Five Burning Questions: Avs’ Cale Makar on quick transition to NHL
Jul 3, 2019, 6:00 AM
The Colorado Avalanche thus far this offseason have made a flurry of moves, including acquiring forward Nazem Kadri and defenseman Calle Rosen from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Alexander Kerfoot and defenseman Tyson Barrie.
The Avs felt comfortable with moving on the fan-favorite Barrie much in part due to the emergence of Cale Makar, who made his debut with the team during Stanley Cup Playoffs in April, just two days removed from a loss in the national championship game while at UMass.
Last week, 104.3 The Fan producer Kendall Valenzuela sat down with the budding Avs defense to grill him on his quick transition from college to the NHL, among other things.
Kendall Valenzuela: Were you as annoyed with Drake as we were at 104.3 The Fan during the NBA Finals?
Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar: I’m not a super big NBA fan, but you obviously have got to jump on the Toronto bandwagon. So, it’s cool to see that he’s supporting the team and everything. But, yeah, he can definitely be quite a bit to handle some times.
Valenzuela: Starbucks or Tim Hortons?
Makar: Tim Hortons
Valenzuela: What moment was better, winning the Hobey Baker Award or scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?
Makar: Oh boy. That’s tough. They’re both individual things. I’m not much of an individual guy. But, scoring was, obviously, very cool, but to be recognized for Hobey Baker was pretty special as well.
Valenzuela: What’s the best nickname or joke you’ve heard from people using your name?
Makar: I saw people bringing actual things of kale to the Avs games this year, so I’ve never seen that before. And then, some of the guys called me Kale Juice or Kale Caesar on the team. But, those are kind of the only nicknames.
Valenzuela: What was the more disappointing loss, your loss in the NCAA national championship at UMass or the loss in the second round of the playoffs with the Avalanche?
Makar: I think, for me, definitely the UMass loss in the national championship game. You play a whole year with a team and you’re so close with all the guys, and it’s just devastating when you go all that way and you don’t get it. But, obviously, I was near to this team, and you could see how hurt some of those guys were. But, hopefully, I can be a part of it for all of next year.
