A former NHL star who becomes a hockey coach is hardly a surprising narrative anymore. But it is one Milan Hejduk did not see coming. He viewed it as an opportunity to simply be a parent who wanted to help out his twin sons and their teammates.

He started enjoying what it meant to be a coach. Plus, he figured it makes sense to hop on the ice if he is already making the trip to the rink.

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What Hejduk is doing with his 16-year-old sons, David and Marek, can be viewed through two prisms. The first is it allows a father and his sons to spend time together while staying active in a sport that has meant so much to their family. Hejduk’s father, whose name is also Milan, also played while Hejduk himself pieced together one of the most notable careers in the Colorado Avalanche’s illustrious history.

Now there is another chapter involving David and Marek. Both are rising hockey players in their own right. David is a defenseman who is already receiving college interest while Marek will become the latest Colorado youth to join the famed United States National Team Development Program next season.

“It’s so different,” Hejduk said of coaching. “It does not mean if you are a former good player that you will be a good coach. You learn from things you do that are good or bad. It’s not automatically that someone is a good coach who can educate just because you played the game. If you are a forward as a player and then you are a coach, you kinda need to know every position and what they need to do.”

David and Marek were born in 2004, which meant they were around for the final eight seasons of their father’s career. Milan brought his sons around the locker room when he was with the Avalanche and saw them taking an interest in hockey as something natural. It is a path often seen throughout the NHL. The Avs are no different, with Adam Foote, Pierre Turgeon and Joe Sakic, among others, having children who play for youth programs like the Colorado Thunderbirds.

The twins would also be part of the Thunderbirds system. It is a setup that has led countless players to a number of Division I programs or the major junior route with the Western Hockey League. Established NHL players such as Carolina Hurricanes star defenseman Jaccob Slavin and Columbus Blue Jackets star defenseman Seth Jones are among their alumni. The Footes — who were both first-round picks — are part of that next wave. As are Anaheim Ducks forward Troy Terry and San Jose Sharks forward Dylan Gambrell, who also starred at the University of Denver together.

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Milan became an assistant with the Thunderbirds during the 2015-16 season and served in that capacity for two seasons. He has since become a head coach for the past three years.

“I think it’s cool,” Milan said of coaching his sons. “Especially when I retired. The boys were 8 or 9 years old when I stopped playing. When you play, you miss a lot of stuff. Practices, games and traveling together. Once I retired, I had the experience to live together and see things together. When you are playing, you don’t have that option and you are on the run and busy. I appreciate that I could spend more time with the boys.”

David said he estimates he and his brother were around 4 years old when they first started playing. He said it was just a matter of trying out hockey, liking it and deciding to pursue something with the game.

One would think having the Hejduk name would lead to people flooding them with questions about their dad. Turns out, it’s actually pretty low-key. David said he has a few teachers who pick up on it but that most kids around him are not aware of their dad and what he accomplished while playing with the Avalanche.

“I doesn’t affect me that much,” he said. “My teachers are like, ‘Oh, that’s cool.’ But they don’t treat me differently.”

What about on the ice? What is it like to be coached by your dad knowing he has pretty much seen and done it all?

“I would I say I get more information and more knowledge than I would from another coach,” David said. “That’s due to his experience and how long he was playing.”

Marek said their dad is serious about making sure they are taught the correct habits and has definitely made an investment in making sure they are developing the right way. They have used the stay-at-home time to remain active with workout sessions and getting outside whenever they can.

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But that does not mean they aren’t having fun. David and Marek described how all three of them are pretty competitive when it comes to who can beat whom when they are on the ice.

“Who usually wins? It depends in which category,” Marek said. “If we do some shooting games, my dad will usually take it. He has an amazing shot. In other categories, we are starting to catch up. I would say skating, maybe a little bit of stick-handling and other categories that are important, too.”

Getting a chance to play those games or being on the same team could be on hold for a while. Marek is moving to Plymouth, Mich., where will be part of the NTDP’s setup for two seasons. The NTDP gathers what is deemed to be the best collection of U-16 talents in the United States and develops them over a two-year period before they move on to the next step of their careers.

The program has produced NHL superstars such as Buffalo Sabres center Jack Eichel, Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane and Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews. Every American-born player currently on the Avalanche roster — Ian Cole, J.T. Compher, Erik Johnson, Matt Nieto and Colin Wilson — has played at the NTDP. Cole actually tutored Johnson in geometry when the program was based in Cole’s hometown of Ann Arbor before the NTDP moved to Plymouth.

Marek becomes the 11th player from Colorado to play for the NTDP. It is a list that includes brothers Drew, Nick and Quentin Shore along with Terry. Forward Ty Smilanic, who is from Elizabeth, just completed his time with the program and is scheduled to play next season at Quinnipiac. Goaltender Kaidan Mbereko, who is from Aspen, finished his first campaign and will spend next year with the U-18 team.

