Jared Bednar walks through the steel double doors at the Carolina Ice Palace rink with a look of intensity. You’d never know by his facial expression but the new head coach of the South Carolina Stingrays is having a blast.
Then again, to know Bednar, is to appreciate his focus. He is all business when it comes to hockey.
“He’s very serious, very methodical and very dedicated to his work,” explained Stingrays president Darren Abbott. “He’s a very honest guy. He doesn’t tell you something if he doesn’t believe it. He’s not one to mince words.”
Bednar, who was promoted from assistant to head coach last April, is wearing that description like a mask. Fresh off the ice and team practice, Bednar once again finds himself thinking about Saturday, that’s when the Stingrays drop the puck on the 2007-2008 ECHL season against the Columbia Inferno.
It will be a celebration for the organization as they embark on their 15th anniversary. Success has been the cornerstone of the Stingrays, two-time Kelly Cup champion and 13 straight post-season appearances before the streak was snapped last season.
For Bednar, it’s more that that. Saturday marks his debut as head coach after five seasons as an assistant and six more as a player with the Stingrays. It’s an opportunity that’s been a work in progress for 11 years with the organization and a night Bednar has been working toward for six months.
“I’ve been thinking about it all summer,” said Bednar. “Starting with recruiting over the summer, all the administrative stuff, then getting our guys moved in with the focus on being the best team we can be come Saturday. I feel like we’re on the right track.”
It’s 20 minutes into the interview and Bednar has yet to crack a smile, not even a grin. At this point it’s still undetermined if he has teeth. It begged the question, “Are you always this business-like?”
“Yeah. When I’m at the rink I like to have fun but I believe if you’re working hard, you’re always prepared and you’re having success then you’re gonna have fun,” he says. “It’s tough to have fun in this business if you’re not having success.”
The Stingrays got a taste of losing in late March as they skidded to the finish line, missing the post-season for the first time in team history. It was a miserable end to what was otherwise a good season. Despite a sixth place finish, the Stingrays played well, finishing 36-27-4 (18-12-3 at home and 18-15-1 on the road).
Matt Reid led the 2006-07 Stingrays with 29 goals last season, tying him for 16th place among ECHL scoring leaders. On defense, the Stingrays ranked sixth in the league in penalty killing last year, holding opponents off the scoreboard in short-handed situations 84.4% of the time.
But, in the end, the Stingrays fell short of the playoffs. The problem was evident: not enough scoring. So when Bednar accepted the head coaching job, he went straight to work on corrective measures.
The result: a roster of fresh, new faces coupled with a core of familiar veterans this season. It’s a compilation that Bednar believes will provide more depth and more speed this season.
“I think we’re a little deeper up front, our forwards,” Bednar said. “We’ve got a lot of good draftees and signees from Washington and Hershey … with that talent and speed up front and from I saw in Sunday’s game (a 4-3 win over the Augusta Lynx) – speed up front, good powerplay, good goaltending and improved special teams – we’re going to be a pretty offensive team, a team that can put the puck in the net. I guess my goal is to get everyone to buy in and play defense, if they understand that if they play good defensively they’ll get their opportunities offensively.”
If the Stingrays hope to return to the playoffs they can’t afford to repeat last year’s offensive let down. South Carolina’s offense averaged 3.47 goals per game and suffered mightily on the powerplay, scoring on just over 15 percent of their opportunities.
Bednar’s answer centers around a core of returning veterans including captains Cail MacLean and Nate Kiser, Matt Reid (last year’s leading scorer), goalie Davis Parley and newcomer Grant McNeill. “We’ve just added Grant [McNeill]. He’s been around for a number of years now, he’s been at the American League level, he’s played in a handful of NHL games,” said Bednar. “He’s another guy who demands a lot of respect and works hard … Then we have a few guys returning from last year that know our system and know what I’m all about and what we’re trying to accomplish here.”
For the Stingrays, a lot has changed since April 26 when the Stingrays formally introduced Bednar as head coach. It was only six months ago, and just days after Jason Fitzsimmons announced his resignation after five years behind the bench, that the 36-year old Humboldt, Saskatchewan native sat across the table from Abbott vying for the head coaches position against former Stingray teammate and Ed Courtenay.
