For fans who know Jared Bednar from behind the Colorado Avalanche bench, his public life is usually measured in wins, playoff appearances and championship banners. His family life is much quieter. That contrast is one reason the search for “Jared Bednar wife” continues to attract curiosity.
The short answer is straightforward: Jared Bednar is married to Susan Bednar, and the couple have two children, a son named Kruz and a daughter named Savega. The Colorado Avalanche itself confirms those family details.
Beyond that, though, the public record becomes thinner. Susan has largely remained outside the spotlight, and many websites have filled the gaps with details that aren’t consistently supported by strong sources. A closer look shows a more interesting story: Susan and Jared met during the years when Bednar was still a minor-league hockey player, and their family later navigated the uncertainty and relocations that came with his long climb toward the NHL.
That makes their story less about celebrity and more about the private side of a very public hockey career.
Who Is Jared Bednar’s Wife?
Jared Bednar’s wife is Susan Bednar.
The Colorado Avalanche’s official coaching biography identifies Susan as Bednar’s wife and confirms that the couple have two children, Kruz and Savega. The American Hockey League also recorded the same family information when Bednar was appointed head coach of the Peoria Rivermen in 2010.
Susan is not a professional hockey personality in the way her husband is. She has generally maintained a private profile, with comparatively little reliable biographical information publicly available.
That distinction matters.
Search results sometimes present extensive biographies of Susan, including exact ages, occupations, social-media profiles and other personal details. But much of that material traces back to secondary or low-quality websites rather than statements from Susan herself or authoritative biographical sources. For that reason, details such as her exact date of birth, age, education and private financial information should not be treated as established facts.
What is well documented is her connection to Bednar and their family.
Jared Bednar and Susan Bednar: How Did They Meet?
One of the most revealing accounts of how Jared and Susan met comes from Malcolm Cameron, a former teammate and longtime friend of Bednar.
According to Cameron, the two met in Huntington, West Virginia, while Bednar was playing for the Huntington Blizzard of the ECHL during the 1990s. Cameron recalled that he and Bednar had gone out after practice and stayed long enough for the restaurant’s evening staff to arrive. Susan was working there, and Bednar noticed her. Cameron later described himself jokingly as the matchmaker.
It’s an unusually ordinary beginning for a relationship that would eventually span Bednar’s transition from minor-league player to NHL head coach.
At the time, there was little indication that Bednar would eventually become one of the most recognizable coaches in the NHL. He was an undrafted defenseman trying to establish himself in professional hockey, spending much of his playing career outside the NHL.
The couple’s relationship therefore began well before Bednar became a major hockey figure.
Their Relationship Started Before the NHL Spotlight
Bednar’s professional playing career stretched across the ECHL, AHL and IHL. The ECHL’s Hall of Fame records show that he played 434 regular-season games in the league and later moved into coaching after his playing career ended.
That background is important when looking at his marriage.
Susan didn’t meet the head coach who had already won the Stanley Cup. She met Jared Bednar when he was still building a career through the lower levels of professional hockey.
That period would eventually define much of the family’s early adult life.
Jared Bednar Wife and Family: What Is Confirmed?
The strongest available sources confirm that Jared and Susan have two children: Kruz and Savega.
Beyond their names, the family has generally stayed away from the level of publicity associated with many professional sports families.
| Family Detail | What Is Publicly Confirmed |
|---|---|
| Husband | Jared Bednar |
| Wife | Susan Bednar |
| Son | Kruz Bednar |
| Daughter | Savega Bednar |
| Marriage | Long-term marriage dating back to Bednar’s playing years |
| Family privacy | Most personal details remain outside mainstream coverage |
The spelling of the daughter’s name is particularly worth noting because some secondary websites have incorrectly listed her as “Savona.” The Colorado Avalanche’s own biography uses Savega, making that the better-supported spelling.
There is also no reliable basis for publishing an exact birth date or age for Susan simply because those details appear on a people-search site. A private individual’s personal information deserves a higher standard of verification.
The Years When Jared and Susan Lived Apart
Perhaps the most interesting part of the Bednar family story came during Jared’s climb through professional coaching.
