There are a lot of good coaches in the NHL that happen to be from Canada, and when you are forced to just pick a few for your superteam coaching staff, it must be awfully difficult to narrow down the choices. Still, I can’t help but feel like Jared Bednar was overlooked on Wednesday…again.
Jon Cooper, who will be the main bench boss for Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament next year, has his assistants picked out. Bruce Cassidy of the Vegas Golden Knights, Pete Deboer and Misha Donskov of the Dallas Stars, and Rick Tocchet of the Vancouver Canucks will also be behind the bench with Cooper in February of 2025.
Now, we’re talking about a team that’s going to be able to throw out the likes of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby whenever they please, so I’m not sure how much coaching is actually going to come into play in a tournament like this, but I’ll admit, Bednar not getting the call caught me off-guard a little bit. At the NHL Draft back in June, I saw Cooper pull Bednar aside for a long chat. They’re pals, so they could have been talking about anything, but I assumed it was about Bednar joining Cooper behind the bench on Team Canada.
I assumed wrong.
I’m not going to sit here and say that any of the coaches selected are bad or wrong. Far from it. Bruce Cassidy has a Stanley Cup, and Pete Deboer has coached two different teams to the Stanley Cup Final. Everyone is very qualified.
This may come as a surprise, but the one who actually makes the most sense to me is Rick Tocchet. While I think the Canucks kind of had a flukey season, he’s the one coach on the staff who has won multiple Stanley Cups as an assistant. Considering that’s what he’ll be for Team Canada, it makes a lot of sense to have him on the staff. I won’t claim to know anything about Donskov, but I assume his experience as an assistant is also why he’s there.
Still, as qualified as everyone is, I can’t help but feel like it’s another case of Bednar being overlooked yet again. After that ugly first year, he’s got a coaching record of 319-161-56 behind the Avalanche bench. That’s pretty good. Some Avalanche fans love to bring up how he’s only gotten past the second round once, but he sure made it count that one time. And who did he best in the Stanley Cup Final? Jon Cooper.
From a Colorado perspective, maybe it’s not a bad thing that he didn’t get the call from Team Canada. With the situation involving Valeri Nichushkin and the uncertainty surrounding Gabriel Landeskog, all his attention will have to be on the Avalanche this coming season. This team isn’t as stacked as they once were, so he might have to do a bit more experimenting than he has in previous seasons. Now he can just focus on his main goal, which is bringing another Stanley Cup back to Denver.
That being said, this just feels like another case of one of the best coaches in the NHL flying under the radar.
Maybe he doesn’t mind that.
