Bowen Byram's flirtation with Sweden makes sense for everyone

If the Avalanche offseason was a sitcom, it could be titled “But What About Bo?”

The interest in what comes next for Bowen Byram, the fourth overall pick of the 2019 NHL Draft and the guy who spent the first half of his return to the WHL last year appearing more bored than challenged by not making the NHL team, is sky-high as the Avalanche rolls into an offseason where major changes aren’t necessary but possible.

Anytime an organization has a talent like Byram’s waiting in the wings on the wildly cost-effective entry-level contracts, there’s a temptation to drop him into the NHL lineup sooner than later and let him take his lumps and figure it all out along the way.

Rebuilding teams, of which the Avs were one pretty recently and frequently employed this tactic, are the easiest and most common practitioners of this style of development. Now that they fancy themselves (correctly, to be fair) contenders for the Stanley Cup, making the choice to drop a teenager in your lineup is a little more difficult, especially on the blueline where players are a touch slower to develop than their forward counterparts.

With the Avalanche facing no need for major turnover on their defense, it becomes decision time. Cale Makar, Sam Girard, Erik Johnson and Ian Cole are all signed to contracts through next season already. Ryan Graves and Nikita Zadorov are restricted free agents and will of course receive qualifying offers to retain their rights (assuming they aren’t signed before then, of course).

Those were Colorado’s six regulars on defense last year. Running it back would be extremely easy. But not only is there Byram, who showed well enough during training camp to justify being brought to the Edmonton bubble where he got to work with the skills coach and other black aces on a daily basis, Conor Timmins also has shown himself ready for another challenge after a successful year in the AHL.

While Timmins can be dropped into the AHL again or used as the seventh defenseman (not a great choice), you’d think he was still a step ahead of Byram simply because he’s proven more at a higher level. But Byram’s talent is the great equalizer here as his ceiling is that of a legitimate top-pairing defenseman in the NHL. Timmins, while a very promising young player in his own right, simply doesn’t quite have the same potential.

With the AHL possible for Timmins but not for Byram due to Byram’s age and his presence on a WHL club, what’s next for Byram continues to lurk over everything Colorado does in the offseason. They can trade one of Graves or Zadorov for various reasons and let Timmins and Byram battle it out. They can trade both and turn over one-third of their defense to rookies, which would be practically unheard of for a team with dreams of winning the Stanley Cup.

Whatever they decide to do, there’s always the option of simply sending Byram back to the WHL for another year with the Vancouver Giants. In terms of development, is there much to be gained by doing so? Honestly, not really. It’s a league he has shredded when he’s been engaged and simply doesn’t challenge him enough to believe he’ll get much more than a year older from the entire experience.

But when does that WHL season even begin? The last official statement from the league on the topic said they were beginning December 4. That aligned with the expectations the NHL and AHL were also setting up. As of now, however, the NHL has begun backtracking and planting the seeds of doubt that next season will begin this calendar year at all.

The uncertainty makes it difficult for a player such as Byram to try to commit to any path at all in North America.

Enter Sweden.

On Friday, reports out of Sweden suggested Byram had been in contact with various Swedish teams as he searched for a place to play. Unlike in North America, European leagues have largely stuck to their regular schedules and are already underway.

The big catch with Byram possibly heading to Sweden is the different leagues have different rules. The SHL, the top league in Sweden, has stated that players who wish to play there must commit for the season. That means even the kids getting drafted in a couple weeks (Lucas Raymond, for example) won’t be allowed to come to North America even if their NHL teams want it.

That rule extends to players like Byram, guys looking for temporary places to play while they wait for the game back in North America to get going.

Sweden’s relegation league, the Allsvenskan, does not have these same restrictions, meaning Byram could find a gig there in the meantime. The benefit is that Byram gets to challenge himself in a tougher league than the WHL and get himself fully geared up for a run at Colorado’s roster during training camp.

Whenever that camp takes place, Byram could simply leave Sweden and heads to Colorado to get down to business. If he doesn’t make the Avs, then what? Assuming the WHL season has started by then, he’ll honor his ongoing contract in the WHL and return to the Giants. It may not be ideal but there are no truly bad options here.

With the nine-game trial balloon still possible, the Avs may opt for that route and then decide from there. This puzzle can start to find its pieces when the Avs begin actually making moves here in the next few weeks.

Until then, we’ll see you in the next episode of “But What About Bo?”