Cale Makar labeled himself as a bit of a worrier Friday morning, so it would have been natural for him to have some concern about his availability for opening night.
The Avalanche star had spent the entire offseason rehabbing a lower-body injury, and the first week-plus of training camp happened without him. But Makar was able to practice with his teammates for the first time Friday, and both he and his coach offered a positive assessment.
“Over the summer, I’ve done everything I can to put myself in the best spot possible. I feel confident right now, and I’m going to be working towards (opening night),” Makar said. “Just trying to stack good days here.”
Makar had been on the ice the three previous days on his own, but he’s spent most of camp watching practice sessions from above the ice at Family Sports Center with members of the club’s front office. He was a full participant Friday, working in drills and quarterbacking the top power-play unit.
Makar said he’d like to play in one of the team’s final three exhibition games, noting that he thinks about missing the entire 2021 preseason because of a hand injury and how it took a couple of games to get his timing and pace back.
The Avs have a home exhibition game Sunday against the Stars, and trips to Dallas (Tuesday) and Vegas (Thursday) to complete their preseason slate.
“He’s doing good,” Bednar said. “If things go smoothly, I kind of expect him to be able to stay with our group now. Hopefully we can get him into some exhibition games.”
Makar did express some frustration with the entire process. It’s understandable after he had to grind through a 2022-23 season filled with various injury issues.
The 2022 Norris Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy winner still had a fabulous season by most players’ standards. He finished with 17 goals and 66 points despite missing 22 games and finished third in the Norris voting.
This past offseason was a new experience for him, though.
“This was the first summer where I was basically rehabbing an injury the entire time,” Makar said. “It’s definitely a mental battle. Every day you wake up and there’s certain things you can’t do, and you’re kind of doing the same things and working towards doing other things.”
Makar had said previously that he wanted to be 100% before he started practicing. It doesn’t sound like he is, but there’s been enough progress to take this next step.
“I’m getting there. It’s tough,” Makar said. “Stuff like this, the more you work on it, the better it’s going to get. I’m hoping with more ice, it will start getting smoother. It’s just been a long process. Stuff never really gets worse, but it hasn’t gotten much better. It’s just kind of stayed in that same spot, but I’m confident that it can continue to hold up.”
Footnotes: Defenseman Bo Byram did not practice Friday. Bednar said he wasn’t feeling well. A pair of guys on tryout contracts were also missing. The Avs have offered Peter Holland a chance to join Colorado Eagles camp, and are giving him a couple of days to decide whether he wants to report to Loveland on Monday or be released from his PTO. Brandon Kozun is dealing with a lower-body injury, but remains on the NHL camp roster.
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