 where he was the captain. Before joining BK Mladá Boleslav, he had played with HC Litvínov from 2006 to 2008.

Benda represented Germany at the 2002 World Championships, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, and the Winter Olympics in 1994, 1998, and 2002.

Benda played for HC Plzeň 1929 and scored 35 points in 51 regular season games during the 2009-10 season.

In 2011, he returned to Germany, joining the Nürnberg Ice Tigers of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga on a short-term deal, before signing with EHC München for the remainder of the 2011-12 season.

He then spent the 2012-13 campaign with the Dresdner Eislöwen in Germany's second-tier league DEL2.

The 2014–15 season saw Benda score 10 goals and dish 29 assists in 42 games for Deggendorf Fire in the German Oberliga. For the 2015–16 season, he moved to ECDC Memmingen, a member of the Bayernliga in Germany. Along with his playing duties he served as a coach in the club's youth program. When ECDC head coach Alexander Wedl was sacked in January 2016, Benda took over head coaching duties on an interim basis. His playing career ended in June 2018 at age 46.

Following his playing days, Benda worked for ECDC Memmingen as an assistant coach and youth coach.