Prospect Info: Bowen Byram - D [2019: 4th Overall] Part II: Now serving a side of overconfidence!

[Northern Avs Fan]

Islanders must have one f***ing awesome defense if Toews was their #5 but becomes a #2 on a SC contender.

I get that he can be Makar's partner until Byram is ready but to label him as a #2/#3 in a vacuum is just not right.

The Isles played most of their top-4/5 defencman similar minutes last year. Much like the Avs, except their 3/4/5/6 guys were better than Colorado’s.

If you judge by minutes played at 5V5 you likely won’t think Toews is very good. When he played he was very effective though.

In Colorado he’s being asked to be a #3 defenceman. I think that’s right around where his ability is at.

And honestly, I think it was @Bender who brought this point up on the main board. Isles fans saying, “he’ll get eaten alive on the top pair.” They don’t realize that playing on the top pair with Cale Makar is a lot different than being paired with Scott Mayfield. Makar makes life a lot easier for his partner.

Bednar is going to play all three pairs again this season imo. If they Avs end up with a Byram - Johnson 3rd pair those guys are going to get some ice too. So, while Toews will probably be asked to play a couple more 5V5 minutes with the Avs I don’t expect it to be an issue, with their defensive depth and the players around him.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

You can have both Makar and Byram on the PP...

------------- Landeskog -----------
Mackinnon ------------ Rantanen
------- Makar -------- Byram -----

But yeah you're right, that's probably not the idea setup. Byram will be a beast on PP2 though one would imagine.

I’m thinking Saad could be a dark horse for the bumper position. He looks to be a lot more active than Kadri, judging by the clips that I’ve seen.

 

[Balthazar]

And honestly, I think it was @Bender who brought this point up on the main board. Isles fans saying, “he’ll get eaten alive on the top pair.” They don’t realize that playing on the top pair with Cale Makar is a lot different than being paired with Scott Mayfield. Makar makes life a lot easier for his partner

They were saying that be cause they say he has poor defensive IQ and shy away from physical play. The way they describe him reminds me a lot of Tyson Barrie...which means he'll require some kind of sheltering.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I’m thinking Saad could be a dark horse for the bumper position. He looks to be a lot more active than Kadri, judging by the clips that I’ve seen.

I hate that stupid bumper especially since nobody knows how to use it properly especially Nathan lol. but if you are going to use that play then yah I want Saad there.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

They were saying that be cause they say he has poor defensive IQ and shy away from physical play. The way they describe him reminds me a lot of Tyson Barrie...which means he'll require some kind of sheltering.

From my understanding he’s more effective at defending than Barrie and less dynamic offensively. Kind of a TJ Brodie type. I don’t think he’s very physical, but has a pretty good stick.

The Avs Imo, don’t have any shutdown defenders, but they also don’t have anyone who is a liability either. A lot of guys who are solid defensively and really good at getting pucks out of the zone.

It’s going to be a strong group well put together for the Avs system. And make no mistake, they’ll be led by Makar and Girard again.

 

[Richard88]

I’m thinking Saad could be a dark horse for the bumper position. He looks to be a lot more active than Kadri, judging by the clips that I’ve seen.

Rudo on DNVR has a video highlighting Saad's mobility in that bumper spot on the PP. I agree that he might be a better fit than Kadri, and that would allow us to utilise Kadri's skill-set more effectively on PP2 instead.

 

[Balthazar]

I hate that stupid bumper especially since nobody knows how to use it properly especially Nathan lol. .

Man I just HATED when Mack would pass the puck to Kadri on the PP. He'd lose possession 90% of the time. He's there for the rebonds and to deflect shots, not to receive a f***ing pass.

 

[Richard88]

From my understanding he’s more effective at defending than Barrie and less dynamic offensively. Kind of a TJ Brodie type. I don’t think he’s very physical, but has a pretty good stick.

The Avs Imo, don’t have any shutdown defenders, but they also don’t have anyone who is a liability either. A lot of guys who are solid defensively and really good at getting pucks out of the zone.

It’s going to be a strong group well put together for the Avs system. And make no mistake, they’ll be led by Makar and Girard again.

One of the things that stand out to me when watching Toews play is how long his stick/reach is. He covers a lot of ice with that and is pretty active with it, so even if he isn't the typical 'shutdown' beast Dman he still manages to be effective in his zone.

 

[Richard88]

I hate that stupid bumper especially since nobody knows how to use it properly especially Nathan lol. but if you are going to use that play then yah I want Saad there.

Maybe not this season, but maybe in a year or two I think Kaut is going to make that bumper spot his own.

 

[Balthazar]

From my understanding he’s more effective at defending than Barrie and less dynamic offensively. Kind of a TJ Brodie type. I don’t think he’s very physical, but has a pretty good stick.

The Avs Imo, don’t have any shutdown defenders, but they also don’t have anyone who is a liability either. A lot of guys who are solid defensively and really good at getting pucks out of the zone.

It’s going to be a strong group well put together for the Avs system. And make no mistake, they’ll be led by Makar and Girard again.

