Byram’s road back came with plenty of support
Bo Byram’s first public comments about his third attempted return to the Avalanche this season sounded unsettling.
“I don’t want to get too excited,” the rookie defenseman said on April 5 in Pittsburgh, hours before he suited up for the first time in three months with the Avs.
One week and three games later, Byram was still in the lineup, and still not feeling any concussion- related symptoms he has experienced on and off for more than a year. Not long removed from contemplating the potential end of his hockey career, Byram has renewed energy and an opportunity to chase a Stanley Cup.
It was a painful 12 months for the first defenseman selected in the 2019 draft — a can’t- miss prospect tormented by blows to his head. Byram’s only 20, born four days after the Avalanche won its last Stanley Cup in 2001. But he feels like a veteran of pain.
“It sucked, especially the start of January. I really started to feel not great,” Byram said of his previous shutdown in the first month of 2022. “That’s frustrating. I had already been out of the lineup two or three times with different issues. This one felt different, though. It wasn’t going to be quick, and at that point in time I had no interest in playing hockey. I just wanted to get better.”
Byram was shut down Jan. 11 in Nashville, a day after he logged more than 20 minutes against the Seattle Kraken in Denver. Following an early morning arrival in Nashville, he awoke in his hotel room feeling lousy.
“I had no energy. I wasn’t eating much. It was just a bunch of different things combined,” he said.
Fast- forward to Wednesday, following a morning skate at Ball Arena, when Byram repeated what he told The Post in Pittsburgh: He thought long and hard about never playing again, or at least taking the rest of the season off.
“There were many times throughout it ( that) I thought of not playing again, but when I kind of started to turn the corner and feel better, it didn’t make sense to not play if I was 100% and feeling good,” he said. “So that’s where that decision came from.”
Byram’s teammates have his back. He grew up on the Canadian international stage with Avs forward Alex Newhook, 20, and he’s also close with fellow Canadian Cale Makar, the 23- year- old defenseman.
“It’s exciting, man, as soon as I showed up at the rink, he’s the first guy I was looking for,” Newhook said in Pittsburgh, where he arrived a day after the team. “It put a smile on my face to see him out there. He looks great. He was definitely missed by all the guys.”
Makar has had his own concussion issues. He missed 13 regularseason games in 2019- 20 and 12 last season, although other injuries could have been present during those times. Players usually don’t bring up previous injuries, particularly involving a concussion, but Makar acknowledged he knew what Byram went through.
“I had a similar circumstance last year, the year before there. It’s not fun,” Makar said. “Obviously, you’re away from the team, a different kind of feeling. But at the end of the day, he obviously wanted to push himself to come back but it wasn’t rushed. And I think that’s where, in his mind, he came back when he was fully ready to do it.”
For his part, Byram said he now feels good. He’s playing well, too, as evidenced by his two assists in a 9- 3 romp over the Kings on Wednesday night at Ball Arena.
Through Friday, Byram has played five consecutive games — mostly on the third pairing with veteran Erik Johnson — and has exceeded 15: 00 of ice time each game. He’s also seen time on the top pairing with Makar.
“He’s looked great,” Makar said. “He’s so good at breaking the puck out and reading the rush, especially jumping into the rush. It’s exciting to have that extra force on the back end.”
Byram is already a household name in North American hockey, particularly in Canada. He was a two- time member of Canada’s World Junior Championship team, serving as co- captain in 2021. He was the top- ranked defenseman in his draft class and one- half of what could be the NHL’S most formidable defensive pairing of the future alongside Makar, who went No. 4 overall in the 2017 draft.
Nobody wants to see an extraordinary talent not be able to reach his potential.
“I see things on Twitter and Instagram. I see a lot of the fans at games or at the practice facility and they say, ‘ Take your time,’ ” Byram told The Post. “It feels good. Not once did I feel rushed by anybody, pressure by anybody, to play. They were always supportive of me taking as much time I needed to feel 100% again.”
His advice for young hockey players who don’t feel right after sustaining a hit to the head?
“You got to tell people, ‘ You’re not going to get through it on your own,’ ” Byram said. “It’s not just going to go away, head injuries, head issues. You can’t hide it and say, ‘ Oh, my headache will go away tomorrow, I’ll feel better tomorrow, blah, blah, blah.’ You really got to take a step back and focus on yourself and your health.
“I felt bad coming in and out of the lineup — almost felt guilty not playing. But sometimes you definitely have to put yourself first and think about your body.”
Byram recently played in his first NHL game since Jan. 10. He went up against the Penguins and superstar Canadian center Sidney Crosby.
At the 2011 Winter Classic, Crosby sustained a concussion that kept him out of the lineup for nearly two years. He also missed the first part of the 2011- 12 season but went on to lead the league in goals with 44.
“I feel like every Canadian kid looks up to him, so to be on the ice with him was something special,” Byram said. “I tried not to fanboy out there against him, but it was pretty cool.”