Prospect Info: Cale Makar - D [4th Overall] Part III: Not A Prospect Edition

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Foppa2118

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I’m sure we overrate Makar here, but he’s definitely underrated on the main board.
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I don't even think we overrate Makar. I just think some haven't realized how elite he is at what he does. Even with how good he was, we never talked about Tyson Barrie the way we talk about Makar.

A 72 point pace for a 21 year old rookie defenseman is insane. After performing as well as he did stepping right into the playoffs too. There should be 0 doubts left as to how special a defenseman he is.

Add on top of that his physicality, his highly competitive nature, his clutch ability, his improving defense, and the fact he scored at a 72 point pace while leading ALL defenseman in the NHL in combined hit posts and crossbars, and we're probably looking at one of, if not the best defenseman in the entire league very soon.

There's actually a better chance Makar is under hyped than over hyped IMO. I think there's a chance he's got another level or two in him. I think he can get to 85-90 points, but if he can manage to put up 100 points in his prime he'd be an all time great. Only five defenseman have done that. Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Dennis Potvin, Al MacInnis, and the last to do it Brian Leetch in 1991-92. If any defenseman can do it in this era, it's Makar.

I would bet that if everyone (including non Avs fans) had to pick which defenseman will score the most points in the next 10 years, Makar and Dahlin probably get the most votes. That would mean either everyone is right or everyone is overrating him. In fact, I'm gonna make a rare journey to the main boards, and start a poll to find out.

Which Defenseman Will Score The Most Points In The Next 10 Years?
 

Northern Avs Fan

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I don't even think we overrate Makar. I just think some haven't realized how elite he is at what he does. Even with how good he was, we never talked about Tyson Barrie the way we talk about Makar.

A 72 point pace for a 21 year old rookie defenseman is insane. After performing as well as he did stepping right into the playoffs too. There should be 0 doubts left as to how special a defenseman he is.

Add on top of that his physicality, his highly competitive nature, his clutch ability, his improving defense, and the fact he scored at a 72 point pace while leading ALL defenseman in the NHL in combined hit posts and crossbars, and we're probably looking at one of, if not the best defenseman in the entire league very soon.

There's actually a better chance Makar is under hyped than over hyped IMO. I think there's a chance he's got another level or two in him. I think he can get to 85-90 points, but if he can manage to put up 100 points in his prime he'd be an all time great. Only five defenseman have done that. Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey, Dennis Potvin, Al MacInnis, and the last to do it Brian Leetch in 1991-92. If any defenseman can do it in this era, it's Makar.

I would bet that if everyone (including non Avs fans) had to pick which defenseman will score the most points in the next 10 years, Makar and Dahlin probably get the most votes. That would mean either everyone is right or everyone is overrating him. In fact, I'm gonna make a rare journey to the main boards, and start a poll to find out.

Which Defenseman Will Score The Most Points In The Next 10 Years?

Yeah, I don’t know how high his point totals will climb, but I think it’s safe to say he’ll have at least a couple 70+ seasons.

Honestly, the one thing that might hold him back from hitting massive totals is he’s actually committed to playing defence. He’s not great in his own end yet, but he doesn’t leak out of the zone early, or cheat down low in the O-zone. A lot of the guys that have hit big totals in the last 10 years, cheat big time for offence.

But... legit there’s no defenceman I’ve ever watched that can teleport around skaters that are right in front of him. His success is going to come down to health, how well the Avs develop him, and how much he wants it.
 

Foppa2118

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Yeah, I don’t know how high his point totals will climb, but I think it’s safe to say he’ll have at least a couple 70+ seasons.

Honestly, the one thing that might hold him back from hitting massive totals is he’s actually committed to playing defence. He’s not great in his own end yet, but he doesn’t leak out of the zone early, or cheat down low in the O-zone. A lot of the guys that have hit big totals in the last 10 years, cheat big time for offence.

But... legit there’s no defenceman I’ve ever watched that can teleport around skaters that are right in front of him. His success is going to come down to health, how well the Avs develop him, and how much he wants it.

I think he'll definitely improve defensively, but I don't think the current coaching staff (or likely any coaches the Avs would hire in the future) would let him sacrifice offense for defense.

As an organization, and especially Bednar/Pratt are always telling their defenseman to be aggressive with the puck.

I think we saw Girard take a decent sized jump in his development this year because of that, and I would imagine they'll be telling Cale his whole career to get up into the play. As if he needed to be told, but they'll keep pushing him like they did Girard.
 
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majormajor

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Yeah, I don’t know how high his point totals will climb, but I think it’s safe to say he’ll have at least a couple 70+ seasons.

Honestly, the one thing that might hold him back from hitting massive totals is he’s actually committed to playing defence. He’s not great in his own end yet, but he doesn’t leak out of the zone early, or cheat down low in the O-zone. A lot of the guys that have hit big totals in the last 10 years, cheat big time for offence.

But... legit there’s no defenceman I’ve ever watched that can teleport around skaters that are right in front of him. His success is going to come down to health, how well the Avs develop him, and how much he wants it.

Cale gets back so easily, I don't think his commitment to defence is an issue for his point totals.

The biggest things he can do to help his totals is to improve and calm down on the powerplay, and to defer less to Mackinnon at both PP and evens (as I've pointed out elsewhere his scoring rate with Mackinnon is actually lower than with the other centers). Kid needs to act like the star that he is.
 
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Northern Avs Fan

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Cale gets back so easily, I don't think his commitment to defence is an issue for his point totals.

