They are each scattered all over the place. Quite a few of them still live in Charleston, S.C. One was on a Fort Collins, Colo., golf course, while another in Bakersfield, Cali., broke away from work. Perhaps the most intriguing of all was the one who was willing to interrupt his vacation in Italy by choice.

Say the name “Jared Bednar” and the aforementioned individuals come to a complete stop. They all want to talk. Each of them wants to share a story about the fourth-year Colorado Avalanche coach and how he impacted their lives. Perhaps what makes this specific group different than any other collection of people goes back to the fact they know Bednar unlike anyone else.

Bednar has been their teammate. He has been their assistant coach. He is still their friend, and for some, he is a mentor. There was a two-year period with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL when Bednar transitioned from player to coach. It was a phase that laid the foundation for a man who has since become one of the premier coaches in the NHL, who could soon add a Stanley Cup to his list of accomplishments.

Practically everyone knows Bednar for being a calm, well-spoken man who offers logic and reason behind his decisions. He is those things. But he is also much more. He is the small-town Saskatchewan kid who rode the buses in the ECHL. It was on those trips when teammates learned about someone who, along with his wife, was going to purchase rental properties with the aim of making it a profitable business to the point they would sell it at the right time to build their dream house along the South Carolina coast.

“Jared’s the kind of guy that if he does something, he does it,” said Brett Marietti, one of Bednar’s former teammates and closest friends. “Even if it is not doable, he finds a way to get it done. We all knew he had a shot at making it to the NHL. You just look at his work ethic. He told me back when we were making $500 a week that he was going to buy these properties, him and his wife, rent them out and flip them. That when the time came, they were going to build their team house on the ocean. They did it. Right to the ‘T’ within the time frame that he said they were going to do it.”

For Marietti and everyone else, that is why they struggle to find the right words to sum it all up. Yes, it is a surreal feeling to see someone you love take a longer, harder path to make it to the NHL. Not everyone can do it. But, at the same time, the fact their friend is so detail-oriented about everything he does is why none of this comes as a great surprise to them either.

This is Bednar. He is the person who may not figure out something at first but will relentlessly work toward finding a solution. And when he does? It is not enough to have an answer and be done. Bednar must know how he got there. He must retrace his steps and then be able to offer a satisfactory explanation as to how he arrived at that path so he can then educate others.

He is like this about everything. Coaching hockey. Caring for his prized Corvette he had when he played. The way he golfs. The way he fishes and hunts. Even down to how he plays cornhole. They all lovingly joke that he can be long-winded when sharing these details. But, in their minds, that is why he is where he is. It is not enough to simply do something and leave it at that.

You’re either the best, or you take the time to figure out why you’re not. This is the Bednar they know. This is why they talk. This is why they all universally love him and why they hope this is the year the Avalanche win the Stanley Cup.

“Did we think he was going to be in the NHL so quickly? None of us had any doubts because of his ability, character and work ethic,” said former teammate David Seitz, another close friend. “You want coaches who embodied the same things they did as a player. The thing I liked about Jared and other coaches in my career is that they were honest. If you are playing well, he will tell you. If you are not, he will tell you. Coaches play mind games and Jared has always been straightforward.

“He was an honest player, a tough player. You can tell by the way his team and his players respond to him.