Winnipeg will be one of the NHL’s most youthful teams next season

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This article was published 26/06/2016 (3418 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two of the National Hockey League’s most senior squads competed for the Stanley Cup this past season, but age is just a number according to a couple of Winnipeg Jets players.

The Jets are the second-youngest team on average in the league, with a median age of 26.7 and 14 players currently under contract, according to nhlnumbers.com. The club was the fourth-youngest team during the 2015-16 season, according to the same site.

Following the selection of 18-year-old Patrik Laine in the NHL Draft, the team is only getting younger. The Flying Finn is expected to capture a roster spot for the upcoming season, and with the addition of 19-year-old forward Kyle Connor, the team could very well become the most youthful in the league.

Those on the team see its adolescence as the first step in the process of building something special.

“You can just see the potential in (Laine), and you can start to think about where he fits into the lineup,” centre Mark Scheifele said Sunday, speaking between sessions of his second annual hockey camp at MTS Iceplex. “You see guys like Nikolaj Ehlers and the way he progressed throughout the year. I can’t wait to see him at camp. It’s an exciting time.”

Of the 10 youngest teams in the NHL last season, only three made the playoffs — the Washington Capitals, Nashville Predators and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were a win away from their second straight Stanley Cup finals berth.

Winning is certainly possible for a young club —the 1985-86 Montreal Canadiens’ median age was less than 25 when they won the Stanley Cup — but it’s far from a given. Perhaps the biggest face of the Jets’ youth movement, Scheifele believes his the team can defy the odds.

“We have to learn together, that’s the biggest thing,” Scheifele said, pointing to Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien, each of whom help solidify a veteran presence on the club. “With a young team, that is what has to happen. You have to have the old guys help and the sophomore-, third-, fourth-year guys help and that’s how you have to do it. It’s the only way it’s going to work.”

Defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was helping Scheifele coach a throng of kids Sunday, said young guys, including himself, need to have the mindset they’re not only stepping into the club ready to compete, but ready to win.

“You have to expect that of yourself,” he said. “Of course, there’s going to be a learning curve attached to it, but you need that mindset. There’s been a lot of good, young players drafted here and we have a good core of young players and older players. It definitely shapes up well for the future.”

Meanwhile, Scheifele played coy on the status of his contract negotiations. Scheifele is a restricted free agent July 1, but said he has no clue where negotiations are at.

“I couldn’t even tell you,” the 23-year-old said. “That’s not my business. My business is to work out and play hockey. All I can do is what I can control and that’s get better at my game and be a better player. It’s not my area of expertise. That’s what my agent does, that’s his job. We will see what happens.”

Morrissey keen on making big league jump

With his first full season of professional hockey complete, blue-line prospect Morrissey is looking to add a couple of pounds of lean muscle to help his game grow.

It’s the first long off-season Morrissey has had since his early junior days. Since then, he’s filled his summers with Team Canada appearances, the Memorial Cup and a Calder Cup run with the St. John’s IceCaps.

After a good showing in his rookie season in the American Hockey League, one that afforded him his first National Hockey League start in March, Morrissey is hoping he can continue his upward trend and stick with the club come fall.

“With my injury at the end of the year, I was able to get my rest. I was able to start training earlier this summer because of it,” Morrissey said. “The time in the gym has been helping a ton.

“Obviously, you want to get stronger, which in turn usually means pounds. But it’s not just about the number on the scale.”

Jets director of fitness, Dr. Craig Slaunwhite, has prepared an off-season regimen for Morrissey, one he said he’s putting into practice at home in Calgary.

Viva Las Vegas

This is what two Winnipeg Jets remember about Las Vegas, Nev.

Mark Scheifele was on the Strip briefly as a 12-year-old, returning with his parents to his hometown of Kitchener, Ont., from Los Angeles.

Josh Morrissey remembers playing in two minor hockey tournaments where the parents were having more fun than he and his teammates.

Starting with the 2017-18 season, the Jets will be making regular appearances in Sin City, but not everyone is circling it on the calendar.

“It’s not quite my area, or somewhere I’d like to go, but obviously it will be cool,” Scheifele said, smiling. “I’ve never really been there to experience it. It’s definitely great exposure for the league. We’re trying to grow the game, that’s what it is. Hopefully, this is another step in that direction.”

Added Morrissey: “I think those minor hockey league tournaments were chosen by the parents. I think it’s great for hockey and it’s going to be a good time for the home team and for all the road teams.”

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.caTwitter: @scottbilleck