He previously coached the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League, leading them to a Calder Cup championship in 2015–16.

After going undrafted by the NHL, Bednar made his professional debut during the 1993–94 season, with the Huntington Blizzard of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL).

Bednar joined the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays halfway through the 1995–96 season, posting 24 points and 126 penalty minutes in his first 39 games.

The Columbus Blue Jackets hired Bednar as an assistant coach for their minor league AHL affiliate, the Springfield Falcons, beginning with the 2012–13 season.

[3] On August 25, 2016, Bednar was named head coach of the Colorado Avalanche of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing Patrick Roy.

[citation needed] Despite having talented players, such as Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene on the roster, the team never recovered from a 4–21–1 December and January and slumped to only 48 points, the worst record in the league.

After the Avalanche's first round exit in six games to the Nashville Predators, Bednar was signed to a one-year contract extension on April 23, 2018.

[7] In Bednar's third season coaching the Avalanche, he led the team to back-to-back playoff appearances for the first time since Joel Quenneville in 2003–04 and 2005–06.