No bulletin for Monsters fans: Avalanche coach Jared Bednar is a winner | Jeff Schudel

Jared Bednar, head coach of the Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, is a winner through and through. But Monsters fans already knew that.

The Avalanche edged the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1, in Florida on June 26 to clinch the series in six games and win their first Cup since 2001.

The Avs put on a defensive clinic in the scoreless third period by staying aggressive offensively and controlling the puck without taking chances. The Lightning went the first 10 minutes of the final period without a shot on goal and managed only four on net the entire 20 minutes.

“It was a lot of relief,” Bednar told reporters in an on-ice interview after the game. “I was in disbelief for a while. Guys were already on the ice (celebrating) and it takes a moment or two for it to sink in.

“It’s just hard to believe because we’ve been working for this for six years and on a journey with these guys and building the team. And there’s a sense of satisfaction.”

Bednar is now part of hockey history. He won the Kelly Cup as head coach of the East Coast Hockey League’s South Carolina Stingrays in 2009 and the Calder Cup as head coach of the team then called the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016.

No coach won championships in the ECHL, AHL and NHL before Bednar did it.

Not every hockey coach who made it to the top job in his profession had to toil through the minors as long as Bednar did, but that doesn’t take away from his success in winning championships on three levels.

Unfortunately for Monsters fans, Bednar coached only one season in Cleveland. But he was actually head coach of the team for two seasons.

After two years as assistant coach of the AHL Springfield Falcons, Bednar was named Falcons head coach for the 2014-15 season. The Falcons were the AHL affiliate of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Monsters were the top farm team of the Avalanche from 2007 through the 2014-15 season.

The AHL did some franchise shuffling for 2015-16. The Falcons franchise was moved to Cleveland so the Blue Jackets could have their top farm team closer to Columbus. Players from the Falcons who became Monsters players to help them win the Calder Cup included Josh Anderson, Trent Vogelhuber (now the Monsters head coach), T.J. Tynan, Sonny Milano, among others, plus goalies Anton Forsberg and Joonas Korpisalo.

The Monsters set a franchise record with 97 points and then stormed through the playoffs, sweeping the Rockford IceHogs in three games in the first round, eliminating Grand Rapids in six games in a best-of-seven, sweeping the Ontario (Calif.) Reign in four games and then sweeping the Hershey Bears in four games in the AHL finals to win the Calder Cup. Oliver Bjorktrand broke a 0-0 tie on a goal with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to send the sellout crowd of  19,665, all clad in white “snow-out” T-shirts, into a wild frenzy.

“This means the world to these guys to be able to win the title and to be able to win it at home in front of our crowd and this city,” Bednar said. “We won it before a city that has embraced us. This is an incredible feeling. I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

The on-ice celebration at Quicken Loans Arena that night was very similar to the way the Avalanche players celebrated in Tampa — the smiles, the hugs, the tears, the passing of the Calder Cup from one teammate to the next as players skated around the rink to the cheers of fans.

Two days after winning the Calder Cup, the Monsters and their fans celebrated during a party at Plaza Square between The Q and Progressive Field. It wasn’t nearly on the grand scale of the parade celebrating the Cavaliers winning the NBA championship later the same month, or the one the Avalanche will get in Denver, but it was good enough.

Bednar enjoyed the plaza square party as much as anyone. But he was also a bit subdued. I remember asking him if anything was wrong.

“My work here is done,” he answered, as though already separating himself from the team.

Bednar had reached the summit in the ECHL and now the summit of the AHL. The NHL beckoned, and on Aug. 25, 2016, Bednar was named head coach of the Avalanche.

The Avalanche were awful in Bednar’s first season. They won only 22 games and finished with an NHL fewest 48 points. But general manager Joe Sacic, who hand-picked Bednar to lead his team, stuck by his choice.

Colorado won 43 games in 2018, but was eliminated in the first round. The Avs were knocked out in the second round in 2019, 2020 and 2021 — underperforming each time — yet, still, Sacic stuck by Bednar. Finally, Bednar rewarded Sacic’s  patience with a championship.

Unlike when he won with the Monsters, though, Bednar’s work with the Avalanche isn’t done. Now he is under pressure to get back to the Stanley Cup finals in 2023.

Bednar has only one more feat to accomplish — win a gold medal in the Olympics as head coach of the Canadian team for his home country. Don’t bet against him if he ever gets the chance.