After retiring as a player, Bednar began coaching with the South Carolina Stingrays in the ECHL. He eventually became the team’s head coach and led the Stingrays to the Kelly Cup in 2009. He later moved into the AHL, taking the Peoria job in 2010 before continuing through the coaching ranks.
Those opportunities required movement.
When Colorado hired Bednar as its head coach in August 2016, his family situation illustrated just how complicated a professional coaching career can become. NHL.com reported at the time that Susan and daughter Savega remained at the family’s home in Charleston, South Carolina while their son Kruz was already attending school near Denver. The family planned to reunite in Colorado later that year.
Sports careers are often described through statistics and trophies. Family logistics rarely make the headline.
In Bednar’s case, they were part of the story.
A later interview with Sports Illustrated similarly described the family’s move as complicated. Bednar explained that his son was finishing high school while his wife and daughter were still back home, leaving the family temporarily spread across different places during the transition to Colorado.
That period gives useful context to the question of Jared Bednar’s wife. Susan wasn’t simply the spouse of an NHL coach living alongside a finished career. She was part of a family adjusting to the demands of a profession in which jobs can change cities, leagues and schedules with little warning.
Susan Bednar’s Public Profile
Compared with many wives of prominent athletes and coaches, Susan Bednar has maintained a remarkably low public profile.
There are older secondary reports identifying her with work connected to the Charleston County Public Library, but those reports largely rely on social-media information rather than a current official biography.
That means such details should be treated cautiously rather than repeated as if they were part of an official biography.
There is no well-established public career profile for Susan comparable to Jared’s NHL record. She has not built a public entertainment brand around being a coach’s wife, and she rarely appears as a central subject in mainstream hockey coverage.
That privacy is itself notable.
The Bednar family has appeared publicly at major hockey-related moments, but Susan’s identity has largely remained connected to her family rather than a separate celebrity career.
Jared Bednar’s Career Before He Became an NHL Head Coach
Understanding Jared Bednar’s marriage also means understanding how long his professional journey lasted before the NHL came calling.
Bednar was born in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, on February 28, 1972. He played junior hockey in the Western Hockey League before turning professional in 1993. His professional playing career included the Huntington Blizzard, South Carolina Stingrays, St. John’s Maple Leafs, Rochester Americans and Grand Rapids Griffins.
He was never an established NHL player.
Instead, his career developed through the minor leagues, where he eventually discovered coaching suited him.
After joining the South Carolina Stingrays’ coaching staff in 2002, Bednar became the team’s head coach in 2007. In two seasons, he posted an 89-45-9 record and won the Kelly Cup in 2009.
That success opened another door.
He moved into the AHL and eventually led the Lake Erie Monsters to the Calder Cup in 2016. Only months later, Colorado hired him as its NHL head coach.
His rise was therefore gradual rather than sudden.
The Colorado Avalanche Chapter
Bednar became head coach of the Colorado Avalanche in August 2016.
The job represented a major change for the family. It also placed Bednar in a much brighter public spotlight than he had experienced during his years in the ECHL and AHL.
The Avalanche’s official biography now describes him as the team’s second-longest-tenured NHL coach, behind only Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper. As of the 2025-26 season, Bednar had guided Colorado to nine consecutive playoff appearances.
His 2022 Stanley Cup victory became the defining achievement of his NHL career.
The NHL record book lists Bednar as the coach of the 2021-22 Stanley Cup-winning Avalanche.
More unusually, that championship completed a rare coaching sequence. Bednar had already won the Kelly Cup in the ECHL and the Calder Cup in the AHL. His Stanley Cup victory made him the first head coach to win championships in all three leagues.
For someone who spent years outside the NHL as both player and coach, it was a remarkable culmination.
What Happened When Jared Bednar Won the Stanley Cup?
In June 2022, the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Stanley Cup.
For Bednar, it represented the biggest championship of his career. But the trophy also had a personal connection to places and people from much earlier in his life.
When the Avalanche later took the Stanley Cup on its traditional tour, Bednar brought it to Charleston, South Carolina, where much of his coaching history had developed. The official Avalanche account documented the Cup’s July 19, 2022 visit to Charleston and Bednar’s return to the South Carolina Stingrays’ rink.
The Charleston connection matters to the family story because the city had been home to the Bednars during years of Jared’s career.