My big problem with the defense right now is we have to rely heavily on EJ, especially on the PK. If/when we lose him that's an issue. I don't think Toews is a PK guy at all, especially not on his off-side.

 

[Northern Avs Fan]

My big problem with the defense right now is we have to rely heavily on EJ, especially on the PK. If/when we lose him that's an issue. I don't think Toews is a PK guy at all, especially not on his off-side.

Yeah, we’ll see how the PK plays out. When Cole is in the lineup he’ll be getting some PK time. Graves will need to focus on that aspect of his game certainly. With better goaltending, I’m sure the PK will look a lot better than it did against Dallas, but when it come to turning it into an actual strength. They’ve got a lot of work to do.

In terms of actually playing defence at 5V5, I have no concerns. The group will be better than they were last year imo.

 

[The Abusement Park]

They were saying that be cause they say he has poor defensive IQ and shy away from physical play. The way they describe him reminds me a lot of Tyson Barrie...which means he'll require some kind of sheltering.

From everything I’ve seen he looks exactly like Girard. But a 2nd pairing version of him.

 

[The Kingslayer]

Maybe not this season, but maybe in a year or two I think Kaut is going to make that bumper spot his own.

Remember when they use to play Hejduk in that spot. It was simple then. Pass the puck to Tanguay or Forsberg on the right board, curl into the top of the circle and hammer it. Similar to that one goal Nathan and Mikko pulled off against the Yotes. They try that on Nathans side and it never works lol

 

[AllAboutAvs]

I would put Saad in Kadri'spot at the bumper position and move Kadri to the 2nd PP on the right wall to take one-timers like Mikko does on the 1st PP. Kadri is just not good at handling the puck on the PP especially with pressure on him.

 

[The Kingslayer]

I would put Saad in Kadri'spot at the bumper position and move Kadri to the 2nd PP on the right wall to take one-timers like Mikko does on the 1st PP. Kadri is just not good at handling the puck on the PP especially with pressure on him.

If it were upto me I would put Toews and Makar on the point and run Mack on the left, Mikko on the right and landy in front. If it were upto me.

 

[henchman21]

If it were upto me I would put Toews and Makar on the point and run Mack on the left, Mikko on the right and landy in front. If it were upto me.

What would you do if it were up to you?

 

[Avsboy]

I would put Saad in Kadri'spot at the bumper position and move Kadri to the 2nd PP on the right wall to take one-timers like Mikko does on the 1st PP. Kadri is just not good at handling the puck on the PP especially with pressure on him.

That's true, but Kadri is really effective at scoring from there.

 

[FreshFitted67]

I liked Rudo's clip of Saad in the bumper spot, he looked really active and engaged. But I think we should remember that was only one clip, from one powerplay. It's not exactly representative of Saad's play on the PP on the whole. Furthermore, Saad has only reached double digits in PPP one time in his career, with 10 in 2014-15. In comparison, Kadri has done it 6 times, scoring a career high 19PPP in 2017-18.

I think Kadri starts the season on the PP1, and if he struggles, maybe Saad gets a shot there,

It's a very positive thing to have 2 guys who can play the bumper spot though, and I think it's even more positive that Saad scores so much of his points 5on5.

 

[Foppa2118]

I think there's way too much emphasis placed on the bumper position. It's the last thing they try when the other plays aren't working. It's like debating about 4th liners.

Saad seems better suited to me for the front of the net, because he's got such good hands in tight, rather than the bumper spot which is more of a snipers role, which Kadri is better suited to.

I could see them using Saad in front of the net though and rotating Landy in and out of the bumper spot, so they can stack two big bodies in front of the goalie to take away his eyes.

This allows Landy to make deflections as well, which is something he's among the best in the league at, but got away from last year for some reason.

 

[The Kingslayer]

That's true, but Kadri is really effective at scoring from there.

Not really. I think he scored 2-3 PP goals in the regular season in that spot and same in the playoffs.

 

[Foppa Frossa]

So....Bowen Byram?

 

[Avsboy]

Byram might be lent out to Sweden in the Fall

 

[Frankie Blueberries]

Canucks fan here just curious why Byram didn't get a game in during the playoffs? You'd think at some point he would see a bit of time as a test given his pedigree and potential impact on the team.

 

[VikingAv]

Canucks fan here just curious why Byram didn't get a game in during the playoffs? You'd think at some point he would see a bit of time as a test given his pedigree and potential impact on the team.

When you're fighting for every inch, against a heavy forechecking team, in the playoffs, giving him some time "as a test" is probably not the best of ideas. It's not even a given that he'll be on the roster when the regular season starts.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Canucks fan here just curious why Byram didn't get a game in during the playoffs? You'd think at some point he would see a bit of time as a test given his pedigree and potential impact on the team.

The Avs were a team with legitimate Stanley Cup aspirations this past playoff run.


There's absolutely no way we were putting in a rookie for his very first NHL gamers in the playoffs "As a test"


It was different with Makar the year before because A) Makar was much older, and had already played through his full D+2 season, and B) The Avs didn't have the same kind of legitimate cup winning aspirations last year, they were more of a "Happy to be here" team.