Prospect Info: 4th Overall, Bowen Byram, Defence

[chet1926]

This was a numbers game, right now there was not enough of a difference between him and Timmins and Rosen. Had been noticeably better than those two then he'd be here, but he wasn't. That's not a slight on Byram he is an 18 year old, the others have a bit more experience.

It's nice to be in a situation where we can actually send a kid like Byram back to juniors for an extra year. Years past he'd been playing top 4. But right now you've got Makar, Girard, EJ, Zadorov, Timmins, Rosen, Barberio etc. Not to mention Cole in a month or so. We're just stacked on defense right now. A decent player will be on Nacho duty most of the year. It's a nice problem to have.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Honestly, a somewhat disappointing preseason from him IMO.


Which isnt to say hes a bust by any means. But I had higher expectations for him and he didnt quite reach them while Timmins and Rosen shattered expectations.


Oh well, he'll get a chance to get better in the WHL and be one of Canada's more leaned on players at the World Juniors this year.

 

[henchman21]

Honestly, a somewhat disappointing preseason from him IMO.

After the hype this board threw at him this summer, I feel for the kid here. Expectations were really high and were not really close to what he currently is as player/prospect.

 

[Avs_19]

After the hype this board threw at him this summer, I feel for the kid here. Expectations were really high and were not really close to what he currently is as player/prospect.

The hype is deserved but maybe the expectations for an 18 year old defenseman were too high. He's viewed as a top five prospect by a lot of people outside of this board and many thought he could start in the NHL right away.

 

[henchman21]

The hype is deserved but maybe the expectations for an 18 year old defenseman were too high. He's viewed as a top five prospect by a lot of people outside of this board and many thought he could start in the NHL right away.

The hype cranked to 11 this summer.... as it always does with top prospects. I'm not saying he isn't a great young prospect and doesn't have potential, just saying it got skewed this summer when stats and highlight videoes controlled the chatter.

 

[tshack]

The hype is deserved but maybe the expectations for an 18 year old defenseman were too high. He's viewed as a top five prospect by a lot of people outside of this board and many thought he could start in the NHL right away.

I think our depth has a big say in moving him down as well. If this were last year he would probably get a shot in at least a few games at the NHL level.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

After the hype this board threw at him this summer, I feel for the kid here. Expectations were really high and were not really close to what he currently is as player/prospect.

Maybe I'm partially guilty of this. I didnt have particularly high expectations and I figured he was going to probably be sent back unless he really turned heads.


I just thought he was flat. Didnt handle the physical game well, or the speed of the game. He was taking an extra half second to make decisions that other guys weren't having to make.


And again I'm not saying hes a bust or anything like that and I still firmly believe he's got future Top pairing Dman written all over him. But I expected a little more in his first camp then what he brought.


The people who were saying he had nothing left to prove or learn at the AHL level were clearly wrong. He still has quite a few areas that need work. But the tools are evident.

 

[Balthazar]

Everyone should expect Byram to have a worse season in the WHL this year. He had quite a spectacular season last year, it's going to be really hard to repeat.

 

[Gabe the Babe]

Everyone should expect Byram to have a worse season in the WHL this year. He had quite a spectacular season last year, it's going to be really hard to repeat.

Nah that’s a red flag. Maybe less goals. But if he does all around worse then that points to him just overachieving in his draft year.

I’m looking for him to dominate. At the very least keep his offense similar. Fine tune the dzone awareness and give up nothing.

He needs at least one year though. Maybe two and join late like Cale did.

 

[Brett44]

With the way as Timmins and Rosen play we can't have a défense with 23 year old average with Byram
Makar 21
Girard 21
Timmins 21
Z 25
EJ 31 if he is healthy
Byram 18
Rosen 25

 

[henchman21]

Expecting the same offensive impact is expecting a lot. 70 points in a full season is probably realistic, but 24 goals is going to be tough to duplicate. It isn't all that uncommon for a draft eligible player to have a huge offensive year in juniors and take a slight step back the year following. I give you Jake Bean:

D-1 5g 34a 39p in 51 games
Draft Year 24g 40a 64p in 68 games
D+1 8g 37a 45p in 43 games
D+2 12g 36a 48p in 57 games

If you're expecting 25g and 60a from Byram, you're very likely to be disappointed.

 

[AvsCOL]

Expecting the same offensive impact is expecting a lot. 70 points in a full season is probably realistic, but 24 goals is going to be tough to duplicate. It isn't all that uncommon for a draft eligible player to have a huge offensive year in juniors and take a slight step back the year following. I give you Jake Bean:

D-1 5g 34a 39p in 51 games
Draft Year 24g 40a 64p in 68 games
D+1 8g 37a 45p in 43 games
D+2 12g 36a 48p in 57 games

If you're expecting 25g and 60a from Byram, you're very likely to be disappointed.

Well I think we'll all be a little disappointed beyond his D+1 season if he turns into a Jake Bean type.

 

[henchman21]

Well I think we'll all be a little disappointed beyond his D+1 season if he turns into a Jake Bean type.

I like Byram A LOT more than I like Bean and I'm not saying they are going to go down the same path, just saying that his huge numbers last season doesn't mean he will produce huge numbers this season. Bean's offense was heavily hyped and we all see how that went.

 

[AllAboutAvs]

Nah that’s a red flag. Maybe less goals. But if he does all around worse then that points to him just overachieving in his draft year.

