Jared Bednar and Dave Hakstol are a couple of hockey lifers from Western Canada, and they’ve had plenty to chat about while getting ready for their first NHL season on a coaching staff together.
Hakstol had a very successful NCAA tenure at North Dakota and has been the head coach for two NHL clubs (Philadelphia and Seattle). His greatest NHL achievement was winning a playoff series in 2023 with the Kraken, an expansion team in just its second season.
Bednar and Avalanche fans have slightly different memories and emotions about that series.
“I didn’t talk about that,” Bednar said when asked if the two coaches have reminisced about when Hakstol’s Kraken upset the defending champion Avalanche in seven games. “Since we’ve been here, that’s all we’re doing is talking hockey. We did not get into that series.
‘We went through our systems. I wanted his input on some things. We’ve been studying the analytics of our team. We’ve had a lot of interesting conversations already.”
Hakstol spent last season watching and observing after being let go by Seattle. He was an assistant coach for Canada at the Spengler Cup, but otherwise it was a reset year for him after the previous nine seasons also included a stop in Toronto as an assistant in between Philadelphia and Seattle.
Now he’s replacing Ray Bennett on Bednar’s bench, joining a franchise with Stanley Cup-or-bust aspirations, and one that has only one playoff series win since claiming the championship in 2022.
“Well, No. 1, they were consistent, throughout the summer, throughout the process,” Hakstol said about why he chose to join the Avs. “From my standpoint, I would say I have pretty good knowledge of this group from the outside — from coaching against them, from playing against them.
“When you look at the elements this group possesses in terms of the ability, some of the long-term chemistry, some of the maturity of this group, it’s something that I wanted to be part of.”
Hakstol will be in charge of Colorado’s power play. Its failures against the Dallas Stars in the first round of the playoffs last season were a huge part of why the Avs ultimately lost in seven games and why Bennett is no longer here.
The two-time former NHL head coach has not run a power play at this level before, but any head coach is going to be involved with the decision-making and strategy that goes into it.
“This has been a dominant power play for many, many years,” Hakstol said. “So I think maybe the right word is, if we can add a little bit, if we tweak a little bit, but no, absolutely not (a lot of changes). These guys, they’ve been doing what they do for a long time, and they’re very good at it.”
Colorado has the fourth-best power play in the NHL over the past six seasons, or essentially since Cal Makar joined forces with Nathan MacKinnon. But the Avs have never finished higher than fifth in an individual season, despite the world-class talent involved. And the group went 3 for 22 against Dallas in last year’s playoff series, including just one goal in the final 16 opportunities.
So far in training camp, the Avs’ power play has structurally looked quite similar to what it’s been in previous years. There are some potential personnel changes. Brock Nelson, who Hakstol coached at North Dakota, has spent time in Mikko Rantanen’s old spot on the right flank. Victor Olofsson could play there as well. Brent Burns looks set to quarterback the second unit after years of being one of the league’s best at that spot.
The Avs’ top power-play guys are healthier than they’ve been in years, and the options are plentiful. The optimism is high, but there will be plenty of scrutiny if the club struggles to make all the talented pieces fit harmoniously.
“The biggest thing for me over the first couple of weeks is really getting to see guys do the things that they do well on the ice, and really have a clear understanding of that,” Hakstol said. “It’s one thing to look at stats. It’s one thing to look at video and all of the different resources that we have. It’s another thing to get on the ice and actually be in the environment and watch guys do what they do up close.
“From there, it is clear communication. And I want communication back. I want feedback coming back to me. … So for me it’s going to be a two-way street in terms of communication, with a clear mentality of moving forward and being a power play that can change a game at the right time and bring momentum to the team.”