Abbott found himself facing an interesting dynamic. The former play-by-play voice of the Stingrays turned president was working in concert with team owners to hire a new head coach. Abbott’s short list included former Stingrays Bednar and Courtenay.
“To be quite frank with you, because of my relationship with all three involved – Jason [Fitzsimmons], Jared [Bednar] and Ed [Courtenay] – it was nice to have ownership to lean on in that situation, and not have to make the decision,” remembers Abbott. “It was nice in that regard because if I had close relationships with anyone in the organization it would be Jason and Jared.
“As it turned out, with Jason moving on, it was pretty seamless … again, we are blessed in this organization that we don’t have a lot of dirty laundry and turnover in coaching. I feel real fortunate the way it all went down. It was definitely a situation that could have go awkward in a hurry.”
With Bednar officially in the fold, a new attitude has begun to take hold in the organization. The new Rays coach is hungry to share his “belief system” with his players. “As an assistant coach you have input but you’re doing things the way the head coach wants them done,” said Bednar. “Now it’s a matter of instilling the systems I want to play and … make sure all the guys buy into it. I believe in preparation and being prepared for each game.”
According to Bednar’s philosophy, that means balance, more defense and speed.
“My belief system and the belief system this team will have playing defense,” he explained. “Having the guys think about what we’re doing [on the ice], having guys all on the same page, that can be difficult but it’s a work in progress. I want to have a really balanced attack. We’re going to be an unselfish team this year. It takes your whole team to win hockey games. We’re looking for results here and that’s a pro mentality.”
“Jason and Jared agreed on X’s and O’s, Hockey 101 I’d guess you’d say,” said Abbott. “They really worked together. It wasn’t a dictatorship at all. I think there’ll be a bit more discipline within the team, there might be some situation where some players might get disciplined and it might surprise some people …It’s gonna be different. We’ve had a lot of players’ coaches here and I think Jared is still going to be a players’ coach, he’s not going to be the type of players’ coach we’ve had before. It’s going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be fun to see how they react and the team plays.”
With a new season comes new hope, fresh attitudes and the opportunity to prove something. In the case of the Stingrays, all reports from the modest two-week training camp are coming back with postitive feedback. Bednar’s intensity is rubbing off on his team.
“These players here, they want to win as much as I do and, like I said, if you’re not winning and you’re not having success the fun just isn’t there,” Bednar explained. “And vice versa, you have to have fun to have success. So, for the guys it’s not all business, all the time but the work has to be done first.”
Bednar hopes that hard work will lead to a win on Saturday. Then, maybe Bednar will crack smile — maybe.
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10 Questions with Jared Bednar
This week, I sat down with new Stingrays head coach Jared Bednar for a Q & A session. We discussed the 2007-2008 season, his coaching philosophy and his thoughts on coaching his first game.
Beyond youth and new faces, what will be the difference between the 07-08 Rays in comparison to 06-07?
“I think we’re a little deeper up front, our forwards. We’ve got a lot of good draftees and signees from Washington and Hershey. We seem to have a little more speed as well. Once we lost Jamie Frasier last year, our powerplay struggled. Now with that talent and speed up front and from I saw in Sunday’s game — speed up front, good powerplay, good goaltending and improved special teams – we’re going to be a pretty offensive team, a team that can put the puck in the net. I guess my goal is to get everyone to buy in and play defense, if they understand that if they play good defensively they’ll get their opportunities offensively.”
Is it a challenge to get them the younger guys to buy into that philosophy?
“It is a challenge somewhat. I think offensive guys at lower levels (college and junior hockey) without playing as much defense because they’re putting up big numbers offensively. We have a lot of guys that had pretty impressive resumes in college and junior. But pro is a different game, you have to be able to play at both ends of the rink and be a well-rounded player. It’s more breaking old habits, I guess, than getting them to buy in. Everyone is focused and they want to do the right things. It will just take a little bit of coaching and a change of mindset on their part.”
“There’s a lot of turnover in this league and a lot of youthful teams … there’s going to be a lot of contracted guys in the league this year and they’ve been to the next level and have seen how it works at the American League level and the NHL level, they’re committed and know it’s a learning process and they just have to come out here and pay their dues and they’ll get their opportunity up there.”
