Spezza, Kochan & Hart to be inducted into BING Hall of Fame

by Brooks Hill

BINGHAMTON – The Binghamton Black Bears, in partnership with the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame, are proud to announce three inductees for the 2025 season.  Former players include Binghamton Senator Jason Spezza, B.C. Icemen, Dieter Kochan and late-cartoonist Johnny Hart will all be formally inducted into the Binghamton Hockey Hall of Fame on April 11th.     

Spezza played 19 seasons in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, Dallas Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs.  His pro career began when he was drafted #2 overall in the 2001 NHL Draft by Ottawa.  Soon he would report to AHL Binghamton.  Spezza split time in his first professional season between Binghamton and Ottawa but would return to the B-Sens during 2004-05 year amidst the NHL lockout.  Spezza played 80 games that season, recording 32 goals and 85 assists totaling 117 points, the most in the league and earning the Les Cunningham Award for league MVP.  He would go on to play the next nine seasons with Ottawa, serving as team captain in 2013.  He was an assistant captain for the Dallas Stars in three of his four years in Texas, before finishing his playing career with Toronto in 2022.  He finished his career with 1248 games played, 363 goals and 632 assists.

Spezza continues to work in hockey serving as the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and is in his second season of overseeing their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins.

Dieter Kochan was a member of the B.C. Icemen for two seasons from 1998-2000.  He was selected 98th overall in the 1993 NHL Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.  The goalie from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan played in 83 regular season games with a total record of 47-27-8 with six shutouts.  Kochan would get the call multiple times to play in the NHL, earning a spot with the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 1999 season for his debut.  He was the first and only player ever to move from the UHL, straight to the NHL.  He made appearances with the Lightning in three seasons and did play one game for the Minnesota Wild in the 2002-03 campaign.  That same year, Kochan won the Calder Cup with the Houston Aeros, posting a record of 15-6-3.

The late Johnny Hart is the final inductee in the 2025 class.  Hart’s work as a cartoonist can still be seen today all-around Broome County.  He was a native of Endicott, New York and is most known for the creation of the comic strips B.C. and Wizard of Id that were published all over the country in countless newspapers.  Hart is credited with the original designs of two of the Binghamton hockey logos, the Broome Dusters and B.C. Icemen along with other notable logs, such as, the B.C. Open, Broome County Parks and many others.  Hart passed away in 2007, but his legacy continues through his art with his family to this day.

The Hall of Fame ceremony will take place prior to the Binghamton Black Bears game on Friday, April 11th at 7:00p.m.  The Black Bears will be honoring the history of Binghamton hockey with special throwback jerseys that will be announced at a later date.     

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