"It's not easy": First preseason action proves humbling for rising Avalanche star

When Bowen Byram made his unofficial Avalanche debut in the first game of the Anaheim Rookie Faceoff, it all seemed so easy for him.

He registered two assists and generally dominated most of his shifts in a breezy 5-2 win over Vegas. Everyone more or less had the same thoughts following that performance – that sure looked easy.

Things got tougher for Byram from there, however, as he went through the rigors of training camp and into tonight’s game against the Golden Knights to open the preseason.

“I think just how fast the game is,” Byram reflected on what he noticed the most about his first game. “There’s a lot of good players on the ice. It’s not easy. I think the team played pretty well throughout the game.”

Colorado’s 5-0 loss began with Byram putting the puck in his own net as he tried to chip it away from Valentin Zykov. Instead, he deflected it past a surprised Adam Werner to make it 1-0.

That mistake was the lowlight of a rough first period for Byram but he got better as the game progressed and his offensive instincts were on display more and more throughout, mirroring the way he felt about his game at the start of training camp.

“I think I got better every day throughout camp,” Byram said. “I’ve just got to take positives and negatives away from this game and improving into the next and just trying to get better every day.”

After playing a game-high 24:50, Byram now has a baseline on NHL ice to begin working from. With that experience should come the improvement he so frequently talks about.

“There’s a lot more NHL-caliber players on the ice,” said of his first preseason action. “It’s definitely a lot more tough but it’s fun, fast hockey. It’s fun to play in. But like I said, I’ve got to adjust and keep moving forward.”

The old hockey cliche of “play your game” is what Byram looked to lean on in his first game. It didn’t always work out for him as there were a few miscues beyond the own-goal, including a passive approach in defending his blue line at times.

At this point in Byram’s nascent career, mistakes are just opportunities for learning. That largely appears to be his approach at this point, a positive sign for a young defenseman trying to accomplish the rare feat of playing in the NHL as an 18-year-old.

“Play the way I play, move pucks quickly, get back to pucks, play tight defensively,” Byram said of his goals going into tonight’s game. “I think that was what I was focused on going into it. I feel like I did a decent job. Obviously, coming away from it, I think that’s not what you want and gotta learn from it and move forward.”

Move forward he and the Avalanche both will. But tonight sure was a good reminder of one thing: This isn’t easy.

TAKEAWAYS

• This was an ugly hockey game. Welcome to the preseason! It had to be a frustrating evaluation for the coaching staff because every step forward was met with a step back from all of the key players.
• Shaking off the rust of his long layoff, Conor Timmins continues to be a work in progress in getting his timing back. Tonight was his first game back in a big arena with all the bright lights. According to him, no setbacks and no issues.
• Timmins’s actual performance varied quite a bit. It was poor early on but he got stronger as the game wore on. His confidence activating from the back end has to be exciting for a coaching staff that badly wants its defenders to be more aggressive on the offensive side of the puck.
• Byram was the only player for the Avs to hit 20 minutes tonight. Next closest was A.J. Greer at 19:49.
• Given he was cut and sent back to the QMJHL postgame, I feel awful Alex Beaucage’s only preseason game with the Avalanche went as poorly as it did. He could have had three breakaways had things gone better for him but he botched two perfect outlet passes (the third just missed him completely). It was a rough outing for the kid.
• Given the number of defensemen on the ice tonight vying for NHL jobs (Timmins, Byram, Barberio, Graves), this unit’s overall lackluster performance was nothing short of disappointing.
• Graves especially seemed to struggle at times with making good decisions with the puck.
• Vladislav Kamenev had a strong training camp but after taking two huge hits early in the game, it seemed to take him out of the game. His level of engagement has consistently been Bednar’s biggest concern with him and seeing that tonight was not encouraging. He needs to be able to take contact and stay on top of his game.
• Martin Kaut and Tyson Jost were probably Colorado’s two best forwards for me tonight. They each had success generating scoring chances but neither could find the net.
• Kaut did have one peculiar moment when Colorado has a two-minute five on three power play where he was supposed to be manning the point but randomly skated towards the center of the ice before eventually returning to his spot. An odd moment.
• Luka Burzan and Sasha Mutala joined Beaucage in being sent back to juniors following the game. Sasha Larocque was also cut postgame and is headed to the Colorado Eagles.