Avalanche coach Jared Bednar away from team with facial fractures from flying puck

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was taken to the hospital after getting hit by a puck and will miss the team’s upcoming two-game road trip with facial fractures and a corneal abrasion, the team announced Sunday. Bednar won’t require surgery, and the Avalanche will be coached by assistants Nolan Pratt and Dave Hakstol in his absence.

Bednar was struck by a puck in Colorado’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night at Ball Arena. The puck deflected off the stick of Knights defenseman Keegan Kolesar and hit Bednar right in the face as he stood behind the bench.

Scary scene at Ball Arena as #Avs coach Jared Bednar was hit by a puck. He exited with the trainer. Hoping he’s OK. pic.twitter.com/o23GCKvEWZ

— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) April 12, 2026

The Avalanche said Bednar was “fully alert and conscious” after getting hit and was taken to the hospital for a CT scan and further evaluation, leading to this diagnosis. Pratt spoke about the incident after the game, per Michael Kelly of The Associated Press.

“It’s certainly a little unnerving. It’s scary when the pucks are flying in there,” Pratt said after the game. “It happens all the time, and unfortunate tonight, so it takes a little second to sort of recalibrate and then get back to it.”

This scary incident occurred just days after Colorado secured the Presidents’ Trophy. The Avalanche have 115 points on the season, five more than the Eastern Conference-leading Carolina Hurricanes and seven more than the Dallas Stars, the Western Conference’s No. 2 team.

Colorado is heading to Canada to face the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames before returning home to play the Seattle Kraken in the regular-season finale.

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