Playing career

Hedican was drafted 198th overall by the St. Louis Blues in the 1988 NHL Entry Draft. A product of St. Cloud State University, Hedican played with the 1992 US Olympic Team before he made his NHL debut in the 1991-92 season with the Blues. In his third season with the Blues, Hedican was traded to the Vancouver Canucks with Jeff Brown and Nathan LaFayette for Craig Janney, on March 21, 1994, joining the Canucks in time for their Stanley Cup run that season.

Hedican established himself in the Canucks blueline and after five seasons was later traded to the Florida Panthers by Vancouver with Pavel Bure, Brad Ference and Vancouver's 3rd round choice (Robert Fried) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft for Ed Jovanovski, Dave Gagner, Mike Brown, Kevin Weekes and Florida's first round choice (Nathan Smith) in the 2000 Entry Draft, on January 17, 1999.

Hedican was then traded by the Panthers with Kevyn Adams and Tomas Malec to the Carolina Hurricanes for Sandis Ozolinsh and Byron Ritchie on January 16, 2002. He would spend five and a half seasons with the Hurricanes and won his only Stanley Cup in 2006.

For the 2008-09 season, Hedican signed a one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks. He played his 1000th career NHL game on November 21, 2008 against the St. Louis Blues.

On September 6, 2009, Hedican was interviewed live on the television sports talk show Chronicle Live, on CSN Bay Area, and announced his retirement.

Hedican led the league in short-handed assists during the 1997-98 season, with seven.

After retirement

Hedican joined Comcast SportsNet California shortly after retiring, serving as a pre-game and post-game analyst for the channel's San Jose Sharks coverage. In the fall of 2014, he joined the Sharks Radio Network team and will provide color commentary alongside Dan Rusanowsky. He also occasionally analyzes games for NBCSN.

In 2014, Hedican partnered with another former Vancouver Canuck, Paul Reinhart, investing over $1 million in a sports team management start-up, RosterBot, based in Vancouver.

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-WCHA First Team	1990-91

• Member of Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes in 2006.
• Had his number 24 retired by St. Cloud State University on November 6, 2010.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1988-89	St Cloud State Huskies	WCHA		28	5	3	8	28		—	—	—	—	—
1989-90	St Cloud State Huskies	WCHA		36	4	17	21	37		—	—	—	—	—
1990-91	St Cloud State Huskies	WCHA		41	18	30	48	52		—	—	—	—	—
1991-92	St. Louis Blues	NHL		4	1	0	1	0		5	0	0	0	0
1992-93	Peoria Rivermen	IHL		19	0	8	9	10		—	—	—	—	—
1992-93	St. Louis Blues	NHL		42	0	8	8	30		10	0	0	0	14
1993-94	St. Louis Blues	NHL		61	0	11	11	64		—	—	—	—	—
1993-94	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		8	0	1	1	0		24	1	6	7	16
1994-95	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		45	2	11	13	34		11	0	2	2	6
1995-96	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		77	6	23	29	83		6	0	1	1	10
1996-97	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		67	4	15	19	51		—	—	—	—	—
1997-98	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		71	3	24	27	79		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		42	2	11	13	34		—	—	—	—	—
1998-99	Florida Panthers	NHL		25	3	7	10	17		—	—	—	—	—
1999-00	Florida Panthers	NHL		76	6	19	25	68		4	0	0	0	0
2000-01	Florida Panthers	NHL		70	5	15	20	72		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Florida Panthers	NHL		31	3	7	10	12		—	—	—	—	—
2001-02	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		26	2	4	6	10		23	1	4	5	20
2002-03	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		72	3	14	17	75		—	—	—	—	—
2003-04	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		81	7	17	24	64		—	—	—	—	—
2005-06	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		74	5	22	27	58		25	2	9	11	42
2006-07	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		50	0	10	10	36		—	—	—	—	—
2007-08	Carolina Hurricanes	NHL		66	2	15	17	70		—	—	—	—	—
2008-09	Anaheim Ducks	NHL		51	1	5	6	36		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1039	55	239	294	893		108	4	22	26	108

International play

• 1992 - Played for the United States in the XVI Olympic Winter Games
• 2006 - Played for the United States in the XX Olympic Winter Games

Personal

Hedican has been married to figure-skater Kristi Yamaguchi since 2000. The couple have two daughters, Keara Kiyomi (2003) and Emma Yoshiko (2005). They reside in northern California. Hedican and Yamaguchi met at the 1992 Olympic Winter Games when both were members of the US Olympic team.

Hedican is a graduate of North High School in North St. Paul, Minnesota. August 12, 2006, was declared "Bret Hedican Day" in North Saint Paul, Minnesota, including the presentation of the Stanley Cup and a parade.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]