This is my position as well. It’s lunacy to give those last few spots to replacement level AHL players over first round talent who can help win. There’s going to be enough extra vets in the first place, we are talking about guys who have statistically proven to be poor fill-ins who do not need to be part of the process. And you never know how many guys you’ll need. If Girard or Makar go down they need to seriously think about Byram.
I’m thrilled to hear Byram will be coming to camp, I think it’s very meaningful for his development to have any involvement. But it could just be for camp, we’ll see if he gets on the final roster. Still, a good step.
I very strongly believe the Avs need to go 2 D on pp1. So what if the rest of the league uses one D, it’s a competitive advantage for the Avs to have the talent on the back end available to change their look. There was also a recent article about how the PPs that have the Ds taking the majority point shots are the least successful. Makar needs to be used as a shooter on the pp, having him stuck on the point neuters him. I’d put Girard on pp1 as the point man and eventually consider that for Byram. Put Makar high up on the right side, that’s where he likes to shoot from anyway. Mack and a Mikko in their spots then pick whoever to be the net front. They are wasting so much talent with how they utilize the pp right now.
Yeah totally agree on the scratches. Disagree a little on the power play though.
I think that makes sense that you don't want your D men taking all the shots on the power play, but that's an argument IMO for why coaches have kind of gone away from using 2 D on PP1. You end up a little too stationary and predictable when using two D men at the point for shots, and because of that, you end up hitting a lot of shin pads.
You have to have really good movement on the PP to be effective. Both with the puck to get the PK moving out of position, and with your legs to find the open shooting lanes, and soft spots on the ice.
That's why you see this new style where someone with a good one timer like MacKinnon, Stamkos, Ovechkin etc play the point but then shift down to the circle.
I think Makar is good all over the ice though, not just in one spot. That's why he's such a special defenseman. He's great at the top of the point, because he's really good with timing his wrister through traffic, and finding the open net. It also makes the PP a little unpredictable, because if he doesn't take that shot from the top of the point, he can pass to MacKinnon for his deadly one timer.
He's also really good on the right side like you mention, because of his quickness's to jump down low in the play, or take pucks quickly off the wall and fire them on net. He's created a goal multiple times both ways.
Makar's good on the left side too though because he's on his off side, and similarly can make one move to deke the forward, and then break down low towards the circle or slot for a grade A scoring chance, or pass.
I think your point about wanting Makar to shoot on the PP is a good one but I think we kind of see that a lot already, and probably will more in the future as he gains more NHL confidence. The more confidence he has, the more willing he is to jump down low in the play. I really like his Forsberg like ability to circle the zone though and get everyone focused on him, so he can send a pass back door to the wide open man. Byram has that ability too.
All of that said, with the style of Makar and Byram, the Avs are better suited to employ a similar 1-3-1 approach than most teams with 2 D, because both have the skating, puck handling, vision, and willingness to jump down low in the play instead of staying up top. Same with Girard though his shot's not quite as good. So I think you may get your wish at least briefly, because I bet they try Byram-Makar on PP1 just to give it a shot at some point.
This isn't on the PP, but it's a similar setup that shows the kind of plays Makar can make on the left side.
