The Colorado Avalanche could be Saskatchewan’s team in the Stanley Cup final.
Darcy Kuemper, Ryan Murray and head coach Jared Bednar all grew up in Saskatchewan, while Josh Manson has ties to the province.
This year’s final is particularly special for Bednar and his family.
He’s a product of Yorkton, but moved and lived in various cities and towns across the province during his childhood while his dad was a member of the RCMP.
Bednar has also taken a lengthy path to get to this point of his career.
His mother, Yvonne, said it’s incredible to see her son getting the opportunity to coach on the biggest stage in the world.
“It is very exciting for us,” she said Wednesday before Game 1 of the NHL final in Denver. “We’re just so proud of him, his accomplishments and his team. It’s just such a big moment for him and for us.”
Bednar spent five seasons playing in the WHL before bouncing around the ECHL, AHL and IHL from 1993 to 2002.
After he decided to hang up his skates with the South Carolina Stingrays following the 2002 season, Bednar went behind the Stingrays’ bench as an assistant coach.
Bednar remained in that position from 2002 through 2007 before becoming the head coach in South Carolina.
That opportunity helped him lead the Stingrays to a Kelly Cup championship in 2009 and land him a coaching job in the AHL shortly after.
After splitting time as an assistant and head coach with various AHL organizations, he took the Lake Erie Monsters to a Calder Cup championship in 2015-16.
Winning the Calder Cup in Cleveland led to Bednar becoming the head coach of the Avalanche.
Yvonne admitted she didn’t see her son becoming such a highly sought-after coach, given he didn’t have prior coaching experience.
“I didn’t see it early, actually not until he went into coaching. The flip side is he understands the game very well,” she said. “It shouldn’t have surprised me because he does seem to understand the game really well. He just…
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