“I think it is definitely a confidence boost,” Marek said of making the NTDP’s roster. “Troy Terry played for the Thunderbirds and he went through the same thing and it was a huge motivation factor as well. You can see he was at my point not too long ago, and you see yourself taking those same steps.”

The plan for the upcoming season is David will remain in Colorado for the U-16 Thunderbirds while Marek is at the NTDP. Milan said he and his wife, Zlatuse, will rotate their time between Denver and Plymouth so they can both be with their sons throughout the year.

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“We’re usually around each other,” Marek said. “We do all the same activities. We do the same really in everything, almost. It’s going to be difficult. I will miss him a lot, but we knew sooner or later with hockey, and life, it was going to happen.”

David said he is happy that his brother is getting the opportunity to play at the NTDP. He added that they will still stay connected and plans on visiting whenever he can.

Again, it could be temporary. David said his main goal is to play in college. That way, he can develop and stay focused on academics considering he would like to someday pursue a business-related career.

Marek said he believes the college route is a good option but wants to consistently gauge his situation during his time at the NTDP.

“I think it’d be great and a package deal for us to go to the same school,” Marek said. “That would be great. If that does not work out, then it’s no big deal. For us, going to separate schools is no big deal.”

Collegiate programs are allowed to speak to high school sophomores like David and Marek but cannot extend an official scholarship offer until Aug. 1.

Selecting between college or major junior is a familiar path many North American-born and based players are often making. David and Marek were taken in the ninth round by different franchises in the 2019 WHL Bantam Draft. They were taken six picks apart. David was selected by the Everett Silvertips, with Marek going to the Portland Winterhawks.

That’s not even including the possibility of playing in other leagues, like the Alberta Junior Hockey League or the British Columbia Hockey League. The AJHL is the place that saw Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar hone his skill before attending the University of Massachusetts. The BCHL is where Tyson Jost played before spending a season at the University of North Dakota.

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Hejduk illustrated how having that many options is quite different compared with what he had growing up in the Czech Republic.

“You started with one club and you were with them all the way from pee-wee to the men’s team. You stayed under one club,” Hejduk said. “Here, it is so different. The junior hockey you have here is different. The boys got drafted by WHL teams, and then there are the USHL teams that will be in for them in May here pretty soon. You can go the college route. You can go play in the AJHL or the BCHL. It’s just a ton of options to digest.

“Every kid is different. Different paths are good for certain players, and it depends on what player you are and if you’re a good student.”

Playing an active role in his sons’ lives while also being involved in a few real estate projects is what keeps Hejduk busy these days. He says there are times when his clients know who he is because they are hockey fans who followed him when he played. Otherwise, he interacts with a lot of people who do not watch sports and are not aware that they are around someone whose name and number hang from the rafter at Pepsi Center.

Another way Hejduk has occupied his time is by watching the Avalanche before the season was paused. He said he has not attended many games in person at Pepsi Center but does watch games on television whenever possible.

“They are a very exciting team and hopefully the season gets going again,” Hejduk said. “They have a legitimate chance to win the Cup or they’re at least a Cup contender with the talent they have, despite the injuries, they are still in a good spot. They had tons of guys out of the lineup for a while. This is a really good hockey club.”

Hejduk also has the benefit of watching two of his countrymen, Pavel Francouz and Martin Kaut, receive opportunities with the Avalanche. Francouz was a career European goaltender who went from AHL All-Star with the Colorado Eagles last season to being one of the NHL’s biggest surprises. He is 21-7-4 with a 2.41 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage, with a chunk of those performances coming while starting goalie Philipp Grubauer was injured.

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Kaut, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, spent most of the season with the Eagles, where he endured a troublesome start marred by injuries. The 20-year-old right winger got healthy and began finding more consistency. It led his receiving nine-game cameo with the Avalanche, where he proved he could handle the demand of being a top-nine forward on a Stanley Cup contender.

Both players got the opportunity to speak with Hejduk before the 2018-19 season when the Avalanche were going through training camp. Kaut grew up a longtime fan of Hejduk and declared that he believed the former Avs winger was the greatest player in their nation’s history behind Jaromir Jagr and Dominik Hasek.

“He’s phenomenal. I knew he was a good goalie and people in Europe said they knew he was a good goalie,” Hejduk said of Francouz. “He was one of the top goalies in the KHL and the No. 1 goalie on the Czech national team. We knew he was a good goalie, and sometimes that transition is not easy to North American hockey. This year, he’s been phenomenal when Grubauer went down with the injury. He stepped in right away.

“And with Martin, he’s an exciting young player. I think he has a bright future, and in the games he played, I thought he did really well. He’s just another guy they have with a bright future.”

(Milan Hejduk with his sons David and Marek and wife, Zlatuse, when his jersey was retired at the Pepsi Center on Jan. 6, 2018: Michael Martin / NHLI via Getty Images)