When the Canadiens claimed Paul Byron off waivers from the Calgary Flames the day before the 2015-16 NHL season started, he couldn’t really imagine himself becoming a leader and a key player on the team.
“No, not really, to be honest,” Byron said about now being an assistant captain. “Whenever you get put on waivers, I don’t think that’s your first thought. I was just trying to come in and fit in and try and seize an opportunity here in Montreal.
“I’m thankful for every opportunity I’ve got from this team, this organization, and I’m extremely lucky and proud to be where I am today,” the 30-year-old added after practice Wednesday at Brossard’s Bell Sports Complex. “Now my focus is on winning … it’s what I want to do here. I think the team’s going in the right direction and it’s the only thing I care about.”
The Canadiens are off to a 4-3-2 start and Byron has two assists but is still looking for his first goal. Last season, Byron scored 15 goals while playing only 56 games because of injuries. He previously recorded seasons of 22 and 20 goals. He’s not playing the way he wants to so far this season.
“There’s nothing I can do to go back and change the nine games,” he said. “I’m certainly disappointed in myself, I’d say, at this point. But there’s still a lot of hockey left in the season to play. That’s the optimistic side of me is focusing on the future games and making sure that I’m better than I was yesterday. That’s my focus right now in practice. Just being a better player every day. Being better on the ice, compete harder and I know good things will come.
“I know my impact on this team,” he added. “I know how important I am when I’m on my game and I need to be at that level to help.”
Byron suffered an upper-body injury during a pre-season game this year and also suffered a concussion during a fight last season with the Florida Panthers’ MacKenzie Weegar, who was looking for revenge after a hit from Byron earlier in the year. Byron served a three-game suspension for his hit.
But even if either of those injuries were affecting him now, Byron is simply not the type of player who makes excuses. He is a standup guy on and off the ice.
“It’s been almost six months since then,” Byron said about the fight. “I never really had any symptoms from the fight. I just had the balance knocked out of me. It’s not in the back of my mind. I’m not worried about going out there and fighting anybody. I know I don’t have to prove myself. I made the hit, I stood up, I fought the guy and, unfortunately, that happened. But right now it has nothing to do with being injured, having a head injury. It’s about competing, it’s about focusing, it’s about battling. I just need to be a bit better than I am right now.
“Adversity is nothing new for me,” Byron added. “I just got to relish the adversity and push to get better. I know our team has a lot better hockey ahead of us and I know I can be a part of the improvement.”
Byron is hoping that improvement starts Thursday night when the San Jose Sharks visit the Bell Centre (7 p.m., TSN2, RDS, TSN 690 Radio). Byron has been watching a lot of video — which he says doesn’t lie — to help him get his game back on track while trying to improve every day at practice.
“It’s always little steps at a time,” he said. “The biggest thing for me right now is competing and battling every shift and kind of being a pain in the butt to play against. I know it’s not fun when I’m hounding guys all night and getting in the corners and getting gritty. I think the team really feeds off that. I’m going to try and bring that every shift, every night. I really got to get back to that level.”
Byron thinks he’s close to finding his game and hopes that getting that first goal will get him back on track offensively.
“I mean, I don’t think it’s going to go all year without scoring,” he said. “But I’m not focused on just scoring a goal and cheating my game elsewhere. It will happen when it happens. I’m just focusing on making sure I do all the little things that lead up to the goal. Not just cheating to try and score one.”
Good things normally happen to hockey players who work hard every shift. Byron is one of those guys, so don’t expect his slump to last much longer.
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