S R A T S G N I RRIISSING STARS CALGARY HOCKEY MAGAZINE PAST FEATURED PLAYERS SHOW THEIR TALENT By Jeremy Freeborn Over the last decade, I have had the unbelievable privilege and honour of working for the Calgary Hockey Magazine. One of the perks of the position is the opportunity to interview rising stars from Calgary at the junior hockey level. We try to feature the players before they make the big time.
Cale Makar
In the summer of 2017, I caught up with Cale Makar, the offensiveminded phenom defenseman who was practicing with Team Canada for the World Junior Summer Showcase tournament in Plymouth, Michigan. Makar had just been drafted in the first round, fourth overall, by the Avalanche, and his name was just becoming known. The mild obscurity was because of the path Makar chose to success. He bypassed the Western Hockey League and instead played with the Brooks Bandits in the Alberta Junior Hockey League.
photo by Michael Martin colorado avalanche
After two years at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Makar made his NHL debut with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.His first NHL game came against the Calgary Flames on April 15, 2019, in game three of the first round. Makar was an instant difference maker. With the Avalanche leading 2-0 in the game, Makar scored the game winning goal from Nathan MacKinnon and Alexander Kerfoot at 16:02 of the first period. The Avalanche smoked the Flames 6-2 and won the series four games to one. In 2019-20, Makar played his first full season for Colorado. In a year with talented rookies, Makar beat out Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and Chicago Blackhawks forward Dominik Kuablik to win the Calder Trophy. In a neat moment, it was Wayne Gretzky, who controversially never won the Calder Trophy in his prestigious NHL career, who announced virtually that Makar was the 2020 Calder Trophy recipient. In 57 games in 2019-20, Makar had 12 goals and 38 assists for 50 points. He was also a +12 with 12 penalty minutes, 19 power play points, four game winning goals, 121 shots on goal, 47 blocked shots, 45 hits, 34 takeaways and 40 giveaways. Furthermore, Makar finished ninth in Norris Trophy voting. So far in 2020-21, Makar, like Point, is averaging close to a point per game. He has one goal and 13 assists for 14 points.
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