DENVER (AP) — Should Taylor Makar someday make the roster, big brother Cale needs to consider altering the back of his Colorado Avalanche sweater.
That's the running joke of Taylor, anyway — a “C. Makar” modification from simply "Makar" to make room for “T. Makar.”
One Makar on the blue line and another at forward is something they've thought about since they were growing up in Calgary, Alberta. Because of their age difference — Cale is more than 2 years older — the tandem has never really been on the same elite team.
If it happens with the Avalanche, they could join the likes of the Hughes brothers, who have Jack and Luke suiting up together with the New Jersey Devils (brother Quinn plays for Vancouver).
Cale, of course, is already well-established as one of the league's top defensemen and coming off a season in which he won the Norris Trophy. Taylor keeps working his way toward the NHL. He started last year at the University of Maine before joining the Avalanche's American Hockey League affiliate, the Colorado Eagles, for the remainder of the season.
When big brother speaks, Taylor carefully listens.
“I learn a lot from him,” said Taylor, who’s taking part in the Avalanche’s development camp this week but not skating as he rehabs from an upper body injury. “Obviously, we train together. Do everything. It’s just cool.”
He cracked: “Hopefully, he has to put a ‘C’ (for C. Makar) on his (sweater)."
Although, it's not a requirement by the league.
Sibling rivalry
The Makar brothers are highly competitive in whatever hobby, activity or sport in which they challenge each other.
By Taylor's scorecard, he reigns over Cale in cribbage, basketball, board games and video games. He gives Cale the edge on the golf course and sometimes in tennis.
To hear Cale tell it, though, the rules sometimes get bent.
“He’s the feisty little brother that would cheap-shot you when everything was said and done," Cale recently said. “I’d usually win and then for some reason I’d call it quits and he kind of gave me cheap shots. As kids, we had a lot of fun like that. It definitely brings back a lot of memories. I think it’s helped us later in life in competitiveness."
Cale made his NHL debut in the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs and has been a goal-scoring, puck-defending force ever since. He's coming off a season in which he had 30 goals as he became the first NHL defenseman to reach that mark since Mike Green scored 31 for Washington in 2008-09.
No surprise, Cale was awarded the Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman (he also won the award in 2022, the season Colorado captured the Stanley Cup).
Now this was a surprise — the secret celebration his younger brother helped spring to commemorate the achievement. Taylor played a role in organizing a golf outing for the unsuspecting Cale as family and friends gathered in the backyard for the trophy presentation.
When the group stopped by during their round, everyone was waiting.
“It turned out well, and he was pretty excited,” explained Taylor, a seventh-round pick by Colorado in 2021. “It was a cool, special moment for all the people that are really close to him and our family to share together.”
The Makar name
For Taylor, there's no added pressure having “Makar” on the back of his sweater given his brother's success. In fact, it’s “pretty cool,” he conceded.
Big brother's biggest piece of advice?
“Just be myself,” Taylor said.
Cale, 26, certainly is proud of his younger brother. The 24-year-old Taylor is coming off a season at Maine where he scored 18 goals and had 12 assists in 38 games. He then signed an entry-level deal and joined the Eagles, scoring a goal in five regular-season games.
“I think he’s got a lot of intangibles that once he puts them all together he’s got a really bright career ahead,” said Cale, who was the fourth overall pick by the Avalanche in 2017. “It’s cool to be able to have family this close now.”
Watching little brother
In April, Cale ventured up to Loveland, Colorado, to watch his brother play for the Eagles. Of course, there were extenuating circumstances — Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was with the Eagles on a conditioning assignment in his recovery from a serious knee injury. It marked Landeskog's first professional game since Colorado's Cup run in 2022.
“First time I’ve seen (Taylor) play live at least since (youth hockey)," said Cale, who along with teammate Nathan MacKinnon was part of Team Canada's first six players chosen to take part in the 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Taylor's road to making the Avalanche roster to start the season figures to be difficult. Colorado is a bona fide title contender and stacked at forward.
“Just keep working hard, keep learning,” Taylor said. “Got a ways to go, but just put everything out there.”
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
