ZBlogL

They are each scattered all over the place. Quite a few of them still live in Charleston, S.C. One was on a Fort Collins, Colo., golf course, while another in Bakersfield, Cali., broke away from work. Perhaps the most intriguing of all was the one who was willing to interrupt his vacation in Italy by choice.

Advertisement

Say the name “Jared Bednar” and the aforementioned individuals come to a complete stop. They all want to talk. Each of them wants to share a story about the fourth-year Colorado Avalanche coach and how he impacted their lives. Perhaps what makes this specific group different than any other collection of people goes back to the fact they know Bednar unlike anyone else.

Bednar has been their teammate. He has been their assistant coach. He is still their friend, and for some, he is a mentor. There was a two-year period with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL when Bednar transitioned from player to coach. It was a phase that laid the foundation for a man who has since become one of the premier coaches in the NHL, who could soon add a Stanley Cup to his list of accomplishments.

Practically everyone knows Bednar for being a calm, well-spoken man who offers logic and reason behind his decisions. He is those things. But he is also much more. He is the small-town Saskatchewan kid who rode the buses in the ECHL. It was on those trips when teammates learned about someone who, along with his wife, was going to purchase rental properties with the aim of making it a profitable business to the point they would sell it at the right time to build their dream house along the South Carolina coast.

“Jared’s the kind of guy that if he does something, he does it,” said Brett Marietti, one of Bednar’s former teammates and closest friends. “Even if it is not doable, he finds a way to get it done. We all knew he had a shot at making it to the NHL. You just look at his work ethic. He told me back when we were making $500 a week that he was going to buy these properties, him and his wife, rent them out and flip them. That when the time came, they were going to build their team house on the ocean. They did it. Right to the ‘T’ within the time frame that he said they were going to do it.”

Advertisement

For Marietti and everyone else, that is why they struggle to find the right words to sum it all up. Yes, it is a surreal feeling to see someone you love take a longer, harder path to make it to the NHL. Not everyone can do it. But, at the same time, the fact their friend is so detail-oriented about everything he does is why none of this comes as a great surprise to them either.

This is Bednar. He is the person who may not figure out something at first but will relentlessly work toward finding a solution. And when he does? It is not enough to have an answer and be done. Bednar must know how he got there. He must retrace his steps and then be able to offer a satisfactory explanation as to how he arrived at that path so he can then educate others.

He is like this about everything. Coaching hockey. Caring for his prized Corvette he had when he played. The way he golfs. The way he fishes and hunts. Even down to how he plays cornhole. They all lovingly joke that he can be long-winded when sharing these details. But, in their minds, that is why he is where he is. It is not enough to simply do something and leave it at that.

You’re either the best, or you take the time to figure out why you’re not. This is the Bednar they know. This is why they talk. This is why they all universally love him and why they hope this is the year the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.

“Did we think he was going to be in the NHL so quickly? None of us had any doubts because of his ability, character and work ethic,” said former teammate David Seitz, another close friend. “You want coaches who embodied the same things they did as a player. The thing I liked about Jared and other coaches in my career is that they were honest. If you are playing well, he will tell you. If you are not, he will tell you. Coaches play mind games and Jared has always been straightforward.

Advertisement

“He was an honest player, a tough player. You can tell by the way his team and his players respond to him.”

Long before Jason Fitzsimmons was a professional scout and director of minor league operations for the Washington Capitals, he played for the Stingrays. He had the job for four years before being promoted to head coach. ECHL coaches have to do everything. It is not like the NHL where those duties are shared. That meant Fitzsimmons had to find an assistant coach he knew and trusted.

Stingrays’ ownership gave him carte blanche to do what he wanted. His first choice was Bednar. By that point, Bednar was contemplating between playing another year or retiring. Fitzsimmons called Bednar and presented the idea. Bednar went over to his former teammates’ home. They talked. At first, Bednar hemmed and hawed at the idea of being an assistant.

