Cale Makar
A defenseman with the explosive speed of a forward, he redefined his position and became the fastest blueliner to win the Norris Trophy.
Born 1998 (age 28)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: October 30·Generation Z
Biography
Cale Makar's hockey ascent felt less like a climb and more like a rocket launch. Hailing from Calgary, Alberta, he dominated junior hockey with the Brooks Bandits before a stellar single season at UMass Amherst, where he won the Hobey Baker Award as the nation's top college player. The Colorado Avalanche selected him fourth overall in 2017, and he joined the team directly from the NCAA playoffs in 2019, scoring a goal in his first NHL playoff game. Makar immediately looked different. He played defense with an attacker's instincts, combining elite edgework and vision to quarterback the offense from the back end. His skating, often described as fluid and deceptive, allowed him to evade forecheckers and join rushes, making the Avalanche's attack multidimensional. In the 2022 Stanley Cup run, he was a tour de force, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, a rare feat for a defenseman. His Norris Trophy win that same season, coming in just his third year, signaled the arrival of a new archetype for the modern NHL defenseman.
Generation Z
1997–2012
Born into smartphones, social media, and school shootings. The most diverse generation in history. Pragmatic about money, fluid about identity, anxious about the climate. They do not remember a world before the internet.
Cale was born in 1998, placing them squarely in the Generation Z. The events that shaped this generation — social media, climate anxiety, and a pandemic — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Cale Was Born
The biggest hits of 1998
#1 Movie
Saving Private Ryan
Best Picture
Shakespeare in Love
#1 TV Show
Seinfeld
Cale's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1998Born
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2003Started school
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2011Became a teenager
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2014Could drive
Russia annexes Crimea; Ebola outbreak in West Africa
Gas: $3.37/galHome: $160,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Happy" — Pharrell WilliamsBest Picture: Birdman
2016Could vote
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
2019Turned 21
First image of a black hole; Hong Kong protests
Gas: $2.60/galHome: $224,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Old Town Road" — Lil Nas XBest Picture: Parasite
2026Age 28 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP during the Colorado Avalanche's 2022 Stanley Cup championship.
- Awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenseman in 2022.
- Became the first defenseman to win the Hobey Baker Award as top U.S. college player and the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in consecutive years (2019, 2020).
- Scored a goal in his NHL debut during the 2019 playoffs.
Did You Know?
His father, Gary, played professional football in the Canadian Football League.
Makar played his first NHL playoff game before playing a single regular-season game.
He wore number 8 in honor of his childhood idol, Montreal Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov.
“My focus is on the details of my game, on making the right play every shift.”
