Hey all! Here is our feature running Monday through Friday that will bring you up to date on what’s going on in the media pertaining to the Winnipeg Jets and elsewhere in the NHL.
Ed. Note: Now that we are through with the Stanley Cup Finals, Altitude Check will only be running on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Here is what's in the news for Friday, July 27, 2012:
Omaha.com reports that University of Omaha-Nebraska forward Jayson Megna will not return to the school next year, opting instead to turn pro. He scored 31 points in 38 games for the Mavericks last year, his only season at the university. He has narrowed his choice down to three teams, the Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Winnipeg Jets. Megna took part in the Penguins Development Camp earlier this month. [Mavericks Today]
Tobias Enstrom sound clips from Friday’s conference call: “The move to Winnipeg was fun and I like what we have going on there. I really like it up there. Playing in front of all the fans in that city made me want to stay. I feel that we have something good going on, and I want to be a part of it.” [WFP]
More on Enstrom, this time from GM Kevin Cheveldayoff: "Toby’s an extremely smart hockey player that can advance the puck out of the zone with great efficiency and is also a player that from the offensive side of it is able to create offensive plays and move the puck to the forwards both from the defensive zone and the offensive zone. He is someone that is extremely committed to wanting to win." [Winnipeg Sun]
Here's the best of Toby Enstrom, in video form — including when he was a member of the Atlanta Thrashers. [Jets.com]
Fans on season ticket waiting lists await updates of their place in queue. [WFP]
Tim Thomas is back in the news, this time making a stand against gay marriage. The PR machine rolls on… [Puck Daddy]
Carolina Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford uses actual analytics to prove that Damien Cox has no clue what he’s talking about in regards to the team’s signing of Russian forward Alexander Semin: “The stats we look at provide much more detail. Jason [Karmanos] looks at this and the stats show how a player performs under certain circumstances. If he can perform under pressure, at the end of the game, with the score tied, and against the best competition. The results of our analysis show that this player performs right at the top of most categories. Some critics like to point out that he did not do well in the playoffs, but that happens to many players from time to time. For most of his career he has performed very well under pressure.” [Canes Country]
Cam Charron thinks it’s a joke that mainstream media glorifies Rick Nash for being a less effective version of Alexander Semin. [Backhand Shelf]
Claude Giroux has blamed his wrist injury and subsequent scars on Sidney Crosby: “Those [scars] are from [Sidney] Crosby. Every time we’d line up against each other for a face-off during our series, instead of going for the puck when it was dropped, he’d hack me across the wrists. I ended up playing the series against Jersey with one of them fractured and had to go for surgery on both of them after we were out of the playoffs.” Good to see this interstate rivalry is still smouldering through the summer months. [Comcast]
Following the ongoing Phoenix Coyotes saga, it appears that Greg Jamison is short on funds to finalize the purchase of the team. What does this mean for the future of Shane Doan with the franchise? [SB Nation]
Finally, New York Islanders forward Kyle Okposo reviews Batman: The Dark Night Rises. [Islanders.com]
