Jared Bednar sounds off on Avalanche's newest addition behind the bench
Photo credit: Steph Chambers / Mile High Sticking
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar opened up about the team's newest coaching hire, Dave Hakstol, making it clear that the experienced bench boss will play a key role in shaping Colorado's upcoming season.
This summer, the Avalanche hired the former Seattle Kraken head coach as an assistant coach for the upcoming season.
Jared Bednar has strong words for his assistant coach Dave Hakstol.
Conor Lively from Mile High Sticking writes that the Avalanche are now in full preseason mode after opening training camp on Thursday. A day earlier, the team held its annual media day, where Bednar and several players met with reporters.
During his media availability, Bednar was asked about the coaching shuffle that saw Hakstol replace Ray Bennett.
Bednar highlighted Hakstol's wealth of experience, from his head coaching days at North Dakota, Philadelphia (2015-18), and Seattle (2021-24), to his time as Toronto's assistant running the power play.
"Hakstol's time in Toronto may have been the thing that won him the job as Bednar spoke about how the Avalanche have a specific situation with their power play unit. With all the high end talent the team has, like Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, and Gabe Landeskog, finding a coach who can make the unit work cohesively is a must. They may have found that with Hakstol." -Lively
Hakstol spent two season (2019-21) as Toronto's assistant, running a power play that ranked 6th and 16th league-wide. While the dip came during the Covid season, he worked with stars like Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares, experience that could prove invaluable for an Avalanche power play badly in need of a shake-up.
"Hakstol's power play and offensive strategies seem to rely on getting the puck to the net and creating chaos in front of the net. Defensemen with big, heavy shots play a big part which could mean that Brent Burns could find some time on the power play this season, and Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin, and Landeskog are great at the net front and should be able to create and capitalize on the chaos. To top it all off, you've got the elite playmakers in MacKinnon, Makar, and Necas." -Lively
With elite talent leading the way, the Avalanche also boast strong secondary options like Devon Toews, Ross Colten, and newcomer Victor Olofsson. That kind of depth could finally allow Colorado to roll out two legitimate power-play units, something they've rarely done in recent years. Judging by Bednar/s comments and Hakstol's track record, it seems likely the veteran coach will bring a much-needed spark to this critical part of the Avs' game.
Source:
Mile High Sticking
Jared Bednar sheds some light on the newest addition to the Avalanche coaching staff
Mile High Sticking
Jared Bednar sheds some light on the newest addition to the Avalanche coaching staff
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 20 | 18 ANSWERS Jared Bednar sounds off on Avalanche's newest addition behind the bench Will Dave Hakstol's addition to the Avalanche coaching staff improve their power play this season? | ||
| yes | 15 | 83.3 % |
| no | 3 | 16.7 % |
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