Rivals on the ice, Byram and Smith off-season buddies
You could understand if Bowen Byram and Ty Smith wanted to duck each other in the off-season.
Byram became a regular with the Vancouver Giants three seasons ago and was immediately linked to Smith, the Spokane Chiefs rearguard who is a year older and already well on his way to becoming a standard bearer for defencemen in the WHL.
Through it all, they’ve actually become buddies. They were teammates with the Canadian team at the Under18 worlds two summers ago and shared time on the Canadian blue line again at the world juniors this past winter.
This summer, they’re part of the same training group at Planet Ice Delta, under the watchful eye of Delta Hockey Academy president Ian Gallagher and his crew.
Byram was the fourth overall pick in last summer’s NHL Draft, going to the Colorado Avalanche. Smith was a 2018 first-round selection, chosen at No. 17 by the New Jersey Devils. He’s won the past two WHL defencemen of the year honours.
“People compare us in the Western League, saying who they think is better and who’s this and who’s that. It doesn’t bother us at all,” explained Smith, 20, who’s from Saskatoon but whose ties with Delta Academy date back to playing his bantam draft season for them in 2014-15.
“I feel like I was one of the bigger influences on him coming here to train. I was on him. You can’t deny the setup here or the people they have working here.
“You’re always trying to get better. Bo and I will be in the gym and we’ll say, ‘Are you getting better today?’ Bo will always walk out of here saying, ‘I know I got better today,’ and that’s part of what makes it fun being here.”
The Devils’ season is complete. They aren’t a part of the NHL’s rebooted 24-team playoffs. Colorado is still in the mix, and Byram says he’s had a “couple of conversations,” with them about whether he might be a part of their expanded post-season roster, one of their extra players.
“They don’t know everything that’s happening just yet,” said Byram, 19.
At a glance, Byram looks bigger and stronger. He is listing himself at 205 pounds, after carrying 192 pounds on his 6-foot-1 frame last season.
He could well be a regular as a 19-year-old defenceman in the NHL next season, whenever next season might be. To stick in the NHL, he’ll have to show that he can handle the physical going. He appears to be making headway in that regard.
“I’m just trying to stay in shape, get stronger, get faster,” said Byram, who is from Cranbrook. “It’s been a hard time. It’s nice to be back in a gym.
“I’m trying to not worry about anything in the future. Nobody really knows what’s going to happen with anything.”
Byram played arguably his best hockey as a Giant the month or so before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the WHL season. That’s a heady statement considering he set a team record for goals by a defenceman (26) in the 2018-19 regular season and led all players in WHL playoff scoring that spring.
It did feel like he was dominant in all three zones to end last year. There were precious few lapses in his game. He finished the campaign with 14 goals, 52 points and a plus-19 in 50 regular season games.
“I think I have to be comfortable on the ice at that level,” Byram said of making the jump to the NHL. “I have to be confident playing at that speed against men. I have a lot of work to do in the summer to get there, but I’m confident in my abilities.”
Smith is chasing a full-time spot with the Devils this coming season as well. He had 19 goals and 59 points in 46 games with Spokane last season, to go along with an eye-popping plus-49 rating. He has 45 goals and 235 points in 240 career regular season games with the Chiefs.
He would be age eligible to play minor pro. Byram would have to come back to the WHL if he doesn’t stick in the NHL.
“If we’re both fortunate to play this coming season (in the NHL) and we got to play each other, it would be a cool night,” Smith said. “It would be pretty special.”
Byram was one of 41 players named to the Canadian world junior team summer development camp roster on Tuesday. It will be a virtual event held July 27-31.
Giants coach Michael Dyck was also named an assistant coach for that squad on Tuesday. He had been head coach of Canada’s entry in the Hlinka Gretzky Cup last summer.
The world juniors are slated for Edmonton and Red Deer this coming winter.