“That’s a pretty significant number.”The American Hockey League’s commissioner was talking about the number of NHL head coaches who had previously coached in the minors, which grew by one on Thursday when the Colorado Avalanche hired Jared Bednar. The Avalanche needed to make a decision quickly after Patrick Roy abruptly quit as head coach earlier this month. But with a 251-158-42 overall record as a head coach, he had a winning pedigree. The reason seems simple: if NHL teams are calling up players from the minors, then why not grab their coaches as well? “I’m seeing investment in NHL teams with their AHL affiliate,” Andrews said.

Source: National Post August 26, 2016 22:41 UTC