DENVER — Coach Jared Bednar has tremendous respect for Martin Nečas, but he believes Nečas can still become an even more dangerous player. 

Nečas recorded three assists in Saturday’s 7-2 victory over the Montreal Canadiens at Ball Arena. Though he had multiple chances to score himself, he opted to elevate his teammates instead, setting up goals for Devon Toews and Brock Nelson—handing Nelson his second of the night—rather than taking the shot for himself, which he certainly could have. 

Bednar pointed out that Nečas has delivered an impressive run of performances recently.

“He had moments in yesterday’s game (against the Minnesota Wild) when he was really good as well, not as dangerous as what I would have liked him to be because he didn’t want to shoot the puck last night. I saw flashes of that today, what he did do is he went to the interior of the ice and gets rewarded by stopping at the net on that play by (Devon Toews).  

“But he was impactful tonight. And If I looked at his game as a whole last night, he was committed on the defensive side and he played hard for us yesterday, too.” 

Avs Urge Nečas to Embrace His Inner Assassin

Bednar and assistant coach Dave Hakstol have consistently urged Nečas to round out his game, fully aware of the breadth of his potential. His puck control and skating are routinely exceptional, his shot is elite, and he has grown increasingly committed to the checking aspects of the sport. And despite his brilliance as a playmaker, Bednar has maintained throughout the year that Nečas is, at his core, a more dynamic scorer than distributor. In that sense, the staff is encouraging him to be a touch more selfish—an approach that, if it yields improved results, is hardly a vice. 

“(He’s) got to make himself more of a shooter and have a shot mentality,” Bednar said. “Last year, for me, he passed it off too much. I see Marty as a dynamic goal scorer more than playmaker, so I want him to use it. He’s got a great shot and he gets into the right areas. I think he’s got to shoot to score and become a goal scorer for us.”

A Healthy Balance   

Last season, split between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Avalanche, Nečas recorded 27 goals and 56 assists for 83 points. Whatever the coaching staff has been working on with him is clearly paying off. Nečas played 30 games with the Avalanche last year, and through just 25 games this season he already has 13 goals and 20 assists for 33 points—surpassing the 11 goals and 17 assists he produced in a larger sample size. 

But there are still moments when Nečas plays the good soldier when he doesn’t need to. As Bednar explained in a recent exchange with The Hockey News, that’s exactly what he’s trying to change. 

“It’s got to be a balance (between playmaking and shooting),” he stated. “If he’s seeing guys open and he can make the play and they can shoot it, great. Marty is such an elusive skater, he can kind of take whatever ice is given to him and he gets into the interior of the ice sometimes with his skating and we’ve got good traffic at the net and sometimes I don’t think you need to look for much more than put it there. 

“I think he can score from distance; he’s got a great shot, he can place it where he wants it, and if you have any type of screen or traffic, sometimes the best play is to deliver it to the net. I think it has to be a balance for him.” 

At the 25-game mark, Nečas is on pace for 43 goals and 66 assists for 108 points—numbers that would set career highs across the board. But Bednar wants more—because he believes there’s another gear Nečas hasn’t even touched yet. 

“I want him to continue to be creative; I want him to continue to use his skill and his instincts, but I want to kind of change him a little bit so when he does use all that, he gets into the interior of the ice and into areas where I think he can score, then I want him to shoot it.” 

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