NHL Teams Leaning More Heavily on AHL for Head Coaches, Prospects
Dave Andrews didn’t have to look up the stat. He had the number ready and waiting as soon as the phone rang.
“It’s up to 23 now,” he said. “That’s a pretty significant number.”
The American Hockey League’s commissioner was talking about the amount of NHL head coaches who had previously coached in the minors, a number that continued to grow on Thursday when the Colorado Avalanche hired Jared Bednar.
For the Avalanche, who lost Patrick Roy as head coach after he walked away from the team earlier this month, it was a timely hire considering that training camp is about a month away. But this was not a case of settling on the first name out there.
Bednar, who has spent the last 14 years toiling in the minors and is fresh off a Calder Cup championship, was long overdue for a promotion.
