Bo Byram recalled, could play on road trip

I didn’t get back home until the wee hours of this morning, from Ontario, Calif., so I was snoozing when the news came down: Bo Byram was recalled by the Colorado Avalanche hockey club, and joined the club on its flight to Pittsburgh, for the start of a three-game road trip.

THAT’S RIGHT, BABY#BoAvsBo pic.twitter.com/e7ZMQHUuN9

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) April 4, 2022

The question: Will Bo Byram play, starting with tomorrow’s game in Pittsburgh? Well, uh, we don’t know yet. The Avs did not have any media availability today, so we’ll have to wait until the morning skate tomorrow.

As most of you know, I was there in California over the weekend, covering Byram’s two games with the Colorado Eagles. Byram could have played one more game with the Eagles, but that wouldn’t have happened until this weekend. The Avs obviously thought it made more sense to call him back up now and, I would bet, see how he plays at the NHL level again.

I would bet that these games will be an audition of sorts to see if Byram can crack the top six on defense again and stay in it for the playoffs. That’s going to make for a tough choice for Jared Bednar as to who to sit, unless he wants to go with seven D for games.

Sitting Jack Johnson would be a very tough thing for the veteran, as he’s played all year and played really well most of the time. He’s big and physical, and you probably want as many of those qualities as you can have in the playoffs.

As I wrote earlier, I think Byram is going to really have to up his game from how he played in Ontario for the Eagles. It’s possible, though, that he’ll have an easier time playing at the NHL level than the AHL level. That’s sometimes the case for a lot of guys. Not that AHL players don’t have a lot of skill too, but let’s face it, there’s not as much of it as in the NHL. It can be tougher for high-skill guys to play in the kinds of games you see in the A.

I do not believe that Nazem Kadri was on the flight to Pittsburgh. Again, though, we’ll have more of an update tomorrow.