I’m looking for him to dominate. At the very least keep his offense similar. Fine tune the dzone awareness and give up nothing.

He needs at least one year though. Maybe two and join late like Cale did.

It's not uncommon for a player (D or Fwd) who had that kind of offensive production to have a flat or a bit lower production on their draft+1 year. The reason is their new team wants the player to work on some things and very often it affects the offense. He can still dominate the WHL even if he produces a little less as long as the rest of his game goes up. Makar didn't produce that much in the first half of his draft+1 year. He admitted himself he was concentrating on his D game. Then coming back from the WJC and in his draft +2 year the production was there again.

 

[Ivan13]

After the hype this board threw at him this summer, I feel for the kid here. Expectations were really high and were not really close to what he currently is as player/prospect.

Worst part is that the hype was driven by people who didn't know who he is before we lost the lottery. I think the world of him, but there was no way he was ready for the NHL at 18.

 

[AvsCOL]

I like Byram A LOT more than I like Bean and I'm not saying they are going to go down the same path, just saying that his huge numbers last season doesn't mean he will produce huge numbers this season. Bean's offense was heavily hyped and we all see how that went.

Yeah that's true, I just think people are being a little too harsh on this Byram demotion to be honest. I absolutely believe he could've stuck around in the NHL this season and been "ok", but you're doing yourself, and Byram a dis-service by keeping him somewhere where he's just ok.

He might not score 26 goals, but he doesn't need to imo. Just because your goal total drops doesn't mean that you're not impacting the game in a bigger way. I see what you're saying.

 

[henchman21]

Yeah that's true, I just think people are being a little too harsh on this Byram demotion to be honest. I absolutely believe he could've stuck around in the NHL this season and been "ok", but you're doing yourself, and Byram a dis-service by keeping him somewhere where he's just ok.

He might not score 26 goals, but he doesn't need to imo. Just because your goal total drops doesn't mean that you're not impacting the game in a bigger way. I see what you're saying.

I think the people being too harsh on Byram looked at highlights and stats, then suddenly thought he was an all world offensive defensemen. No doubt he has skill and my statement here isn't meant to drag that part of his game down. What makes Byram the prospect he is, is his legit NHL defensive skill set. He has all the tools to be a strong defensive guy on a top pairing while providing puck movement and some offense. His game simply isn't going to flash offensively as much as people looking at the highlights and stats want. That just isn't who he is.

Agree that Byram doesn't need to. He needs to refine his defensive skills and learn how to apply his offense in a more pro friendly manner. He can take steps next year in the dub.

 

[Foppa2118]

After the hype this board threw at him this summer, I feel for the kid here. Expectations were really high and were not really close to what he currently is as player/prospect.

He just turned 18 in June. What's Chychrun and Mittelstadt's excuse for not being an elite #1D and a star #1C?

 

[Tralfamadore]

He just turned 18 in June. What's Chychrun and Mittelstadt's excuse for not being an elite #1D and a star #1C?

I understand your point but those players weren't top 3 players in their draft and no one in the media expected them to turn pro immediately.

For the record, I believe it was a lofty expectation for him to make the team as an 18 year old in the first place. I believe a lot of it was the product of media draft hype.

 

[Foppa2118]

I understand your point but those players weren't top 3 players in their draft and no one in the media expected them to turn pro immediately.

This is being blown way out of proportion as a way of saying I told you so. The vast majority of people knew there was a chance he'd be sent down. That's why we've been talking about Europe vs the WHL all summer.

There were only a few media people who said Byram was ready for the NHL this year, and scouts were split on it. On here, I don't really remember anyone saying that Byram was definitively ready. Maybe one or two at most.

 

[TruePowerSlave]

Great news, was not ready and didn't deserve to make the team.

 

[The Abusement Park]

This is being blown way out of proportion as a way of saying I told you so. The vast majority of people knew there was a chance he'd be sent down. That's why we've been talking about Europe vs the WHL all summer.

There were only a few media people who said Byram was ready for the NHL this year, and scouts were split on it. On here, I don't really remember anyone saying that Byram was definitively ready. Maybe one or two at most.

Yup, the general consensus here was that he could use a step up from the WHL but the NHL may be too big a step for him. He's close to NHL speed and readiness, just needs another year and he should be ready to go.

 

[NOTENOUGHJTCGOALS]

This was a numbers game, right now there was not enough of a difference between him and Timmins and Rosen. Had been noticeably better than those two then he'd be here, but he wasn't. That's not a slight on Byram he is an 18 year old, the others have a bit more experience.

It's nice to be in a situation where we can actually send a kid like Byram back to juniors for an extra year. Years past he'd been playing top 4. But right now you've got Makar, Girard, EJ, Zadorov, Timmins, Rosen, Barberio etc. Not to mention Cole in a month or so. We're just stacked on defense right now. A decent player will be on Nacho duty most of the year. It's a nice problem to have.

There was a huge difference because Timmins and Rosen were great! They looked like 10 year vets.

 

[henchman21]

There was a huge difference because Timmins and Rosen were great! They looked like 10 year vets.

Such a hater... looked like Lidstrom and Chelios out there!

 

[Cappuccino]

Imagine to be able to ease Girard into the line up, let Makar make his debut during the playoffs, have Timmins waiting to go and on top of that can afford to send Byram back.

And still have guys like EJ, Cole and Zadorov around.