“Oh he’s unbelievable! He’s just an incredible hockey player — he’s totally gifted,” is how power skating coach Pat Puddifant describes Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar.
Puddifant, who runs Blades Skate Shop, has known the Calgary native since he was just eight years old and playing hockey at the Crowchild Twin Arena in northwest Calgary.
The past season saw Makar claim the James Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenceman as well as the 2022 playoff MVP Conn Smythe Trophy and hoist the Stanley Cup on Sunday night.
Puddifant says it’s no surprise Cale has become one of the NHL’s elite just three seasons in the league, knowing what type of player Makar was growing up to be all those years ago.
“He was a pretty good skater as a younger guy and he always saw the game very well,” said Puddifant.
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“He was just small at a younger age and then he just carried on with his development and then once his development got even better he finally grew into his body and now we see what we see.”
At just 23 years old, Makar has accomplished almost everything a defenceman can since taking to the ice for his first shift during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Calgary Flames.
Makar’s journey to the NHL has gone through several stops, including the University of Massachusetts in the NCAA (UMass Minutemen) and the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) Brooks Bandits.
It was in the Alberta town of Brooks where he would make an immediate impact, helping lead the team to two AJHL championships on the way to earning CJHL player of the year award.
“He was special then and we all knew it,” says Brooks Bandits play-by-play announcer Nathan Crosby.
“It’s great now that everyone’s getting to see just how special a player Cale is.”
Makar hasn’t laced up for the Bandits since 2017. His name, however, his name continues to help put the Bandits on the map, Crosby says.
“The recognition we get when Cale plays and on the broadcast there will be at some point a mention of Brooks and the Bandits, so not only is it great publicity for our team, but also our community of Brooks,” he says.
“We’re very proud of him.”
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