The Stanley Cup was therefore not simply a symbol of NHL success. It also represented the long road that had taken him from minor-league hockey to the highest level of the sport.
Jared Bednar’s Wife and the Family’s Private Life
There is a natural temptation to turn a sports coach’s family into a second celebrity story.
In the Bednars’ case, the available evidence doesn’t really support that.
Susan has not developed a highly public-facing celebrity identity, and the family generally keeps its personal affairs away from the center of hockey coverage. That makes some of the more detailed claims found online difficult to substantiate.
For example, websites have published specific claims about Susan’s age, family background, finances and day-to-day activities. Unless those details can be traced to a reliable source, they should not be treated as established facts.
The confirmed picture is much simpler:
Susan Bednar is Jared Bednar’s wife, and they have two children, Kruz and Savega.
The rest should be approached with caution.
Jared Bednar’s Family During His NHL Debut
One of the best contemporary snapshots of the family comes from October 2016, shortly after Bednar began his first season as an NHL head coach.
NHL.com reported that his parents were attending his first home game, while son Kruz was already in Colorado for school. Susan and daughter Savega were still in South Carolina at that point, with plans to join the rest of the family later in the year.
It is a small detail, but it says more about the reality of the family than a long biography filled with unverified claims.
The NHL opportunity came with a major geographical adjustment.
The family had to make decisions about school, housing and timing while Bednar began one of the most demanding jobs in professional sports.
That transition eventually became part of their new normal.
Where Is Jared Bednar Now?
As of 2026, Jared Bednar remains the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche.
The team’s current official biography says he is in his 10th season with Colorado and notes that the Avalanche finished the 2025-26 regular season with a 55-16-11 record, earning another playoff appearance. The same profile records his 400th career NHL coaching victory during the 2025-26 season.
His current contract runs through the 2026-27 season. Colorado announced the three-year extension in 2023.
That means the family remains connected to the ongoing Colorado chapter of Bednar’s coaching career.
Jared Bednar Wife: Confirmed Facts vs. Online Claims
Because the search for “Jared Bednar wife” produces a mixture of reliable and unreliable pages, it helps to separate what is genuinely documented.
Confirmed
- Jared Bednar is married to Susan Bednar.
- They have two children, Kruz and Savega.
- Susan and the children were based in South Carolina during parts of Bednar’s early Colorado tenure.
- Bednar and Susan have been together since his minor-league playing days.
- Bednar’s family has been part of his transition from minor-league hockey to the NHL.
Reported
Some secondary publications have reported that Susan worked for the Charleston County Public Library. Those reports appear to derive from social-media information rather than a current official professional biography, so the detail is best treated as historical reporting rather than a definitive current occupation.
Not Reliably Established
Susan’s exact date of birth, current age, private finances, detailed family background and other personal measurements are not established by the strongest sources reviewed for this article.
That distinction is particularly important because Susan is a private individual rather than a public entertainment personality.
Why Are People Searching for “Jared Bednar Wife”?
The search phrase is closely connected to Bednar’s growing profile as one of the NHL’s longest-tenured coaches.
His position with the Avalanche has lasted for years, while his championship record gives fans plenty of reason to become curious about the person behind the bench. His 2022 Stanley Cup victory also brought renewed attention to his life away from hockey.
There is another factor: Bednar’s career is unusual.
He wasn’t a former superstar player who seamlessly moved into an NHL coaching role. He spent years in the minor leagues, built a coaching career there and gradually reached the NHL. That makes his personal story different from the standard sports-celebrity narrative.
His marriage began during those earlier years.
For readers searching specifically for his wife, that context is arguably more meaningful than an invented list of personal statistics.
Jared Bednar Family Timeline
| Period | Milestone |
|---|---|
| 1990s | Bednar played professional hockey and met Susan in Huntington, West Virginia. |
| 2002 | Bednar began his coaching career with the South Carolina Stingrays organization. |
| 2007–09 | He became the Stingrays’ head coach and won the 2009 Kelly Cup. |
| 2010 | He was appointed head coach of the Peoria Rivermen. |
| 2016 | Bednar became head coach of the Colorado Avalanche. |
| 2016 | Family members temporarily remained in different locations during the move to Colorado. |
| 2022 | Bednar led Colorado to the Stanley Cup. |
| 2022 | The Stanley Cup visited Charleston, connecting his NHL success with his earlier coaching home. |
| 2023 | Colorado extended Bednar’s contract through the 2026-27 season. |
| 2025–26 | Bednar led the Avalanche to another playoff appearance and reached 400 career NHL wins. |
Interesting Facts About Jared Bednar and His Family
- Bednar met Susan before he became an NHL coach. Their relationship began during his minor-league playing days.
