Exhibition Game #01 Preview and GDT: Calgary Flames at Winnipeg Jets

After months of pining after Winnipeg Jets hockey, game one of the exhibition season is finally here. Their opponents are the Calgary Flames, who already have two split-squad games under their belts.

With the first wave of training camp cuts still to come, Winnipeg will be intently watching to see who sinks and who swims. It’ll be a fun lineup for fans to take in, featuring new acquisitions Shawn Matthias and Quinton Howden skating with prospects Jack Roslovic, Michael Spacek and others. With a glut of forwards looking to make the NHL roster, bubble players such as Andrew Copp, JC Lipon, Nic Petan and Brandon Tanev will be looking to make the best of impressions.

Speaking of new acquisitions, left-handed defenceman Brian Strait also makes his debut alongside Brenden Kichton on the second pairing. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any obvious separation in quality between Strait and, say, Julian Melchiori.

While Strait is unlikely to make Jets fans forget about Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey just might. At the very least, he’ll likely be given every opportunity to. The 21-year-old is set to man Winnipeg’s top pairing tonight, together with press box legend Paul Postma. Morrissey may have only one AHL season under his belt, but in light of all the Trouba dramallama, he could be the much-needed d-corps feel good story Winnipeg needs.

On Calgary’s side, veterans Lauri Korpikoski and Nicklas Grossman will be looking to earn themselves an NHL contract, while a prospect such as Mark Jankowski probably wouldn’t mind proving his doubters wrong. It’s not exactly a star-studded line-up from the Flames tonight; the names just mentioned may be the biggest ones dressing for Calgary.

When/Where:

Tuesday, Sept. 27, 7:00 p.m. CT, MTS Centre
TV Broadcast: TSN3
Radio: TSN 1290, Sportsnet 960