Bo Byram has already been through this process enough to study the proverbial tape and correct mistakes.
For example: forgetting his hockey gear. Last season, he was set to return after missing 85 days with a concussion. His first game back would be the Avalanche’s trip to Pittsburgh. Byram’s luggage was not on the team flight.
“Hopefully I don’t make that mistake again,” he said.
Byram is back again — this time from a lower-body injury and a 95-day absence — and his return to the ice will coincidentally be in Pittsburgh again. He’s joining the Avalanche (27-18-3) for their first game back from the NHL All-Star break Tuesday (5 p.m. MT).
In Colorado’s season-long crusade to regain health, Byram is one of the most crucial puzzle pieces. The 21-year-old is a top-four defenseman who dominated in the playoffs last year and whose offensive skillset can instantly replenish Colorado’s power play depth. Coach Jared Bednar plans to use him in normal minutes: “I’d kind of just rather jump right into it,” Byram said. “I’m 100%, so no reason to ease into it.”
He missed 38 games during an absence that was initially deemed week-to-week by Bednar. Byram had started the season with two goals and three assists in 10 games.
But he suddenly was scratched from the lineup minutes before Colorado’s second NHL Global Series game Nov. 5 in Finland.
“I thought I was going to play that night still, and then I just got on the ice for warmups and things started to seize up a bit,” Byram said. “I didn’t really have any intuition on how long I was going to be out.”
Byram made light of the unfortunate injury history he has faced, saying with a laugh: “It’s going to be tough (returning), but I’ve done it before. So I’m confident with jumping back in.” But the past three months have been far different and far less arduous than his past recoveries.
Concussions had a troubling effect on him in recent years, causing him to spend time away from the team while resting. But this time, Byram was able to remain around hockey and around his teammates. He could often be seen joking or smiling at practice, even well before he got on the ice.
“I was just happy it wasn’t my head,” he said. “It was a lot easier to be out when you’re still feeling good and feel like yourself. A limb is kind of whatever.”
He doesn’t think anything went wrong to cause the extended timeline; it was just a “finicky” injury, as he described it. In recent weeks, Byram started skating in a non-contact jersey. He said he felt ready to play going into the break, but he and the Avalanche decided to utilize the extra week off.
“Honestly just clicked for me one day. Kind of hard to describe. I was skating for a bit, and just kind of going through the motions, and then one day I was just trying to do stuff and was just like, ‘Wow, this feels good,’” Byram said. “So kind of hard to explain. I mean, there’s little hiccups along the way once you’re 100% as well, but I’ve probably felt good for a week or so now. Like I could be playing. Just wanted to make sure that I really took my time. I didn’t want this thing nagging me for the rest of the way.”
Nichushkin in, Manson out
Valeri Nichushkin is also set to play for the Avalanche on the upcoming three-game road trip. He missed the past two games before the break with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Josh Manson (lower body), who is likely to pair with Byram once back, will travel with the team this week but not play in the games.
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