Avalanche coach Bednar to miss road trip with facial fractures, corneal abrasion
The Colorado Avalanche have announced that head coach Jared Bednar will miss the team’s upcoming road trip due to facial fractures and a corneal abrasion.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar will not accompany the team on their upcoming two-game road trip due to facial fractures and a corneal abrasion. He will not require surgery at this time and is expected to make a full recovery. Avalanche assistant coaches Nolan Pratt and
Bednar sustained the injury early in the third period of Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. Keegan Kolesar was about to dump the puck into the Colorado zone when Jack Drury checked the winger’s stick, and the change in direction caused him to fire the puck at the Avalanche bench. It hit Bednar on the right cheek, and after briefly getting looked at on the bench, he was helped to the dressing room.
The Avalanche confirmed that Bednar will not require surgery for the injury, and he is expected to make a full recovery.
The Avalanche have three games remaining in their season, including a two-game road trip in Alberta, where they’ll face the Edmonton Oilers on Monday and the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, both of which Bednar will miss. At this point in time, there is no confirmation about whether or not he will return for the Avalanche’s final regular season against the Seattle Kraken on Thursday, or what his status is for the start of the playoffs.
Bednar has helped coach the Avalanche to a Presidents’ Trophy-winning record of 52-16-11 this season. This is the fourth time Colorado has won the Presidents’ Trophy, and the second time during Bednar’s tenure. It will certainly earn him some consideration for the Jack Adams Award, one which he has yet to win and has been a finalist for once in 2017-18.
With Bednar not with the team for the road trip, assistant coaches Dave Hakstol and Nolan Pratt will assume head coaching duties during Bednar’s absence. Hakstol has been an NHL head coach in the past, having two stints with the Philadelphia Flyers and Kraken, while Pratt’s experience is limited to being an assistant coach with the Avalanche.