Jared Bednar waited a long time to be in an NHL game. He'll finally get his chance when the Colorado Avalanche open their season against the Dallas Stars.
Bednar, a career minor league player and coach, makes his debut behind Colorado's bench after his quick hire Aug. 25. Bednar brings championship experience from the minors, winning titles in the AHL and ECHL, but more important for the Avalanche he brings a different style after two disappointing seasons.
Bednar's system emphasizes speed coupled with an aggressive, pressure game.
"I have a style of play that I think works in today's NHL game," Bednar told NHL.com. "I think we have to be an aggressive team. The game is getting faster every day and I think you have to play an up-tempo style. You have to attack. And that's not just offensively but defensively as well."
Bednar has also stressed moving the puck out of the zone, so quick passes from the defensemen to the forwards to start the breakout. Colorado has spent too much time in its own end the past few seasons, which led to Avalanche goaltenders facing a lot of shots every game.
"We still go 'D' to 'D,'" defenseman Tyson Barrie told The Denver Post. "It's going to be 'D' to 'D' with a purpose, to get it in the forwards' hands."
The Avalanche have reached the postseason once in the last six seasons -- in 2014, when Patrick Roy led Colorado to 112 points and the Central Division title in his first year as the coach. The team struggled with poor starts the next two years and missed the playoffs.
Roy's abrupt resignation Aug. 11 forced an unexpected coaching search that snagged Bednar from the Columbus system. While Avalanche players said they were stunned by Roy's departure, they are embracing Bednar's system.
"It's great for me," 21-year-old center Nathan MacKinnon told The Denver Post. "I can just skate and not think so much. Be aggressive. I think the biggest thing is that if we're going to make mistakes, they're aggressive mistakes. We've been very passive the last couple of seasons."
One thing that contributed to Colorado missing the playoffs the last two years was bad starts to those seasons. The Avalanche are hoping a 6-0 preseason portends a fast start to this year, similar to the 12-1 mark they had at the beginning of the 2013-14 campaign.
It won't be easy against a Dallas team that won the Central Division last year and beat Anaheim 4-2 in its season opener on Thursday. The play of goalie Antti Niemi in the win, after a tough finish to last season, has the Stars feeling confident going into Saturday's game at Pepsi Center.
"I am really happy with the preseason and with all the practice we have done," Niemi told the Dallas Morning News. "I just want to keep doing the same thing here and not worry that this was the season opener."
Niemi was 1-3 with a 3.29 goals-against average in the playoffs last season, but if Thursday is any indication he is back on track.
He faced 17 shots in the first period against the Ducks and finished with 33 saves.
"I thought Antti was excellent," Stars coach Lindy Ruff told the Dallas Morning News. "That first period, we had some bad decisions, gave up some odd-numbered rushes, gave up three two-on-ones where he made real good saves."
