Defenceman Makar raising the bar for Avs
Twenty-three-year-old from Calgary is doing it all for Colorado
Connor McDavid collected the puck inside in his own blue line and was off to the races.
Less than a minute into Game 2 of the National Hockey League’s Western Conference final, the only thing standing in the way of the Edmonton Oilers captain — and in the way of another potential jawdropping highlight from the lightning-quick superstar — was Cale Makar.
The Colorado Avalanche defenceman retreated backwards at a breathless pace before pivoting, angling McDavid away from danger and poking the puck off of the superstar’s stick.
Onlookers inside Ball Arena and millions more watching on television might have expected a different outcome.
Gary Makar wasn’t one of them. “Not surprised,” Cale’s father said in a phone interview Friday. “I know how he can accelerate. It was neat to see him rise to the challenge.”
That’s something Makar has done his whole life — always at his own pace.
“It’s weird being his dad and going, ‘Perfect,’ ” Gary Makar added of the McDavid sequence. “But, in his mind, this would have been awesome. That, to him, is opportunity. Great. Show me what you’ve got and vice versa. It’s the game within the game.”
Cale Makar has raised his own lofty standard in the 2022 playoffs with the Avalanche now just two wins from reaching their first Stanley Cup final in more than two decades.
The 23-year-old from Calgary leads a skilled, fast, driven team, that also includes the likes of Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, with 17 points in 12 games.
And he got here by choosing a road less travelled.
Makar decided against the toptier Western Hockey League as an undersized teenager, instead suiting up in Alberta’s provincial junior circuit before heading south to play in the NCAA at the University of Massachusetts Amherst after being selected fourth overall by Colorado at the 2017 NHL draft.
The Avalanche then wanted him to head west after his freshman season, but Makar didn’t think he was ready.
Again, doing things at his own pace — fast or slow — depending on the situation.
“It was very logically done,” explained Gary Makar, whose youngest son, Taylor, just finished his first season at UMass Amherst. “Where are we now? Where do we want to go? How are we going to get there?”
The longer development path for Cale, who now stands five foot 11 and weighs 187 pounds, was in the family’s interest for a player keen to add muscle to a slight frame before jumping into the rigours of professional hockey.
“Our main focus was education,” the elder Makar added. “And if you can use that from a hockey perspective ... wow, that’s amazing.”
What his oldest child has done since bursting onto the NHL scene in the 2019 playoffs, when he scored a goal early in the first period of his first game, is wow and amaze.
Makar won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2019, finished second in voting for the Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenceman last season, and is one of three finalists for the award in 2022 following an 86-point performance in 77 games.
Avalanche defenceman Devon Toews said skating alongside Makar is “as easy as can be” on Colorado’s top pair.
“A dynamic player,” Toews said. “The way he makes plays and creates time and space for myself and himself is just incredible.”
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar was asked prior to Game 2 what impresses him about Makar on a day-to-day basis.
The list was a long one.
“His professionalism, his maturity, how humble he is for an elite player, how committed he is,” Bednar said. “You’ve all seen all the production on the ice, but just a quiet competitor, great teammate. Real humble guy. Love his character, love his personality.”
You’ve all seen all the production on the ice, but just a quiet competitor, great teammate. Real humble guy. Love his character, love his personality.
JARED BEDNAR AVALANCHE HEAD COACH