Preseason is fully underway for the Colorado Avalanche as training camp began on Thursday. The team had its media day yesterday with head coach Jared Bednar and many players speaking to the press. During Bednar's session, he was asked about the coaching staff change that brought in Dave Hakstol in place of Ray Bennett. Bednar's explanation gave a glimpse as to why Hakstol landed the job. You can hear this explanation at the 7:09 mark in the video below.
Jared Bednar's full Media Day press conference pic.twitter.com/bMQH7RwAQv
— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) September 17, 2025
Hakstol's experience was a major factor
One thing Bednar seemed to emphasize when speaking about Hakstol was the specific experience he had. Hakstol has a long history of head coaching throughout his career. He began at the University of North Dakota, and then in the NHL with Philadelphia from 2015 to 2018 and most recently, Seattle from 2021 to 2024. In between his stints with the Flyers and Kraken, Hakstol was an assistant coach in Toronto where he ran the powerplay.
Hakstol's time in Toronto may have been the thing that won him the job as Bednar spoke about how the Avalanche have a specific situation with their power play unit. With all the high end talent the team has, like Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Cale Makar, and Gabe Landeskog, finding a coach who can make the unit work cohesively is a must. They may have found that with Hakstol.
Bednar says they have a "unique situation" with their power play room and he wanted a coach with experience dealing with star players. He said he had a lot of good conversations with Dave Hakstol and he's excited to get started.
— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) September 17, 2025
DaveHakstol ran a strong powerplay with Toronto
Hakstol was only in Toronto for two seasons, from 2019 to 2021, where the powerplay units ranked 6th and 16th in the league. That dip could be a little concerning, but it came during the Covid season. This is a power play unit that featured Maple Leafs stars Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares. Those are some huge names in the NHL and some of the best offensive players in the league. That experience should be invaluable for an Avalanche power play in desperate need of change.
Hakstol's power play with the Avalanche
Coach Bednar said that the power play units don't start working until a few days into training camp, so we'll have to wait and see what Hakstol's schemes might look like. But I have a good feeling about this hiring. I wrote extensively about Hakstol after the Avalanche hired him and was excited then about the potential fit for the power play.
Hakstol's power play and offensive strategies seem to rely on getting the puck to the net and creating chaos in front of the net. Defensemen with big, heavy shots play a big part which could mean that Brent Burns could find some time on the power play this season, and Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin, and Landeskog are great at the net front and should be able to create and capitalize on the chaos. To top it all off, you've got the elite playmakers in MacKinnon, Makar, and Necas.
With that much talent to start with, the Avs have more power play depth behind that with guys like Devon Toews, Ross Colton, and the newly acquired Victor Olofsson. That could allow them to actually roll out two different units, something the team hasn't done much the past few seasons. Based on Bednar's comments today and what I've seen from Hakstol's power play strategies, I think Hakstol is going to bring a major positive impact on that phase of the Avalanche’s game.