NHL News: Avalanche HC Jared Bednar makes honest admission on Nathan MacKinnon’s rookie teammate amid multi…

Nathan MacKinnon, Jared Bednar, and the Colorado Avalanche must get back on track. Following four consecutive losses in the 2025-26 NHL season, the Avs head coach voiced an honest statement on rookie goaltender Trent Miner.

Early in his NHL career, Miner has been put to the test. With Colorado battling through the absence of injured goalie Mackenzie Blackwood, the 24-year-old netminder has been tossed into the fire. However, he was put up for a big test as MacKinnon and the Avs faced the red-hot New Jersey Devils, who have won eight in a row.

Despite a solid effort from Miner, the Avalanche lost in overtime to the Devils by a score of 4-3. After the game, Bednar was asked about the young goaltender’s showing. On that note, the Stanley Cup-winning bench boss delivered a clear statement on the former seventh-round selection in 2019.

“I’m sure he’d like the second one back, but he’s played pretty good for us in the two games he’s played,” Bednar admitted about Miner per NHL.com. “I think it wasn’t an easy game coming in against a high-powered offense, and he got us a big point.”

Trent Miner during his season debut

Little experience

Though selected by the Avalanche in the 2019 NHL entry Draft, Miner didn’t make his career debut until last season. So far, he’s appeared in four games, registering an average of 2.34 goals allowed per game and a .896 save percentage.

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Miner could’ve done better on New Jersey’s second goal of the game, when Jack Hughes beat him on the glove side with a subtle wrist shot. Still, his performance wasn’t the reason the Avalanche fell to the Devils during their stay in Newark.

Bounce back

Regardless of who is mostly to blame for the recent struggles in Colorado, MacKinnon and company know searching for a culprit is a lost battle. Instead, the Avalanche must get back to work, hoping to snap the losing hex before it spirals on to something even worse. Up next, the Avs will have another go at the Devils, this time at Ball Arena in the Mile High City.

The Avalanche haven’t lost five games in a row since the 2022–23 NHL season. Still, if there’s ever a bright spot in Colorado’s current outlook, it’s the fact that the Avs are selling their losses at a high price. The Avalanche have salvaged a point in three of their last four games. Being able to close out games or secure wins in overtime or shootouts is key, but at least they aren’t walking away empty-handed from matchups with tough opponents.

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