PITTSBURGH — Upon waking up in a Nashville hotel on Jan. 11, Bo Byram remembers having three feelings, none of them good.
The Avalanche rookie defenseman had no energy. He had no appetite. And he couldn’t play hockey.
“It was brutal, to be honest with you,” Byram told The Post on Tuesday after the Avs’ morning skate at PPG Paints Arena.
Nearly three months after telling the Avs he couldn’t fathom playing, Byram will attempt his third NHL comeback this season from concussion-related issues when Colorado plays Pittsburgh Tuesday evening.
“To finally be feeling like myself again, it’s a huge breath of fresh air,” said Byram, the first defensemen selected in the 2019 draft (fourth overall). “Sometimes, when you’re in it, it doesn’t feel like you’re ever going to get out of it — you’re never going to see the other side of it.
“But everyone has been great with me — the team, the players, the guys, my family. Everyone has been super supportive and giving me everything I need to get better.”
Byram, 20, is coming off a two-game AHL conditioning stint with the Colorado Eagles after practicing with the Avs for weeks while technically still on personal leave. He was placed on personal leave Jan. 12 and said he had concussion symptoms for more than a month afterward.
He thought about remaining on paid personal leave through the rest of the season and attempting a comeback next season.
“That crossed my mind,” Byram said. “But my mindset, once I got into it, was, if I’m good enough to play, it doesn’t make sense not to play. That’s where that decision came from. I know there’s a lot of people thinking I shouldn’t play or whatever, but to be quite honest, I feel lost not playing hockey. I’d rather be playing again and be at risk than be in the stands watching.”
“Cross your fingers and hope for the best” … Jared Bednar on D Bo Byram’s third return this season from concussion issues #Avs pic.twitter.com/4Wtg2Wq49P
— Mike Chambers (@MikeChambers) April 5, 2022
Going back to Nashville, Byram said he felt fine when he went to bed early in the morning on Jan. 11, hours after Colorado’s 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken in Denver. He logged 20:20 and played well in that game.
And then everything changed.
“It’s kind of a blur now. I really don’t remember how it all went down. I just remember waking up in Nashville and being like, ‘I can’t play tonight.’ That’s to be completely honest. That’s all I remember,” he said.
But he was having symptoms before flying to Nashville, and seemingly wasn’t transparent with himself or the team. He missed six games from Nov. 13-26 and eight games from Dec. 2-16.
“For a couple months there, it feels like a real blur, coming in and out of the lineup, feeling good, not feeling good. Really frustrating, honestly,” he said. “I just want to play hockey. That’s what I do. That’s my job.”
But after what happened in Nashville, Byram knew he had to take a giant step back. He said he began to feel like himself “a month or so ago.”
“Last couple weeks is when I really, really felt good on the ice. I felt like, there’s only one way to find out if you’re ready to play and that’s jump into it. So I did that in the American League,” he said. “First game, I felt really good, had my legs. Second game I felt a little more tired but I expected that. I was happy with how it went there and now I’m back here and I’m excited and ready to play.”
Byram understands that overcoming fears of re-occurring symptoms will be difficult.
“I feel like it will always be in the back of my mind, missing that much time, feeling that brutal for so long,” he said. “I have to pile some days together, pile games together where I’m feeling good, playing good, and the confidence will come with that. I’m confident in myself right now. I’m confident I can play hockey and play at a high level.”
Footnotes. Kurtis MacDermid signed a two-year contract extension with the Avs, the club announced Tuesday. The deal carries an annual cap hit of $987,500, per a source. MacDermid, a natural defenseman who has also played forward with the Avs, is preparing to play on the fourth line against the Penguins because of Byram’s return and the non-COVID illnesses of forwards Alex Newhook and Valeri Nichushkin….Darcy Kuemper will start in goal. … Defenseman Sam Girard, who is approaching a month-long absence to treat a back injury, was a full participant in the morning skate. He might rejoin the lineup Friday at Winnipeg. Edmonton.