“About six or seven beers later, I had an assistant coach,” Fitzsimmons said. “I laid out the pros and cons with him. I talked about how he and I would work. At some point, I think he said he planned on getting into coaching. He had that feel for the defensive side of the game. Especially, when I was an assistant and he was still playing. We won a championship together in 2001 and I was an assistant coach. He was one of our captains. I was 26 years old, then. I was learning on the fly. We were only a year apart in age. He was one of my players and I relied on him a lot for knowledge as well.”

Fitzsimmons said Bednar excelled at coming up with game plans. They were together for five years and it was even more evident. Fitzsimmons was better when it came to managing people and dealing with agents. Bednar’s strength, at the time, was strategizing and pouring over hours of game footage to improve the Stingrays while working to find flaws with an opponent.

Joel Irving, a right-winger for the Stingrays, said Bednar was one of the most respected figures in the dressing room. He was a big, tough defenseman who did whatever was asked of him. Sometimes, he took on the tasks that others may have strayed from. Bednar, who is 6-foot-4, was not an enforcer but had no qualms about fighting another team’s toughest player if it needed to be done.

Irving said it was a seamless transition when Bednar went from being a teammate to the assistant coach. He said younger coaches are often nervous when it comes to X’s and O’s and it can be noticeable. Bednar was not that way. He was straightforward in his approach and it came off that way from the minute he took the job, Irving said.

Trevor G. Johnson was an offensive defenseman. He was with the Stingrays for 38 games during the 2004-05 season, which was Bednar’s first as an assistant. Their time together was short when compared to others. But Johnson, who played for the Italian national team during his career, said Bednar was always composed. Initially, Johnson was left wondering if that calm demeanor meant Bednar was disinterested. He quickly learned Bednar was fully engaged and was just really chill at the same time.

Advertisement

Bednar worked with the defense and his tutelage with Johnson provided early insight into the man who would one day lead the Avalanche. Johnson admitted there would be times he did not do what he should have been doing. Usually, he would skate over to the bench and await hearing about his mistakes from a coach. He said Bednar was not like that at all. There was a silent understanding of what went wrong, but there was a conversation about trying something different on the next shift that usually led to even better results.

“He is a good person, a hard worker and a likable guy. I wanted to play and win for him,” Johnson said. “There are a lot of coaches that I would have not wanted to win for them. I hated them. You did not want to go through a wall for them. You felt like they were not going to do that for you. I’d go through a wall for Bedsy.”

Everyone agreed Bednar had a personal approach when it came to his coaching. He made the effort to understand each player. But they also said Bednar is someone who believes that respect comes from authority and vice-versa. Marietti provided once such anecdote that reinforced how there were consequences for those who did not understand that edict.

Five seasons passed before the Capitals hired Fitzsimmons to be a scout and Bednar became the Stingrays head coach at the start of the 2007-08 campaign. Marietti recalled one season when the team’s leading scorer, who was fifth in the ECHL in scoring at the time, was late for the team bus.

It was a fatal mistake.

“He was late for the bus and the bus pulled off and they left the kid and then, they traded him,” Marietti said. “Jared is no-nonsense. The kid was running up to the bus and he told the driver to drive right past him. When I heard the story, I can’t remember if it was him or someone else who told me. I didn’t doubt it for a second. That is the way he is and that is: ‘Do what I say or you’re gone.'”

Aaron Schneekloth had just finished a stellar career at the University of North Dakota when he joined the Stingrays near the end of the 2001-02 season. He was there the following year before being called up to play with the Grand Rapids Griffins, the Detroit Red Wings’ AHL affiliate. Schneekloth was with the Stingrays for 50 games but the impact Bednar had still continues to this day.

Advertisement

Schneekloth retired after the end of the 2012-13 season. He wanted to get into coaching and Bednar was the first person he called when it came to getting advice. It led to them talking about what comes with being a coach. Schneekloth said Bednar provided an openness and honesty during their discussion. That’s when Bednar then presented his former player with an opportunity he did not see coming.

