Defenseman Cale Makar left practice Saturday at the Pepsi Center after the first training camp session for undisclosed reasons, and coach Jared Bednar said he wouldn’t know if he’ll be available Sunday until the morning.
“I can’t say anything about Cale except that he was not fit to practice,… Bednar said.
As part of the NHL Return to Play plan, a team is not permitted to disclose player injury or illness information.
Makar, a Calder Trophy finalist, wasn’t on the ice or the bench for special teams’ drills after the ice was cleaned.
Makar, 21, was the Avalanche’s second-leading scorer this season with 50 points (12 goals, 38 assists) in 57 games. He missed 13 games because of separate upper-body injuries.
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Bednar lost his temper during the first session, stopping practice to let players know in a profanity-laced rant that he wasn’t happy with their lack of checking.
“I wanted to make sure that our team was getting out of the practice what our goal was,… he said. “We were a couple drills in and we were getting ready to do a 5-on-5 drill that we set up, and I wanted us to make sure that we were giving that drill with the right amount of intensity and physicality.
“Not that I didn’t like the first part of the practice, but as I was going through it I wanted to make sure that we were going to get the desired results from that drill because we only have so many days of practice to accomplish the things we want to accomplish. That was my message and they took it well. I really liked our practice.…
Matt Calvert said Bednar’s reaction was warranted.
"It's something as players we've been pushing for," he said. "We've been pushing to be at that level even before training camp started. To hear that reiterated from the coach ... it’s true. You got to hit the ground running in a situation like this, and we’re going to keep getting better every day.…