In the British Columbia Junior Hockey League in the 2001-02 and 2002-03 seasons, Coquitlam Express winger David Jones and Victoria Salsa defenseman Ryan O’Byrne had some fierce matchups. Later, their collegiate careers overlapped for two seasons, when Jones was at Dartmouth and O’Byrne at Cornell, and it wasn’t considered at all strange that the two Western Canadian players ended up at Ivy League schools playing hockey in the Eastern College Athletic Conference.
“Schools like Cornell and Dartmouth recruit pretty heavily out there,” O’Byrne recalled the other day. “Cornell seemed like a good fit for me — a good school, a good hockey program also, and I have only great things to say about that school.”
Jones and O’Byrne have been Avalanche teammates for four games now, in the wake of the Nov. 11 trade that brought in O’Byrne from the Montreal Canadiens. Their fifth game in the same uniform will be tonight, against the New York Rangers at the Pepsi Center.
Their other similarity is that Jones and O’Byrne turned pro after their junior years and haven’t obtained their degrees.
“I’m a year off completely,” O’Byrne said. “I’m going to try to take some courses here and there to chip away at it. I’ve got to go back to Cornell eventually if I want to finish it, and we’ll see if that happens.”
When the Avalanche acquired O’Byrne for the rights to forward Michael Bournival, a highly touted prospect, Colorado general manager Greg Sherman emphasized that the trade wasn’t made just to add a body during an injury siege. He said O’Byrne would fit in the Avs’ plans, in part because he added much-needed size on the blue line (6-feet-5, 228 pounds). O’Byrne is making $1.4 million this season and can be a restricted free agent July 1.
A week after his arrival, the Avalanche’s defensive corps is becoming healthy, leaving him as part of a logjam on the blue line. But he seems to have secured a spot in the nightly lineup, at least for the foreseeable future. O’Byrne has gotten more than 20 minutes of ice time in two of his four games, and he is a plus-4 for Colorado.
Since the trade, the picture on defense has changed considerably. The Avalanche has sent David Liffiton and Colby Cohen back to Lake Erie, and Adam Foote (concussion) and Ryan Wilson (leg) have made it into the lineup. Kyle Quincey is on the verge of returning, too, and Kyle Cumiskey remains out with a concussion. Jonas Holos, who has had a solid rookie season, has been the healthy scratch the past two games.
“I talked to Greg Sherman and Joe (Sacco) right away, and they said they had been watching me for a couple of years,” O’Byrne said. “Joe saw me play in (AHL) Hamilton a bit and knows the player I can be. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out in Montreal for me, and I’m looking for that fresh start and to become that player I can be.”
Terry Frei: 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com
New York Rangers at Colorado
7 p.m. tonight, ALT, 950 AM
Spotlight on Brandon Dubinsky: An Alaska native and former Portland Winter Hawks teammate of the Avalanche’s Cody McLeod, Dubinsky has 11 goals in 19 games for the Rangers and seems on the way to a breakout season. He was the 60th choice of the 2004 draft.
Rangers: New York had won three in a row before a 3-2 loss to Boston at home Wednesday. . . . Former Avalanche winger Chris Drury, the Rangers’ captain who has played only one game this season, remains out with a broken finger. He began skating on his own Wednesday and is expected to be out another two to three weeks. . . . The Rangers dropped a 3-1 decision to the Avalanche at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 18.
Avalanche: Although the Avalanche didn’t announce it, the American Hockey League transactions log Thursday indicated that Colorado sent veteran goalie John Grahame back to Lake Erie, signifying that Craig Anderson will be activated in the wake of his recovery from a minor knee injury and at least serve as Peter Budaj’s backup tonight, or perhaps even start. . . . After Colorado beat San Jose 4-3 in overtime Wednesday, coach Joe Sacco canceled Thursday’s practice. . . . One ominous aspect in that victory: the defensive pairing of Ryan Wilson and Adam Foote, who both recently returned to the lineup after injuries, was on the ice for all three Sharks goals, all at even-strength. Sacco said of the tandem: “Willie just got himself back into the lineup here, for two games now. Sometimes, it takes a while to get the timing going. And Footie has been a great leader since I’ve been here. He’s done a great job with our young guys and plays hard every time he’s on the ice. Sometimes the bounces aren’t going to go your way.”
Adrian Dater and Terry Frei, The Denver Post
