Bowen Byram

Bowen Byram (born June 13, 2001) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for the Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres, and has appeared with the Canada men's national ice hockey team in international competition. The son of NHL player Shawn Byram, Bowen was coached by his father until the age of 12, when he began playing full-time minor ice hockey in Alberta. The Vancouver Giants of the Western Hockey League (WHL) took Byram third overall in the 2016 WHL Bantam Draft. In three years with the Giants, Byram earned a number of junior ice hockey awards, including the CHL Top Draft Prospect Award. Considered a top prospect by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau, Byram was taken fourth overall by the Avalanche in the 2019 NHL entry draft. Byram's tenure with the Avalanche was marred by injury. He missed large parts of his first two professional ice hockey seasons with concussion complications, and another with a lower-body injury. Despite this, his breakout performance in the 2022 Stanley Cup playoffs helped lead Colorado to a championship. In 2024, the Avalanche traded Byram to the Sabres, who were in need of a young top-pair defenceman.