The biggest things he can do to help his totals is to improve and calm down on the powerplay, and to defer less to Mackinnon at both PP and evens (as I've pointed out elsewhere his scoring rate with Mackinnon is actually lower than with the other centers). Kid needs to act like the star that he is.

When he decides to be the man that’s when he’s at his best, no doubt about it.

He’s still asserting himself in that regard, but I remember spamming this GIF after his two goal game in Minny haha

upload_2020-7-2_21-36-17.gif
 

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When he decides to be the man that’s when he’s at his best, no doubt about it.

He’s still asserting himself in that regard, but I remember spamming this GIF after his two goal game in Minny haha

View attachment 352272

Exactly. I think he could be Karlsson level player with better defense. Complete defenseman. We hit a jackpot with him. So lucky. (In the end!)
 

AvsCOL

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Exactly. I think he could be Karlsson level player with better defense. Complete defenseman. We hit a jackpot with him. So lucky. (In the end!)

In terms of raw physical tools, Makar has even more upside than Karlsson. His shot is better already, and his skating is absolutely on par, if not better. His hockey sense isn't where Karlsson's was, and I assume Makar is not accustomed to playing 30-35 mins a night either :laugh:

I don't know that Makar will ever need to be depended on to that extent, but in terms of offensive impact, Makar could absolutely get there. Ottawa was forced into playing him 30 minutes a night some nights, and that's ultimately what caused him to breakdown I think. Luckily the Avs will have Byram, Girard and maybe Timmins to spread the ice time around.
 

Spilot23

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What I find funny about Makar's doubters is that none of them actually watched him play more than 10 games I'm god damn sure about that. People saying that he's a liability defensively or he's comparable to Ghost come on. I mean you can give your opinion but it's hard to take them seriously when you don't even know what you're talking about. I'm 28 and have been an Avs fans since the team moved to Quebec well I was a very young but still followed the team growing up. And in my entire hockey fan life I've never seen someone what Makar does with the puck. I will admit that defensively most of his mistakes are him being out of position, bad coverage or sometimes just a little stick check that could've prevented a goal. Those are mistakes that are easily fixable IMO. I hope these doubters are ready to watch him in the playoffs and I hope Makar shut them up :D
 

Northern Avs Fan

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We have one of the 10 best defenseman on the planet (Maaaaaaybe 11th but I consider him 9th/10th) and he hasn’t even concluded his rookie season yet. Let’s not worry about others and enjoy how ridiculous we’re set up right now.

Agreed.

There seems to be a growing thought on the main board that this season was a fluke for Makar. Some Gostisbehere, Barrie, and Myers comps being thrown around.

I don’t really see it. I’m biased obviously, but he’s one of the best young defenceman I’ve ever watched. Aside from his skills, I just think he’s got a great feel for the game.
 
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Foppa2118

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What I find funny about Makar's doubters is that none of them actually watched him play more than 10 games I'm god damn sure about that. People saying that he's a liability defensively or he's comparable to Ghost come on. I mean you can give your opinion but it's hard to take them seriously when you don't even know what you're talking about. I'm 28 and have been an Avs fans since the team moved to Quebec well I was a very young but still followed the team growing up. And in my entire hockey fan life I've never seen someone what Makar does with the puck. I will admit that defensively most of his mistakes are him being out of position, bad coverage or sometimes just a little stick check that could've prevented a goal. Those are mistakes that are easily fixable IMO. I hope these doubters are ready to watch him in the playoffs and I hope Makar shut them up :D

Totally agree. I've never seen a defenseman as good with the puck as Makar in all my life either. Not even Karlsson or Doughty. He's just so dynamic that he can generate goals in all kinds of ways, and genuinely has that Forsberg unstoppable vibe to him sometimes.

That's because there are things that separate him from other speedy PMD's. He has a power element to his game when he's skating. Not as much as MacKinnon, but it's similar. Guys try to close off on him when he's flying with the puck and he just powers through the check sometimes and keeps going.

This means the typical approach to dealing with PMD's like him (physical play and big runs to get under his skin) won't work nearly as well because he'll just burn you in these situations too.

The biggest thing separating him from other PMD's though is he can finish the play. He's just a gamer you can see it. He'll shine on big stages and come up with clutch goals when the rest of the team is struggling. Other PMD's will outskate the opposition, make a dangle, and then not score. Cale puts the puck in the net because he's so dialed in mentally.

It's his strong mental approach, competitive nature, and work ethic to keep getting better, that separates him from other naturally talented defenseman.
 

Mac2Rants

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I love the Foppa style he got the reverse hit and all but skates like mack I find he had better edges tho
 

Northern Avs Fan

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Defensively he isn't exactly "reliable" right now. He has a lot of work to do in that regard.

Purely on the defensive side I’d probably rate him as a 6/10 right now.

Decent enough in coverage to not get caved in, in his own end. He is very good at zone exits, but can get better in coverage.

But, largely agree that is the area of his game that he’ll need to focus on the most. That and the power play.
 

Avsboy

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Makar improved dramatically in his defensive game this season. He's big and strong enough to muscle people around and his stick is fantastic.
 

AvsCOL

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Makar improved dramatically in his defensive game this season. He's big and strong enough to muscle people around and his stick is fantastic.

I almost think that he depends on his skating a bit too much in some instances, like he’s a little too casual in closing the gap. Not a huge knock, he’ll adjust in time for sure. His skating provides him the luxury of being a little more lax when it comes to defending, but he’ll have to learn to be a bit more aggressive on that side of things. I have no concerns there.
 
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