Jared Bednar

It has been a long journey to the top of the mountain for Jared Bednar. Now, after winning championships in the ECHL and ACHL, the Colorado Avalanche coach ...

He knows when to apply the pressure when he needs to and when to pull back a little bit. It didn’t matter what was going on, it was the same sort of attitude and it reflected in our team.” That’s a hell of a coach.” He’s a great person, a great coach and the players believe in him. “He allows us to play freely, to read and react and it’s working. “Things aren’t always going to go your way during the year, during a playoff series, but he was a steady force for us all the time. That has a lot to do with him. “He’s won the Kelly Cup, the Calder Cup and the Stanley Cup,” said Sakic. “He takes so much pride in what he does. “He allows the players to be who they are and he doesn’t really put too much limitation on his structure,” said Avalanche centre Nazem Kadri, who excelled this season under Bednar’s tutelage. He always viewed himself as head bench boss and took it in baby steps and now he’s been rewarded and done a great job for us. “He’s never been in a rush, even when we were in Springfield, he wasn’t looking to jump (to the NHL) as an assistant coach. But really, that was just a beautiful moment and you try to just step back and enjoy it for a second.