Jets flying high and having fun

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/01/2023 (624 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s fun to be a member of the Winnipeg Jets these days.

For the latest example, see Wednesday night at Canada Life Centre. The 24-13-1 hockey club, winners of three straight games, hit the ice with nothing but bragging rights at stake for the team’s first skills competition since COVID-19. (Results near the end of this column).

Plenty of laughs were had in front of a few thousand fans, with players getting to let their hair down, sign hundreds of autographs (the glass was removed in various sections allowing for up-close contact), pose for selfies and show off their personalities in a much less formal setting than usual.

It’s the kind of community connection that’s been missing for a couple of years around here, thanks to the global pandemic. It’s vitally important, however, in a small but passionate NHL market such as this. (A special shout-out to the woman who brought a sign informing Mark Scheifele that she would happily leave her boyfriend for him. Naturally, the poor soul was sitting right beside her).

Yes, life is good, and the Jets will look to keep the good times rolling when they welcome the Tampa Bay Lightning to town Friday — and potentially three talented teammates back into the lineup. Nikolaj Ehlers, Cole Perfetti and Nate Schmidt could all make their return from injury, with Blake Wheeler and Saku Maenalanen not very far behind them. That would leave just Mason Appleton and Logan Stanley in a rapidly shrinking infirmary.

Which brings us to a little piece of related business that isn’t going to be nearly as pleasurable as fastest-skater and shooting-accuracy events for at least some in the organization in the coming days. As coach Rick Bowness pointed out earlier this week, you can only have a maximum of 23 players on the roster. Some good ones currently working their tails off for the Jets are about to get an unfortunate one-way ticket off the team.

Jansen Harkins was the first to go, placed on waivers Tuesday in a decision Bowness admitted was difficult. The other 31 NHL teams took a pass, meaning he’s been assigned to the Manitoba Moose. He’s about to have some company.

Let’s start on the blue line, where the question of what to do with Ville Heinola looms large. The 21-year-old has played three strong games in a row, setting up Tuesday’s game-winner with less than six minutes left in regulation when his perfect point shot was tipped by Sam Gagner. How do you take him out of the lineup? And, if you do, what message does it send, and what does it do to a player whose confidence, which has been quite low in the past, has probably never been higher?

Schmidt’s injury on Dec. 15 opened the door for Heinola, who is getting better with each passing game. The way he handled Calgary’s physicality was impressive, giving as much as he took. And there’s no question he plays the kind of up-tempo game Bowness loves. Does Schmidt’s return automatically bump him out of the lineup? Or does someone like Dylan Samberg take a seat in the press box?

Heinola deserves some additional runway. For the record, Heinola and Samberg would not require waivers to go to the Moose. Kyle Capobianco, the journeyman who has been a healthy scratch for 30 of 38 games, would, which may ultimately be a factor for management, which already saw another blue liner (Johnathan Kovacevic) grabbed by a rival (Montreal) following training camp. So, too, will the need to play. If Heinola isn’t in the top six, he’d be better off continuing to develop with the Moose and logging heavy minutes.

The decisions up front will be just as difficult. Which two forwards come out for Ehlers and Perfetti, who should immediately return to top-six roles currently being occupied by Moose call-up Kristian Reichel and waiver-wire pickup Karson Kuhlman. Presumably, those two move down into more familiar bottom six spots. The domino effect means something’s gotta give. Nobody has played their way off the roster, that’s for sure.

Another Moose call-up in Kevin Stenlund has been a revelation, winning key face-offs and contributing on the penalty kill. Waiver-wire addition Axel Jonsson-Fjallby brings speed, speed and more speed and is a menace on the forecheck. David Gustafsson, although unable to produce much offence, is a smart, safe player. Gagner, now up to seven goals, has been a tremendous value add at a league minimum salary. And Moose call-up Michael Eyssimont, the lone healthy scratch against the Flames, has opened plenty of eyes with his inspired play.

Given the most recent lineup, it’s likely Eyssimont is one of the players to be sent down. The problem is, he requires waivers and you wonder if some other team might take a flyer on him. It would be a bitter disappointment to lose a heart-and-soul guy.

Reichel wouldn’t require waivers, but is he really going straight from one of the top lines (skating with Kyle Connor and Pierre-Luc Dubois the last couple of games) to the farm? Bowness has already proven that he won’t subscribe to a pre-determined pecking order, as proven by the fact Harkins was the first guy called up when the injury bug started biting, but has clearly been passed on the depth chart by the likes of Stenlund, Reichel, Kuhlman and Eyssimont, all of whom joined the Jets after his promotion.

Make no mistake, these are good problems to have in the sense that you can never have enough depth. Winnipeg’s depth has not only been severely tested over the last couple of months but risen to the occasion. And then some.

The big challenge now for Bowness and company is to make sure that what is about to become an even deeper, and certainly more talented roster, doesn’t abandon the style of play needed for success. Skill alone won’t win in the NHL. They have the blueprint. They need to keep following it.

Okay, now back to the fun part…

Here’s how the Jets fared in the individual skills events Wednesday. Note that Josh Morrissey, who has been battling both injury and illness in recent days, did not participate. Nor did any of the seven injured players.

Fastest skater: (one lap around the rink)

Morgan Barron: 13.43 seconds

Michael Eyssimont: 13.59

Axel Jonsson-Fjallby: 13.65

Kristian Reichel: 13.69

Karson Kuhlman: 13.77

David Gustafsson: 14.09

Shooting accuracy: (hitting four targets)

Adam Lowry: 8.563 seconds

Kyle Connor: 13.860

Kevin Stenlund: 16.969

Mark Scheifele: 17.985

Sam Gagner: 19.844

Pierre-Luc Dubois: 27.640

Hardest shot: (best of three attempts)

Dylan Samberg: 102.1 m.p.h.

Dylan DeMelo: 98.8

Kyle Capobianco: 97.6

Ville Heinola: 96.2

Brenden Dillon: 96.0

Neal Pionk: 91.3

Last, but certainly not least, was the breakaway shootout competition, where plenty of creativity was on display. Highlights included Scheifele attempting what appeared to be a field goal, dropping the puck off his stick and kicking it (wide left of the net); Dillon juggling the puck with his stick; Gagner doing a “Michigan” which sailed high; Connor with a one-handed chip shot into the net; Barron going between-the-legs top corner; Pionk turning his stick upside-down and going ringette style (with a hockey puck); Stenlund doing a spin-a-roonie; And Hellebuyck — yes, Hellebuyck — scoring on the slickest of dekes that one suspects his teammates are never going to hear the end of.

Yes, it’s a lot of fun being a member of the Jets these days.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg