Bo Byram donned a regular practice jersey in Monday’s morning skate at Ball Arena as the Avalanche rookie closes in on a possible return to the lineup.
Byram, the first defenseman selected in the 2019 draft (fourth overall), hasn’t played since Jan. 10 because of lingering concussion-related issues. He had at least two concussions in 2021 and has been shut down three times this season because of lingering symptoms.
Technically, he remains on personal leave with the Avs though he is practicing with the club. He will not play in Monday’s game against visiting Edmonton.
“Moving in the right direction but I still don’t have a new update besides that,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of Byram, who switched from a red non-contact jersey to a black one for defensemen. “It means that he went from red to black. Now he’s taking contact in all situations. So red, it was ‘Be careful around Bo, he’s only taking contact in the drills that he wants to take contact in.’ Now he’s taking it in all drills.”
Bednar said he’s going with the same lineup from Friday’s 5-3 victory at San Jose. Avs winger Andre Burakovsky, 27, will appear in his 500th career NHL regular-season game.
“Time is flying,” Burakovsky said. “Definitely, it feels like it was yesterday when I came to the league. I’ve always been kind of the young guy in the team and it’s always been like that. Now, eight years in and 500 games, it’s been going quick. It’s fun.”