- The couple have two children. The Avalanche identifies them as Kruz and Savega.
- The family lived in South Carolina for years. That period overlapped with Bednar’s connection to the South Carolina Stingrays.
- Bednar’s move to Colorado wasn’t immediately a full-family relocation. In 2016, Susan and Savega remained in Charleston while Kruz was already attending school near Denver.
- Bednar’s career crossed three major North American professional hockey levels. He won championships in the ECHL, AHL and NHL as a head coach.
- He won the Stanley Cup in 2022. Colorado defeated Tampa Bay in the Final.
- The Stanley Cup returned to Charleston. Bednar brought it to the city and the South Carolina hockey community in July 2022.
- Bednar was inducted into the ECHL Hall of Fame in 2020. His ECHL career included championship success both as a player and coach.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Jared Bednar’s wife?
Jared Bednar’s wife is Susan Bednar. The Colorado Avalanche officially identifies Susan as his wife and confirms that they have two children, Kruz and Savega.
How did Jared Bednar meet his wife?
Bednar met Susan in Huntington, West Virginia, while he was playing for the Huntington Blizzard in the ECHL. Former teammate Malcolm Cameron recalled that Susan was working at a restaurant where Bednar and teammates spent time after practice.
Is Jared Bednar still married?
Yes. Current Colorado Avalanche information identifies Susan as Jared Bednar’s wife, and recent coverage continues to describe him as a father of two with Susan.
How many children do Jared and Susan Bednar have?
They have two children, a son named Kruz and a daughter named Savega. The Colorado Avalanche and American Hockey League both confirm those names.
Where did Jared Bednar’s family live before Colorado?
The family had a home in Charleston, South Carolina, during Bednar’s coaching years there. When he became Colorado’s head coach in 2016, Susan and daughter Savega initially remained in Charleston while the family worked through the relocation.
What does Susan Bednar do?
Older secondary reports have identified Susan with work at the Charleston County Public Library, but there isn’t a strong current official biography establishing her present occupation. She has otherwise maintained a private public profile.
How old is Susan Bednar?
Susan Bednar’s exact date of birth and age are not reliably established by authoritative public sources. Online pages may list an age, but those figures should not automatically be treated as verified.
Did Susan Bednar move to Colorado?
Yes, the family eventually relocated as Bednar established himself with the Avalanche. During his first NHL season in Colorado, however, Susan and daughter Savega initially remained in South Carolina while Kruz was already in Colorado for school.
What is Jared Bednar best known for?
Bednar is best known as the head coach of the Colorado Avalanche and for leading the team to the 2022 Stanley Cup. He is also notable for becoming the first head coach to win championships in the ECHL, AHL and NHL.
Where is Jared Bednar now?
As of 2026, Bednar remains Colorado’s head coach. The Avalanche says he is in his 10th season with the franchise and recorded his 400th career NHL coaching victory during the 2025-26 season. His contract runs through 2026-27.
Final Thoughts
The most accurate answer to “Jared Bednar wife” is also the simplest: Susan Bednar is his wife, and together they have two children, Kruz and Savega.
What makes their story worth a closer look isn’t a collection of celebrity-style statistics. It’s the timing.
Susan met Jared when he was still a minor-league hockey player, long before the Colorado Avalanche, the Stanley Cup and the long list of coaching accomplishments. Their family then lived through the moves and uncertainty that accompanied his gradual rise through professional hockey.
By the time Bednar lifted the Stanley Cup in 2022, the achievement represented far more than one successful NHL season. It marked the culmination of a career that had begun in the lower levels of professional hockey decades earlier.
Susan has largely stayed out of that spotlight. And perhaps that’s the clearest part of the story: behind one of hockey’s most visible coaches is a family that has generally chosen to remain private.