Colorado defense built with young stars
The Avalanche is built for the new NHL, where 20-underaged defensemen who possess more skill than size can flourish.
Back in the day, most NHL defensemen were the biggest players on their respective teams and often didn’t reach their comfort level until their mid-20s or later.
But Avs coach Jared Bednar, now in his fifth year in Colorado, has supervised the big-league development of three rare defensemen in Sam Girard, Cale Makar, and, most recently, Bo Byram.
The 5-foot-10, 170-pound Girard, 22, the smallest guy on the team, joined the Avs at age 19. Makar, 22, was 20 when he made his NHL debut in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. And Byram is 19 and played in his first five NHL games entering Saturday’s game at Minnesota. Makar (5-11, 187) and Byram (6-1, 192) are bigger than Girard, but still undersized compared to the average NHL defenseman.
Bednar’s peers would be lucky to have one of these defensemen. Dallas has one in Miro Heiskanen, 21, and Vancouver has Quinn Hughes, 21, the latter of whom finished second to Makar for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year last season.
Those players’ predecessors include Boston’s Charlie McAvoy, a 23-year-old in his fourth NHL season; Philadelphia’s Ivan Provorov, who recently turned 24 and is in his fifth season; and Zach Werenski, 23, of Columbus who is in his fifth year.
“Last 10 years, last 20 years, it’s very rare,” Bednar said of teenage defensemen entering the league and playing key roles. “These kids coming out, the training, the commitment level that they have to improve, it’s year-round work and it starts young. They’re coming out faster. We have three of them on the back end, and (Conor) Timmins is not far off, either. He’s had some injury troubles but a guy that I’d really like to see grow here.”
Many believe the Avalanche has the NHL’s best defensive corps. And with Timmins in the picture, it might be the youngest with the most room to grow.
Byram’s name is now being mentioned in Calder Trophy conversations, and it takes one to know one.
“I think he fits right in there really well. He has great poise with the puck,” Makar said of Byram. “His skating is at a very elite level and that’s kind of the identity of our back end. We like to think the game fast and move it up to our forwards quick. Any guy that can do that is welcome. I’m excited to see what he can do. He’s a pretty special kid.”
Avalanche left wing and team captain Gabe Landeskog joined the NHL at 18. And so did star center Nathan MacKinnon. But as forwards, it’s easier to adapt because they have less defensive responsibility.
“Coming in as a defenseman is a lot harder than coming in as a forward,” Landeskog said. “As a defenseman you get exposed a lot quicker when you make mistakes. We all know it’s a game of mistakes, and mistakes are going to happen but it’s just a matter of how you learn from them. I think that’s what’s special about these guys that we have. They’re very mature and smart hockey players and they’re learning from their mistakes on the go and that’s going to be real important for us moving forward.”
Avs defenseman Erik Johnson, 32, was the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft by St. Louis. But he didn’t feel comfortable in his first-pairing role until he was 26.
“Once I hit that 300-, 350-game mark, I feel like I really took off,” Johnson told The Post in 2014. “I wish it didn’t take that long for me to play like the way I am, but that’s how it worked out.”
Byram logged a team-high 21:14 and played in all situations in Tuesday’s 7-3 rout of the San Jose Sharks. Girard, who runs the second power-play unit with Byram, was a primary penalty killer in that game, and Byram also played while shorthanded. Bednar said Makar will soon also play on the PK in addition to the No. 1 power play.
By playing in all situations, Girard, Makar and Byram could each log more than 22 minutes per game. For Byram, it undoubtedly helps to learn the ropes from two like-minded defensemen who were 19 not too long ago.
“It’s the NHL so the hockey is a lot faster and better than anything I’ve played before,” Byram said on Thursday before his fifth career game. “I feel like I’ve done a pretty good job of acclimating myself pretty quickly. Definitely, my goal coming in was to gain the coaching staff’s trust and be able to be put in important situations. I’m trying to build off every game, not trying to think ahead but just the next shift.”
Byram’s next game will be his sixth in the league. If he plays a seventh, the Avs will have committed to keeping him the entire season.
That’s likely. He fits right in.