Colorado Avalanche Sign Memorial Cup Winning Head Coach

The Colorado Avalanche had a vacancy at the AHL level behind the bench, and now, they've hired one of the most promising young coaches in the hockey world.

Colorado Avalanche jersey / IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

For quite some time, the Colorado Avalanche have been a consistent contender in the Western Conference, with the team led by superstars Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and this deep, talented group.

One key piece of the puzzle in Colorado that often goes overlooked, however, is their head coach, as Jared Bednar has long been one of the best coaches in the National Hockey League, earning his way to Colorado and eventually taking them to the Stanley Cup back in 2022.

He did that through success at the ECHL and AHL level, serving in different roles between 2002 and 2016 before eventually being hired by the Avalanche.

That helped him create a clear pattern of success with Bednar and the Avalanche, and now, they may have added their head coach of the future.

Jussi Ahokas Hired by the Colorado Eagles

Recently, it was reported that Jussi Ahokas, the Memorial Cup winning head coach and 2024/25 OHL Coach of the Year with the Kitchener Rangers turned down a role with the Vancouver Canucks for other potential opportunities, and on Friday, that opportunity became real.

Join us in welcoming Jussi Ahokas as the head coach of the Colorado Eagles! pic.twitter.com/QV9qIVQSJ5

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 17, 2026

After Greg Cronin served as the Eagles head coach between 2018 and 2023, the team turned to Aaron Schneekloth for two years and Mark Letestu in 2025/26, but now, they've found a coach that has an incredibly bright future, who could even be seen as the eventual successor to Bednar at the NHL level.

Who is Jussi Ahokas?

Coming out of Finland, the 45-year-old Jussi Ahokas has been a coach at several different levels dating back to 2004, where he began his career in his native Finland as a coach with Kiekkoreipas U16.

From there, he worked his way up through levels in Finland, eventually serving as his nations head coach at the World Juniors for three tournaments between 2016 and 2019.

He then took a step up to the professional men’s level, coaching KooKoo and TPS in Liiga for four seasons before his potential was recognized in North America, with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League hiring him ahead of the 2023/24 season.

Quickly, he made his mark on one of the most revered teams in the OHL, winning one round in the OHL Playoffs in Ahokas' first season, two in his second season before going all the way to victory in the Memorial Cup this past season.

In that time, the Rangers have a record of 135-52-16, with the former goaltender solidifying himself as a potential coach in the NHL moving forward.

After taking consistent jumps year after year, the next logical step in Ahokas' career was the AHL, and given how quickly he's risen through the ranks in his career, it's seemingly a matter of when, not if he takes the leap to the NHL, with the Avalanche and the Eagles hoping that he can hit the ground running in the AHL this coming season.