For Taylor Makar, the decision to transfer from the University of Massachusetts Amherst to the University of Maine ahead of his senior season was anything but easy.
Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Cale Makar, Taylor committed to UMass with hopes of carving out his own legacy. The walls of Mullins Center in Massachusetts are lined with Cale’s accomplishments as the highest drafted player in their program and a Hobey Baker Award winner.
The program didn’t serve Taylor Makar quite the same way, and that’s okay. After three seasons of limited opportunity, he made the bold choice to enter the transfer portal and blaze his own trail.
“I just needed a change from where I was at… It was definitely hard leaving the guys at UMass, [I was] with them for three years,” he said. “It was a great time there. It was a great school… but at the end of the day, I just needed something different.”
With the regular season winding down, that decision looks like a career-defining move.
Selected by the Colorado Avalanche in the seventh round of the 2021 NHL Draft, Taylor Makar was once viewed as a long-term project.
The 23-year-old forward is in the midst of a breakout season, embracing an expanded role with the Black Bears and proving he’s more than just “Cale’s younger brother.”
As his production has soared, so too has his confidence, and with each game he’s looking more and more like a legitimate prospect for the Avs.
Through 30 games this season, Makar has put up 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points, already well surpassing his previous NCAA career highs. He ranks second on the team in both goals and points, trailing only Harrison Scott.
His offensive explosion has been particularly evident in recent weeks, including a massive three-goal weekend against Providence in early February, capped off by an overtime game-winner. That performance marked his seventh goal in a span of five games. He also leads the team in game winning goals and shares the team lead in shorthanded goals.
When Makar entered the transfer portal, he wasn’t just looking for a fresh start, he was looking for the right fit. Maine, with its strong coaching staff and player-development culture, was the perfect landing spot. Head coach Ben Barr played a major role in Makar’s decision, as the two had a previous connection.
Barr was an associate head coach at UMass during Makar’s junior hockey days and scouted him in the AJHL. However, Barr took the head coaching job at Maine in 2021-22 - Makar’s freshman year - so their paths never officially crossed at UMass. Now reunited, Barr has been instrumental in helping Makar take his game to another level.
“He’s put a lot of work in, for one,” Barr said of Makar’s development this season. “His process on and off the ice has gotten better as far as how he takes care of himself, how he prepares for practice, and prepares for a game. Those things matter. He's really gotten better at those things as the year has gone along. He's simplified his game on the ice, and that's resulted in him being really, really difficult to play against. He's a six-foot-four kid that is the best skater on the ice most nights with a good skill level. So there's not much that he doesn't have.”
Makar is among a trio of transfers that have found success at Maine.
“Everyone on the team embraced us,” said Makar. “The first day we got here, we felt like we were part of the team. I remember that: meeting the guys, meeting the leaders, and it was just like I had been here for a couple weeks already… The coaches are massive at guiding that.
Every player talks to them every week, going to their office, and you do one-on-one sessions. We learn a bunch from that. Overall, it's that trust and working at it in practice, getting that clear expectation of what the coaches want, what they need, and I think delivering on that has been the biggest thing for the transfers.”
“It's because we try to play a certain way,” coach Barr explained. “We try to have a certain type of person that might be a little bit of an overachiever, high character, and I think other players want to play with those guys. That's what we've kind of seen the last couple years with the players that have come here from other schools…
When you get a bunch of like-minded student athletes, they push each other, they hold each other accountable. That's why I think it's been a good fit for the guys that have come because I think they were, for whatever reason, looking for that type of environment and so it's worked for most of them.”
Makar has fully embraced the power forward role, using his size, speed, and strength to create time and space for himself and his teammates.
“The power forward is the exact player I want to be,” Makar said. “The coaches here [have] really helped me shape that identity: playing a North-South game, playing a simple game. I got a big frame, I got to learn how to use it. That’s been good this year.”
It’s clear that Makar’s game has matured. He’s playing with more physicality, driving the net with authority, and using his reach to protect the puck. His ability to win battles in the corners and create second-chance opportunities has made him a perfect fit on Maine’s heavy, energy-driven top-six forward group.
Makar’s growth has been fueled by opportunity. At UMass, he struggled to carve out a consistent role, despite flashes of promise his sophomore year. Now, at Maine, he’s earning top-six minutes and playing all situations.
“I’d say that's a huge pivotal point for me: getting more ice time, getting on the PK and power play, just being able to see more ice a lot faster, it’s been good,” Makar said.
Makar’s teammates have also played a huge role in his success. Playing on a line with linemates who study the game and bring pro habits, Makar has been able to elevate his own play by feeding off their attention to detail.
“I can’t thank the guys around me enough,” he said. “They’re just supporting, playing with me, my linemates, and stuff like that, so it’s been going well. I'm just trying to keep learning.”
With Maine sitting at 19-6-5, Makar has not only found individual success but has also become a key part of a team that is in the hunt for a strong postseason push.
Another key figure in Makar’s development has been Andrew Cogliano. The Avalanche veteran has taken him under his wing. The relationship started through Taylor’s older brother, Cale, but it has since grown into something more substantial.
“He’s been huge for me, actually,” Makar said. “He's good friends with Cale, so that relationship’s tight and I got to meet him through that. But then through development camp, I got to talk to him more. Our work has actually just been growing more and he’s been a massive help for me. I look forward to working more with him in the future.”
Cogliano, known for his leadership and relentless work ethic, has been a valuable mentor for Makar, helping him fine-tune the details that could eventually make him an effective pro player.
“People like [Cogliano] are great. Such a long career, great career,” Makar said. “It’s awesome to have him part of the staff now that you can contact him and talk to him. He's just a massive resource for all of us. He played so many years in the NHL. He obviously just started [his new development role], so he's building a brand for himself here. He gave us a lot of tips, talked to individual players…”
With his final collegiate season winding down, Makar has done more than just prove he made the right decision to transfer, he has elevated his stock as a prospect.
He’s come a long way since his first Avs development camp. Now, he looks like someone who could push for an entry-level contract and take the next step in his pro career.
His combination of size, skill, and work ethic makes him an intriguing prospect, and if he continues on this trajectory, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him join the Avs organization in the near future. He appears ready for the American League.
Makar himself is focused on continuing to round out his game and making sure he’s NHL-ready when the opportunity comes.
“I really want to be a presence at the pro level,” Makar said. “Talking with staff here and at the Eagles and the Avalanche, it's [about] making myself a power forward. So I really want to do that with Maine and solidify a spot being that power forward or net-front guy, whatever it is, and on the power play just blocking shots, being a big presence on the PK too.”
For now, Makar remains locked in on finishing his senior season strong, helping Maine make a deep playoff run, and soaking in every moment of his best NCAA season yet.
And if this year has shown anything, it’s that Taylor Makar is learning quickly and proving he belongs on his merit alone.
