Preseason starts this month and the regular season is about a month away! With 32 days left until the regular season starts up, let’s look at a former Calgary Flames player with that number.
Since the start of August, we’re counting down the number of days left until the regular season starts up again! Everyday until the start of the season, we’ll be talking about a Calgary Flames player whose number correlates with how many days there are left.
I can’t believe it’s already September. And preseason starts in just a couple of weeks!? Where has the time gone? Last time, we talked about a player who has set some Flames records and will go down in history as one of the Flames best goaltenders in franchise history. That was Miikka Kiprusoff.
Today with 32 days left until the season starts, let’s look at #32 Paul Byron.
Related Story: 34 Days Until the Season Starts: #34 Miikka Kiprusoff
Who is Paul Byron?
Name: James Paul Byron
Birth place: Ottawa, ON, Canada
Position: LW
Shoots: Left
Birthdate: 1989-04-27
Height: 5’9” / 179 cm
Weight: 73 kg / 160 lbs
Drafted by: Buffalo Sabres, 179th Overall 2007
Stats with all NHL teams, regular season:
Stats with minor teams
Paul Byron was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in 2007, but played with his junior team, the Gatineau Olympiques of the QMJHL, for a couple years before going pro. As you can see by the stats above, he had much more success with the Olympiques the two years after being drafted.
In 2008, he helped his team with 21 goals and 32 playoff points in 19 games to a QMJHL championship and they made it all the way to the Memorial Cup as well, but they didn’t win.
He went pro the next year when he signed a three-year ELC with the Buffalo Sabres in 2009 before the season started. He spent that entire year with their farm-team, the Portland Pirates, where he had 33 points in 57 games.
The following season started with the Pirates again, but he finally got the call up to the big league and made his NHL debut on Jan. 22, 2011. During the off-season, he was traded to the Calgary Flames in a trade that sent Robyn Regehr to the Sabres.
Calgary Flames
Byron’s next two years would be similar to how his career has been going, spending a lot of time in the AHL. However in 2013-2014, he had quite an aggressive style of play which was impressive given his 5’9″ size. And of course, this impressed head coach Bob Hartley, who was known to like more aggression in his players’ styles.
Via Calgary Herald:
"If he cared [about heft], if he was on his heels, he would be like a mosquito on the windshield — he’d get slapped right and left. The size of the heart is much more important than the physical size. Here’s a guy who plays like he’s six-two, six-three. He’s not avoiding traffic. He’s buzzing, he’s fearless, he doesn’t care.That’s why we call him Mighty Mouse."
To be honest, I don’t think that nickname quite caught on, but alright Bob. That season, Byron put up 21 points in 47 games with the Flames.
The following season, the 2014-2015 season, Byron started the season on a line with Johnny Gaudreau and Joe Colborne. It’s funny, you have two wingers who are about 5’9″ and then the center with Colborne who’s 6’5″. They called that line “the tower and the two timbits”.
That line didn’t last long, but it was fun while it did.
Byron only put up 19 points in 57 games that season and he became an RFA the following season. While the Calgary Flames did offer him a qualifying offer, he filed for Salary Arbitration. And then something cool happened.
Known for his effectiveness on the penalty-kill and with his height and speed, ability for breakaways, someone made a YouTube videos of his breakaways.
Some scouts for the Montreal Canadiens saw this video and because of this, he was acquired off waivers by them. He’s been with them for two seasons now and had a career-high with them last season with 22 goals and 43 points. And an impressive +21.
Next: Throwback Thursday: Winning 13-1 Against the Sharks
He may have not gelled well with Calgary, but it’s nice to see him have success with another team.