Penton: Avalanche ride Makar to Stanley Cup
By Bruce Penton
When you’re being compared to Bobby Orr, you know you’re special. When Paul Coffey is used as a comparable player, maybe, just maybe, you’re pretty good.
Cale Makar — you’re pretty good.
The 23-year-old whiz from Calgary, who had an unconventional route to the National Hockey League, is on top of the sporting world today after leading the Colorado Avalanche to the Stanley Cup, beating Tampa Bay 4-2 to deny the Lightning three-straight Cups. That he was voted the winner of the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoffs’ most valuable player was about as surprising as …. well, about as surprising as him being voted the winner of the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman.
A neophyte hockey fan would have no trouble recognizing Makar as one of the best players on the ice. His skating speed and ability to handle the puck at high speed is McDavid-like. He’s a near blur when he winds up his own end, Orr-like, and TSN’s archives could easily put together a top-10 list of memorable Makar moves. He anchors the Avalanche powerplay and it’s almost unfair for opposing teams to have to try to defend Makar and equally sensational forward Nathan McKinnon at the same time.
When the Avalanche chose Makar fourth in the first round of the 2017 draft, a few eyebrows were raised because Makar had spent his junior days playing for Brooks Bandits of the Alberta Junior Hockey League. A standard route for a star player usually goes through the Canadian Hockey League, but Makar wanted to maintain his eligibility for a U.S. college team, so he stayed in the secondary AJHL. After two years with Brooks, Makar went to the University of Massachusetts for two years, winning the prestigious Hobey Baker award as the top college player in Year 2. He joined the Avalanche in the post-season in 2019 and was an immediate hit, racking up six points in 10 games. His ascent since has been spectacular — averaging more than a point a game in his career, including 86 in 77 games this season.
“I don’t think I’ve seen a focus in a younger player like him in my whole career,” said his veteran team-mate, Andrew Cogliano. “ . . . How he approaches the game, how he prepares.”
Voting results for the Conn Smnythe weren’t disclosed, but it must have been close to unanimous. Makar led all defensemen in post-season points with 29, and was third overall behind Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
Makar may have to add a room to his house to handle all the silverware he’s bound to win before his career comes to a close. He already has a Calder trophy for rookie-of-the-year, a Norris trophy, a Conn Smythe and a Stanley Cup.
And probably much more to come.
• Columnist Cathal Kelly in the Toronto Globe and Mail, on the LIV golf tour: “In the same way that I am not interested in going to a concert featuring Keith Richards’s guitar tech, I’m not that stoked about watching Chase (brother of Brooks) Koepka play golf.”
• Tod Leonard of Golf Digest, on U.S. Open winner Matt Fitzpatrick’s appearance: “Bluntly, Matt Fitzpatrick’s slight, seemingly unathletic frame would tend to identify him as an underdog in a pillow fight with your 15-year-old.”
• World No. 1 golfer Scottie Scheffler, via Golf.com reporter Claire Rogers: “I don’t know how much money I’ve made this year, but it’s definitely more than I deserve for whacking a little golf ball around.”
• Bob Molinaro of pilotonline.com (Hampton, Va.): “Let’s wait until Thanksgiving before hazarding a guess as to whether Rob Gronkowski is retired for real or still taking calls from Tom Brady.”
• Comedy writer Alex Kaseberg: “Rob ‘Gronk’ Gronkowski has retired from the NFL for the second time. When asked if he retired due to his many concussions, Gronk said,No, I just feel it is time to stop. And also, I just feel it is time to stop.’”
• Dwight Perry of the Seattle Times: “The Mariners won a game 2-1 in Oakland on two wild pitches with two outs in the ninth inning — both with Abraham Toro up to bat. Sounds like this calls for a postgame trip to Dairy Queen!”
• Larry Stone of The Seattle Times, via Twitter, after the listless Mariners plummeted 10 games below .500: “Let’s see if the Mariners can hit with fans in snoring position.”
• Comedian Kenan Thompson, hosting the NHL Awards show, after Auston Matthews was announced as league MVP: “Congrats ... it’s nice to see the Leafs winning something in June.”
• Another one from Kenan Thompson: “No fighting tonight. This is the NHL awards. Not the Oscars.”
• Greg Cote of the Miami Herald, on the Florida Panthers dumping coach Andrew Brunette in favour of Paul Maurice: “Cats swap coach-of-year finalist for guy No. 1 in career losses.”
Care to comment? Email brucepenton2003@yahoo.ca