“Then we have a few guys returning from last year that know our system and know what I’m all about and what we’re trying to accomplish here and they’re really good leaders – so they help the young guys a lot.”
In the two exhibition games you’ve seen, what are you looking at when the team is on the ice?
“Yes. You have a limited amount of time to prepare. You look to see how quickly the guys are picking up the systems we put in play during the first week of practice, watch for guys who are thinking the game, not just on their own page. Mostly effort and desire, finding the right fits on each of the lines, juggling the lines so you don’t have all your powerplay guys killing penalties all the time …”
“I want to have a really balanced attack. We’re going to spread out our special teams. I like to evaluate our guys as the game is going, some guys may be having a good night, some may be having an off night, so I want to give the guys who are playing well on any given night a little more time on the ice. We’re going to be an unselfish team this year. It takes your whole team to win hockey games. We’re looking for results here and that’s a pro mentality. I think everyone is buying into that and hopefully it will give the guys that extra push too work hard every night.”
With a young team and building confidence a premium, how important is it to win the exhibition games and get off to a fast start?
“I thought we showed a lot of good things in both games. It was nice to win Sunday, now the guys have that confidence. We were down in that game and came back. The guys just continued working and we stuck to our game plan. Then, to come back and have a good week of practice, guys spirits are up and you can push them harder in practice than you would after a loss.”
You do get a chance to scout the rest of the league before the season starts?
“Early on in the year I focus more on what we’re doing and the direction we’re going, but as we get into the season, after we see some teams, we’ll get into breaking down some video. Again, it’s a work in progress with our systems, we continue to focus on ourselves and work in practice on the things we can get better at.”
What are the challenges you have right now?
“My belief system and the belief system this team will have playing defense, I think is a challenge. Having the guys think about what we’re doing [on the ice], having guys all on the same page, that can be difficult but it’s a work in progress. You’re never really where you want to be system-wise at the start of the year because you only have two weeks to prepare and there’s so much to touch on. You try to get where you want to be as fast as possible, teams that do that are obviously the most successful.”
When you have coaching questions – on game strategies or how to handle a situation – who do you lean on for advice?
“I talk to my peers a lot. The guys in Hershey are great (Bruce Boudreau and Bob Woods). I went there during the summer for hockey camp to help out. They’re always open to giving me advice and it’s nice to bounce ideas off them. Then, some of our veteran players like Cail (MacLean), it never hurts to get the feedback of the locker room.”
This is your first year as head coach. You’ve been with the Stingrays organization as a player and an assistant coach. Have you had to make adjustments as a manager?
“As an assistant coach you have input but you’re doing things the way the head coach wants them done. Now it’s a matter of instilling the systems I want to play and my belief system, make sure all the guys buy into it. It’s a lot more preparation as head coach because your looking at every aspect of the game. I believe in preparation and being prepared for each game. As assistant coach you don’t have to spend as much time on that.”
Who has had an influence on you as a coach?
“All the coaches you’ve had over the years, you take the good and the bad from them and you incorporate things from players and coaches you’ve played with and things you’ve learned in the game … you’re constantly learning in this profession and you’re trying to get better, so you explore all your resources and you figure it out as you go.”
“I’ve always been a fairly intense player. I like to think I to the rink ready to work. I believe in paying attention to the details, because the details can win you hockey games. Doing the little things, that’s something I try to stress to the team in practice, pay attention to the little things and do things at a highest tempo possible. The fact is when you move up the ladder, you really have to be able to think the game and everything happens a little bit faster. So the faster we can practice and the faster we can play our games and have our tempo up I think other teams will have trouble sticking with us this year. Then, ultimately when the players go up [to AHL] they will be prepared and have an opportunity.”
Have you taken time to reflect on what Saturday means to you personally – your first game as a head coach?
“I’ve been thinking about it all summer. Starting with recruiting over the summer, all the administrative stuff, then getting our guys moved in with the focus on being the best team we can be come Saturday. I feel like we’re on the right track. I’d love to have another couple weeks to get our guys ready but the fact is every team only has two weeks to get ready, so I feel we’ll be as prepared as anybody else.”
“Winning Saturday night would be a great feeling for these guys, for me coaching my first game and showing our fans what our 07-08 team will be like. I think we’re going to be exciting, we’re physical, we have good goaltending.”