“He recommended I fly to Springfield where he was the assistant coach there with Nolan Pratt and Brad Larsen was the head coach,” Schneekloth said. “He invited me to spend training camp with them. He had me sit in on all their meetings. Coaches meetings, team meetings, watching practices. Bedsy made sure he was making time for me to have one-on-one sessions. He was so influential and positive and he is the same way to this day. He is always willing to and able to make time to help someone along the way.”

Later that year, Schneekloth was an ECHL assistant. He worked his way to becoming that club’s head coach for two seasons. Until he got the opportunity to be an assistant coach in the AHL.

The team Schneekloth did all of this with is the Colorado Eagles, the AHL affiliate of the Avalanche.

What makes Bednar an inspiration for coaches like Schneekloth is the route he took to reach the NHL. Bednar never played a game in the NHL. There was never a thought he would be fast-tracked into becoming an NHL head coach someday. He was nomadic in how he got there. It took 14 years and five different teams across the AHL and the ECHL — plus the several months at a time away from his family for years at a time — for Bednar to be named as the Avalanche’s head coach.

“He knows how difficult it is in this industry and we kind of had very similar careers where the majority of it was spent in the minor leagues,” Schneekloth said. “He is not only a huge role model for me but for every coach who starts in the lower levels who did not have a career in the National Hockey League. He is providing those stepping stones for a lot of coaches.”

Marietti remembers the day Bednar got the phone call from the Avalanche saying he got the job. They were hunting together in the South Carolina wilderness when Bednar broke away to answer the phone. As one would expect, there was a lot of anticipation from those around Bednar about realizing his dream. He had just completed the 2015-16 AHL season and led the now-Cleveland Monsters to their first Calder Cup trophy.

Advertisement

Fitzsimmons and Marietti had talked about Bednar’s prospects. Fitzsimmons felt like Bednar had a really good shot at the job and so did Marietti.

“He got the call and hung up the phone and said, ‘It looks like I got the job in Colorado. Let’s go hunting,'” Marietti said. “I don’t think there was a handshake or anything like that. It was, ‘Yep. Got the job and I gotta leave next week.’ … I remember talking to him after he interviewed and he was like, ‘Oh yeah, I think I did all right.’ But when he got the job, it was like someone called and said his car was ready to be picked up after getting the oil changed.”

That description is in contrast with what Fitzsimmons, Marietti and everyone else has to say about Bednar’s mannerisms.

They have no problem admitting the man is a talker. That there are times a 45-minute story could have been 43 minutes shorter. Fitzsimmons said it goes back to how Bednar feels the need to include every detail.

Like the time they were in a traffic jam when they first started playing and Bednar talked about his prized Corvette that he polished, washed and waxed. But Fitzsimmons also admits the story could have been about something else.

Or how when Bednar would call Marietti, who introduced the coach to hunting, about his latest excursion. He said Bednar asks lots of questions.

“He can go into the stand and shoot the deer and then you pick him up after he hunts,” Marietti said. “He’ll tell you, ‘So, I was sitting there, three minutes in. A deer comes out and it’s 92 degrees out and there is a plane flying over my head and then a fly lands on the barrel.’ You’re waiting for two minutes! It’s like, ‘Jared, what did you see when you were hunting?’ I don’t care about the temperature or the fact a fly landed on your gun!'”

Don’t worry. There’s more.

Bednar’s friends can offer insight into practically everything one would want to know about the Avalanche coach. There are two items, however, that they have no problem openly discussing when the conversation shifts in that direction.

Advertisement

One is about Bednar’s fashion sense. The other is about his overly competitive drive when it comes to playing cornhole.

Let’s start with “Bednar The Fashionista” for $200.

“The camouflage suit is something we still tease him about,” Seitz said. “I was with Brett Marietti and we try to get together to watch the late Avalanche games. I walk into that place and I cannot believe that suit. We just looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah, that is only something Jared can pull off.'”

