D-man on cusp of long and bright future in
hockey
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| Bowen Byram is a top prospect for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. |
The
17-year-old is a star offensive defenceman for the Vancouver Giants who is
ranked second among North American skaters in the final NHL Central Scouting
rankings for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft, which happens to be set for June 21 and
22 in Vancouver.
Byram, who
stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 192 pounds, had a breakout season with the Giants
finishing second in regular season team scoring with 26 goals and 45 assists
for 71 points to go with a plus-33 rating in the plus-minus department.
He tops the
Giants in post-season scoring with seven goals and 16 assists in the club’s 19
games. He has a plus-nine rating in the plus-minus department as well.
Currently,
Byram and the Giants are facing a tough challenge in the WHL Championship
series against the Prince Albert Raiders.
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| Bowen Byram has impressed as an offensive defenceman. |
The Raiders
topped the WHL regular season standings with a 54-10-2-2 record and were
rated second in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
The Giants finished second in the WHL with a 48-15-3-2 mark
and were rated sixth in the final CHL Top 10 rankings.
While the Giants face a long road in crawling back to try
and win the series, Byram is aware that his team has a rare opportunity.
If they can rally to win the WHL title, they will advance to
the Memorial Cup tournament to play for the CHL championship. The Memorial Cup
runs May 17 to 26 in Halifax, N.S.
“There are not many players that get to play in a
championship series in their career,” said Byram, who is an assistant captain
with the Giants. “Being a young guy, I definitely want to soak it all in, and I
don’t want to have any regrets at the end of the series.
“They are a good team over there, and I feel like so are we.”
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| Bowen Byram rose to star status with the Giants this season. |
The Cranbrook, B.C., product knows what is waiting for him
in the future in the professional ranks, but he wants to stay in the moment for
the present.
“I definitely have a lot to look forward to,” said Byram. “I’ve
said this all along I’m more focused on helping my team win the championship
right now and move on to the Memorial Cup.
“That is my biggest focus right now. Obviously, I have some
stuff to look forward to coming up in the later months. I’m focused on the team
right now.”
Giants head coach Michael Dyck said Byram has earned the
extra attention he has gaining for the upcoming NHL Entry Draft. The veteran
bench boss said his young rearguard possesses a real good all-around game.
“He (Byram) has obviously had a great season,” said Dyck,
who guided the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes as head coach from Nov. of 2005 to
2009. “He is an elite player.
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| Bowen Byram stood out in minor hockey. |
“He is playing against the opponents top lines. When you can
combine those two at his age, obviously he has kind of set himself apart.”
Dyck has had the rare chance to see Byram grow as a player
and person over the years as well. Byram came to Lethbridge, Alta., to play on
their top tiered teams starting at the peewee level.
Dyck, who is from Lethbridge, first coached Byram in spring
hockey before peewee along with his own son, Carson Dyck.
Michael Dyck coached Byram from that point in minor hockey
up until the blue-liner cracked the Giants as a 16-year-old rookie for the
2017-18 campaign.
The Giants hired Dyck to be the team’s new head coach before
the start of the current campaign.
“Bowen (Byram) has always been a real good player at every
level,” said Dyck. “For him to continue doing what he is doing at this level, it
is a testament to him as far as how hard he has worked to get here and
certainly what a good kid he is too.
“He is a leader at 17 for our team as well, so it kind of
reflects his character.”
Byram said he has been fortunate to have had Dyck as a coach
for an extended period of time.
“He is one of the best junior coaches in the world probably,”
said Byram. “To have him for how many ever years I’ve had him I think it is six
or seven now, he has helped me out so much.
“I definitely owe it to him to credit to where I am now.”
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| Bowen Byram, left, is skilled at reading the play on the ice. |
Byram didn’t have anything bad to say about McKee, but
believes the chemistry with the players and the coaches under Dyck and his
staff has been better.
“This year, I think the guys just really clicked with the
coaches,” said Byram. “They brought in a new system, a more defensive system
than last year, so I guess that really helped us.”
The skilled defenceman said his father, Shawn Byram, has
played a big part in helping him along in the game as well. Shawn was a forward
in the WHL from 1984 to 1988 with the Regina Pats and the Raiders and skated
mainly in the minor professional ranks from 1988 to 2003.
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| Bowen Byram tops the Giants in post-season scoring. |
Bowen said his father was the one that encouraged him to jump up into the play influencing his style to become an offensive defenceman.
“Throughout my life, he (Shawn Byram) has been a huge
influence on me obviously as a coach but also as a person,” said Bowen. “I think
we have a really good relationship.
“We’re really close. He doesn’t really push me too much
anymore like he did when he coached me. He is more just a guy that I can talk
to about certain things.”
Bowen added Shawn told him old stories of what it was like
to play for the Raiders and how loud the fans can get at the Raiders home rink
the Art Hauser Centre. When the WHL final started, Bowen said Shawn wished him
luck and has continued to be a support figure.
Overall, the younger Byram has enjoyed his 17-year-old
campaign with the Giants and plans to do what he can to keep adding a few more
good memories.
“It has been fun,” said Byram. “Whenever you are on a team
that has a good year and is successful, it always makes it easier on yourself
as a player.
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| Bowen Byram wants to make more special memories with the Giants. |
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