Giants blue-liner Bowen Byram drawing attention with strong second half
Bowen Byram is giving talent evaluators a reason to stand witness.
The Vancouver Giants blue-liner, recently billed as NHL Central Scouting’s No. 2 North American skater ahead of the 2019 draft, is putting together a postseason performance that has created separation in the rankings, given his exceptional ability to raise his game when it matters most.
Through 14 appearances this spring, Byram has collected 16 points, a total that not only leads all Western Hockey League defencemen, but is also just one shy of teammate Davis Koch for the overall league lead. Through it all, Byram’s best showing may have come in the second round when he collected a goal and four assists in a sweep of the rival Victoria Royals. It all comes from his innate ability to consistently draw offense from the back end, a continuation of his incredible regular-season play when he exploded for 71 points, a total outpaced by only two WHL defenders, while his 26 goals led all Canadian Hockey League blue-liners.
It’s that type of play that has helped the Giants reel off a 11-3 record through the postseason, with the team now just one win away from advancing to the WHL Final and a chance to compete for the Ed Chynoweth Cup for the first time since 2010.
“This kid gets it. Everything about Byram tells that story,” NHL Central Scouting director Dan Marr told Sportsnet’s Starting Lineup. “He stepped into the league (with the Giants) and he helped take that team to the level that it’s at now. He’s a pretty complete package in that he can make plays in all zones, under pressure, in traffic, and from the blue line to the goal line, which is not something that a lot of defencemen can hone their craft at.”
130 #CHL players listed by @NHLCentralScout in Final Rankings for the 2019 #NHLDraft.
Defenceman Bowen Byram leads the way at number two in North America.
FULL LIST: https://t.co/XtXgOfnhUD pic.twitter.com/NT59SppsU3
— CanadianHockeyLeague (@CHLHockey) April 15, 2019
Byram’s rise up the draft ranks is illustrated by a dominant second half, beginning in mid-January when he put up five points in a single game to set a Giants franchise record. In all, it parlayed into a strong second-half showing where Byram picked up 17 goals and 26 assists in the 33 games after the calendar turned to 2019, a stretch that included at least one point in nine of the final 10 games to close out the regular season.
At the midterm, Byram ranked fourth among North American skaters, as his final evaluation sees him leapfrog WHL competitors in Kirby Dach (Saskatoon Blades) and Dylan Cozens (Lethbridge Hurricanes), who dropped one and two spots, respectively. Byram also has a healthy lead on the next best defenceman, with Mississauga Steelheads rearguard Thomas Harley coming in at 11th.
“He steps up to whatever the situation calls for,” Marr continued. “If you need someone to get in somebody’s face, he’s there. If you need a goal in overtime, he’s there. If you need to defend the lead, he’s there. So he has shown us that he is somebody who you can build a team around and somebody who is the best at his position in this draft class … If you talk to a lot of coaches, they want high character and low maintenance players, and I’m pretty sure Byram is going to deliver on that.”