It was Military Appreciation Night at Pepsi Center in late February when Bednar wore a camouflage jacket. The blazer itself looked more like something that made Bednar look like “Mr. Field and Stream” as opposed to a pattern one would normally associate within honoring the troops. Bednar said he had a friend who started a company and asked if he would wear that design on Military Appreciation Night.

Part of what makes Bednar appealing is his fashion sense. Hockey is rather open about the fact appearances are everything. From high school and junior players up to the professionals, they are attempting to emulate.

Bednar is nothing, if not sharp. He tends to go with dark-colored suits and a crisp white dress shirt along with a matching tie. He will deviate and wear a dark-colored dress shirt if it works with the look he is trying to pull off. Pocket squares are a big part of his ensemble and he always has one. The same thing goes for his shoes and belt which are always matching.

Throw in the fact he works out, couple that with his salt-and-pepper hair along with his George Clooney-esque facial features. You then have someone who looks more like a fashion model or an actor than someone concerned about pressuring pucks or a commitment to checks.

“Jared went from wearing a Saskatchewan tuxedo to wearing a nice suit,” said Irving, who like Bednar, grew up in Saskatchewan. “I wonder if he’s just been listening to a few podcasts. I know he still has that Saskatchewan tuxedo in his closet. It’d be nice if he brought it out for the Stanley Cup Final. He’s never been dressed this well. He looks like he should be on the front of a magazine cover. I’ve noticed he is starting to get some gray in his hair, too. He never used to have his hair that long, either. … I don’t know if he is using some facial creams, too.

Advertisement

“I just know he’s always ready for the camera.”

So what about cornhole? It is normally a fun, backyard game people play when they are with family and friends.

Fitzsimmons said when Bednar and his wife, Susan, come back to Charleston for the summer, he works to stack the team in his favor. There is a friend they have who lives in the area who Bednar always partners with when they play. Fitzsimmons said he would not be shocked if Bednar’s attention to detail is so great that he wakes up before the sun rises to practice his tosses. That he probably has a tape measure stretched out the full 39-feet and even has a fan going to simulate the wind resistance to prepare for playing later that day.

“He’s beatable. He’s just like every one of us,” Fitzsimmons said. “He gets into us and he gets loud when he starts winning. That is the different side of him. On TV, he is always dialed in that way and very rarely does he show too much emotion. You get him away from all that and he’s having fun with friends and family and kids and his partner, Dan, he is a lot of fun to be around. He can also be a little intimidating, too. Remember, Jared is a big guy and he works out. He is 6-4 and starts making a few shots in a row, then, it can put his opponent on edge.”

The man the NHL reveres for his zen-like calm and steady demeanor is not like that during cornhole. As it turns out? He’s actually quite the opposite.

“He does not shut up. He beat my 16-year-old daughter and didn’t stop bugging her about how brutal she was,” Marietti said. “It does not matter if you are a five-year-old, he will beat you. He’s pretty good. He partners up with our friend, Dan, and they are pretty hard to beat. They are very loud. It’s really annoying to hear them. But he’s like that in any competition. Cards, golf, anything. He likes to chirp.”

The fact that he still has a home in South Carolina and is still the same guy they knew 20 years ago is what makes them so loyal to Bednar.

Advertisement

So often are the stories told about the friend who makes it big and rarely speaks with those who knew them before their rise to stardom. Not Bednar. Any one of those guys can text him and he immediately responds. He speaks with all of them pretty regularly to the point Seitz will text him after a game. Each time, the responses are genuine and thoughtful.

Bednar’s replies go beyond “Thanks!’ or “Good to hear from you!”

“I will send Jared a text and watch the postgame and five minutes later, he’ll text me back and we will have a conversation,” Seitz said. “He has always gotten back to us and has never forgotten us. That’s what makes him a great person and why any of us will tell you anything you ever need to know about him.”

(Top photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57kWlobnBlZXxzfJFpZmlwX2h9cMPHqGSiq12frrOxw2aZnpyelr9uttSsq2aZo6B6tbTOrJxmr5ikeqy6zrBkoaGdYq%2Bmv9No