Jared Bednar, officially introduced as the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche today, announced that he would retain Colorado Assistants Tim Army and Dave Farrish.
One major question with Jared Bednar’s hire was which Assistant Coaches would be retained. With new addition and former colleague Nolan Pratt pretty much a given, Bednar needed to make sure Farrish and Army would be a good fit as he drove to Colorado.
It appears he thinks they will be. According to Terry Frei of the Denver Post:
"“I have had a chance to speak to the coaches last week and then in my drive here over the last few days,” Bednar said in the Avalanche’s Pepsi Center dressing room. “I’ve had some great conversations with them. I feel very comfortable with (the) staff. I like the mix of some guys with a lot of experience in the league and the knowledge they have of our players, as well as Nolan coming in here as a new coach, and myself. I feel very comfortable with this staff.”"
Bednar’s choice to retain the assistants isn’t surprising, especially given the shortened timeline the team has before camp. Bednar may wish to take advantage of their knowledge and relationships with players.
Tim Army
One of the relationships that Bednar may value is Army’s rapport with Matt Duchene. When going through a rough time, Army helped Duchene get back on his game and out of his own head. Army is also a well-distinguished assistant coach, having served as an assistant coach with the U.S. National team for several World Championships, as well as the 2012 World Cup of Hockey.
Army has also been with the team since 2011, when he joined as the video coach. While it may seem suspect that he has been around for two failed coaches, so far very little indicates that Army has been a detriment to the team. The only point I can really find against him is that he’s been referred to as the “power play coach”.
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If one thing frustrated me entirely too much last year, it was the Avs’ refusal to shoot the puck on the power play, constantly cycling until Tyson Barrie fails to receive a pass, allowing the other team to get a change. Whether this can be blamed on Army or on Roy’s influence is unclear, but it’s something to keep an eye on.
Other than that, Army seems to be a coach that understands the players, and commits to supporting whoever the head coach might be.
Dave Farrish
The impact Dave Farrish has had on the Avalanche is unclear at this point, as he has only had one season with the team. He does, however, have a coaching career spanning from 1989, with 24 seasons spent in the NHL.
Last season, Farrish was put in charge of running the defensemen. The Avs’ defense is a target of regular criticism, so some may question his retention. However, let’s not forget that the defense was awful the year before as well, so perhaps another shot under a different head coach is reasonable.
As a footnote, he also has previous ties to the franchise, as Farrish played with the Quebec Nordiques during the 1979-80 season.
Next: Assessing Jared Bednar’s Training Camp Preparation
Overall, I feel rather neutral about the announcement. While a complete shakeup may have helped completely change the culture, the timing of Roy’s decision to quit may have made that difficult. Bednar will head into the season with two proven, dependable coaches, who are hopefully on board with his vision for the team.