Girard and Makar: Catch them if you can

Thirteen years ago, Erik Johnson was the prototypical NHL defenseman prospect.

He was 18 and selected first overall in the 2006 NHL draft. In his mid-20s, he became an all-star for the Avalanche and solidified himself as an “elite” blueliner.

Elite has changed shape since then, and the development curve is much shorter. Elite doesn’t necessarily mean you’re 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds like Johnson, or that you have to wait until after your 21st birthday.

The Avs are rich in this new defensive paradigm, and Johnson has a front-row seat to it. He’s now a secondpairing defenseman, playing behind the Avs’ top pair of left-shooting Sam Girard, 21, and right-shooting Cale Makar, 20.

Skilled, mobile and elusive, Girard and Makar are proving that size and physicality don’t matter like they used to. Girard is 5-10 and 170 pounds, and Makar goes 5-11, 187.

“I haven’t seen either one get stapled too many times,” said Johnson, who was paired with Girard last season, before Makar joined Colorado in the playoffs. “I’m sure there’ll be times we’ll have to step in for them. But if they have the puck the whole time, it’s going to be tough for those guys to be licked on. I’m sure guys will be looking to put licks on them but they’re so quick and elusive — they’re tough to hit. I’m not too worried about it.”

TSN insider Bob Mckenzie agrees.

“Girard-makar is the quintessential new-age defensive pairing — all mobility, puck-moving and the constant threat of dynamic offense,” Mckenzie wrote in a text message. “And yet because the St. Louis Blues just won the Cup with a big, physical but mobile blueline, there are still reservations from some that a Dcorps dominated by smaller skaters and puck movers can prevail when it matters most — one of the many reasons why it will be fascinating to see this exciting duo for the Avs this season.”

Makar quarterbacks the No. 1 power play for Colorado and Girard runs the second. Johnson is no longer playing in man-advantage situations, but he is still a valuable commodity with his penalty-killing skills.

Avs coach Jared Bednar believes an undersized elite pairing can prevail, and he fully intends to slot Girard and Makar against the opponent’s top line at even strength. And if you take liberties with Colorado’s two smallest defensemen, look for Johnson and his D-partner — 6-foot-6, 235-pound Nikita Zadorov — to come after you.

Zadorov typically played with Tyson Barrie last season, giving the Avs a heavy presence on the top two pairings before Makar arrived. Barrie was traded in the offseason and Bednar came up with the Zadorovjohnson pairing to follow Girard-makar.

“I don’t really care or think about that,” Girard said about playing with a young D-partner not much bigger than him. “EJ, yeah, he’s a big guy. He can play physical and he’s a complete defenseman. But me and Cale, if we use our speed I don’t think people can catch us. We’re just going to have to use our skill on the ice.”

Bednar first put Girard and Makar together for Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal series against San Jose last spring. The series went the distance and Girard and Makar remained together. Bednar again wants his undersized pairing to log maximum minutes on his blue line because they promote so much possession and clean breakouts.

“They play like seasonedveteran guys and their skating ability and puck-moving ability and intelligence separates themselves from the pack,” Bednar said. “They both have the ability to help us on the offensive side which really helps in a lot of different scenarios, and we have some other pairs that can do more of the heavy lifting on the defensive side.

“But I certainly think those guys are capable of playing against other teams’ top lines every night and they proved it last year in the playoffs. The larger player is generally still a highly sought-after guy, but when you’re talking about Girard and Makar I think you’re talking about elite in what they do. Certainly, size doesn’t make as big of a difference as long as you’re able to defend and do all the things you need to do as a modern NHL defenseman.”

The Avs have another young and exciting pairing down the road, but the rightshooting Conor Timmins, 21, and lefty Bo Byram, 18, won’t play together with the Avs until next season or beyond.

Byram, the first defenseman selected in the 2019 draft (No. 4 overall), was returned to his junior team this week. Timmins remains with the Avs but might begin the season in the American Hockey League after missing all of last season with concussion-like symptoms.

But make no mistake, the Avs are stocked with hockey’s new-age defensive pairing.

Mike Chambers: mchambers @denverpost.com or @mikechambers