The Minnesota Wild (1-1-0) will be hosting the Winnipeg Jets (1-1-1) for an exhibition game at the Xcel Energy Center in the city of Saint Paul on Friday night. For the home team, this will only be the Wild’s 3rd pre-season match while the Jets will have 4 under their belts when the final horn in Minnesota blows. The Wild opened up the pre-season with a 5-2 road victory over the Jets, so Winnipeg will try to return the favour this evening.
It has only been 10 days since the Winnipeg Jets opened up their training camp on September 18th, yet the franchise already has played half of their six exhibition games. Twelve players have already had their NHL dreams crushed for the year by being cut by new head coach Scott Arniel, leaving 41 players left in the fight for one of the Jets’ 23 NHL roster spots.
Yet medical issues involving defensemen Ville Heinola & Logan Stanley are testing Winnipeg’s defensive depth early on, dropping the team down to only 39 active players in camp. The unlucky Heinola has now suffered setbacks in back-to-back training camps, this time dealing with having to recover from an infection & the surgical removal of hardware from his ankle. According to recovery norms, Ville should only miss a maximum of 10 NHL regular season games if things go well. As for what is happening with Big Stan…things aren’t as clear since all I’ve heard is that he “tweaked” something. While that may not seem that bad, the fact that Arniel told media they fear “it isn’t good” makes you wonder if Stanley will end up missing an extended period. **update: Winnipeg has indicated that Logan has undergone surgery on his knee, with a minimum 4 week recovery time which is similar to Heinola’s.**
With those two Jets on the shelf, it gives opportunities to other players like Haydn Fleury (LD), Dylan Coghlan (RD), Elias Salomonsson (RD), & Simon Lundmark (RD) to step into the third left-side defensive slot.
Here are the Winnipeg Jets involved in today’s pre-game skate group, but the exact roster for tonight’s clash with the Minnesota Wild was unknown at the time I wrote this:
The forward group appears to be set with Perfetti, Yager, Lambert, Chibrikov, Barlow, Barron, Iafallo, Appleton, Kupari, Toninato, Shaw, & AJF set to take the ice. The defense will have to be trimmed down since Pionk, Samberg, Miller, Fleury, Coghlan, Salomonsson, Lundmark, & Bauer are all available. There are three goaltenders on the ice (Hellebuyck, Milic, & DiVincentiis), but the coaching staff has already stated that Bucky will get the start.
Now that the pre-game skate has officially gotten under way, Illegal Curve has predicted the following line up:
Projected lines and D pairs:
Perfetti-Lambert-Iafallo
Barron-Yager-Chibrikov
Barlow-Kupari-Appleton
Shaw-Toninato-Jonsson-Fjallby
Samberg-Pionk
Fleury-Miller
Salomonsson-Coghlan
Lundmark-Bauer
The game against the Wild will give us the first opportunity to see Cole Perfetti since he signed his 2 year bridge deal. The 22 yr old forward has bulked up to almost 200 lbs over the summer, so will be keeping an eye on how that impacts his skating & physical play. Winnipeg’s head coach also told media that Brad Lambert is still in the mix to make the opening day roster and the young Finn will be getting into his 3rd game of this training camp (2 pts).
Since there will be only two exhibition games remaining after tonight’s contest, I believe the Jets will trim down their camp numbers on Saturday. So this could be the last time we get to see high-end prospects like Brayden Yager (1 pt) & Colby Barlow (1 pt) in action. Neither forward is eligible to play with the Manitoba Moose in the AHL this season and since the Canadian Junior season is already getting underway, I expect them to be returned to the WHL/OHL fairly soon. While Yager will be going back to the Moose Jaw Warriors, there are some questions about Barlow’s future with the Owen Sound Attack. From the sounds of it, the Attack aren’t expected to be that competitive so the goal scoring forward may be looking to move to a better team in order to get the best use out of his final Junior campaign.
The defensive battle should be on full display in the game versus Minnesota, with all the involved players in the race for the 6th/7th spots possibly getting into tonight’s contest. I do know that Dylan Samberg was held out of practice yesterday after taking a knock against the Oilers, but the coaching staff said that the American will be in the lineup. After being fairly unimpressed with Colin Miller’s limited regular season play with Winnipeg last season, the guy has been a pleasant surprise since he played well in the Jets’ final post-season game. The 31 yr old is making GM Kevin Cheveldayoff look like a genius after he signed the defender to a 2 year deal this summer, putting up 2 goals & an assist in two pre-season contests.
I have been unable to find any information about the Minnesota Wild’s plans for this evening, but since the home team in pre-season games often fields the more talented roster I expect coach John Hynes will have plenty of veterans to test the Jets’ less experienced group. This should be a good match for Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck to get into top form because I could see the Jets being on the losing side of the puck possession battle tonight.
Well, that is pretty much all I can come up with this morning and since my cats are demanding my attention, I might as well wrap up. Before I reward Moose’s begging to have some breakfast & Lambo’s continuous demands to go for a walk, I will say that I am very happy to hear that the Winnipeg Jets have signed Bryan Little to a one day contract so that the veteran forward could retire with the franchise that drafted him. Between the Atlanta Thrashers & Winnipeg Jets, the 36 yr old center played in 843 NHL games while scoring over 200 goals (217) and 500 points (521). With a career point per game average of .618, Little’s production was right in line with what should be expected from a 2nd line forward. Admittedly, the veteran’s points were starting to drop when his playing career was ended by that wayward slap shot. Regardless I will fondly remember Bryan’s time with Winnipeg….did you know that he was tied for the Jets’ scoring lead in their first playoff series (2014-15)? Little and Adam Lowry each had 3 points as the Anaheim Ducks swept our squad in four games. Here is what Little was quoted as saying about his time with the franchise (via Illegal Curve):
“It’s a great honour that I can retire as a member of the Winnipeg Jets and end my playing career with the organization where I was drafted and played my entire NHL career,” said Little. “I had the privilege to play in Winnipeg and in front of the amazing fans for nine seasons, so I’m grateful for the opportunity to thank the Jets, their fans and the city of Winnipeg. It will truly be a full circle moment for my family and I to celebrate my retirement in the building where I have so many special memories.”
Enjoy your Friday. If you want to watch tonight’s contest, it should be available to stream through WinnipegJets.com. No TV coverage tonight.
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