Manitoba Moose

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Pettinger liking the AHL life

Moose knows stint in minors part of path to NHL dream

By: Tim Campbell

28/10/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

Matt Pettinger says only actual professional game action can get him into his top-notch condition as a hockey player. (KEN GIGLIOTTI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS)

There are those who see it one way all the time: Winnipeg and the AHL bad; NHL good.

Count Manitoba Moose left-winger Matt Pettinger among those who've acquired enough wisdom to know it's not that permanently black-and-white.

The 29-year-old from Edmonton had a brief visit here very early last season, waived by the NHL's Vancouver Canucks despite his $1.1-million, one-way contract.

In just two games, Pettinger made a difference with three goals and he was snapped up by the Tampa Bay Lightning on re-entry waivers when the Canucks tried to get him back.

"I came here and played decent for two games but I looked at it as a negative at the time, going to the minors," Pettinger said after Tuesday's workout at the MTS Centre. "But now when it's for an opportunity to get myself fit and get ready for (an NHL) job, look where I am, back here in Winnipeg, full circle."

After eight goals and 15 points for the Lightning in 59 games, Pettinger did not earn a return invitation.

"I waited until July 1, hoped something might work out with Tampa but it's a bit of a gong show right now down there about ownership and stability and stuff," Pettinger said. "It's not that stable. Nothing came from them. I just sat around and waited for my agent to call."

Pettinger said playing for the Lightning, however, was no mistake.

"The way I looked at it, I got called up that day, so I was going to Vancouver or somewhere else," he said. "It ended up fine. I had a decent year. We struggled as a team, a lot of injuries on the back end and a downward spiral there for the rest of the year.

"But if you're asking me about staying in Winnipeg or playing in the NHL on a losing team like last year, I'd say nine out of 10 guys would say playing in the best league in the world is where you want to be."

Probably more than nine out of 10 but whatever the number, Pettinger became a member of a growing list of players who couldn't find work this summer.

He turned down an offer for a tryout with New Jersey -- "Personally I felt I didn't want to walk on at camp. I know how hard that is, seen it at every level of hockey. You're behind the eight-ball right from the start," Pettinger said -- and he felt virtually stymied when the season started without him.

Enter the Moose and GM Craig Heisinger, who were familiar with Pettinger's abilities and had a need at forward.

"He's looking to get himself back into the NHL," said Moose coach Scott Arniel. "He doesn't care about the circumstance, he just wants to come here and have success.

"He's got great work habits and he's one of those polished NHL guys when the puck comes to him in his feet, he kicks it up to his stick. And when it's coming around the wall in the D zone, he gets it out. Those players I've had an opportunity to coach that have that experience, it makes for a good example for some of the young guys."

Pettinger agreed to the common 25-game tryout contract, leaving the door open for any NHL club in need. And with two goals and three points in five games, not to mention increasing sharpness, he has advanced quickly to Manitoba's top line.

"I think he and Marty Murray have some chemistry," Arniel said.

Pettinger has his eye on a bigger prize -- an NHL deal -- but isn't all black-and-white about it today.

"I missed training camp," he said. "You can skate with your junior team or an ECHL team but it's not game situations. I've played five now and I'm starting to slowly feel better.

"Hockey shape's just different. But until you play 20 minutes a night as a forward, in there on the forecheck and in your own zone and the power play, it's tough to get a feel for the game."

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca

One-game suspension for McIver's hit

Tuesday in Moose-land was a busy news day:

1. D Nathan McIver was suspended for one game by the AHL for a hit from behind on Chicago's Angelo Esposito last Saturday. McIver was not penalized in the game but will miss Thursday's contest here against Wilkes-Barre.

2. Moose coach Scott Arniel said RW Matt Pope, scoreless so far in nine games, will miss this week's action with a sprained ankle.

3. The team has signed LW John Lammers to a tryout contract. The 23-year-old from B.C. has started the season in Alaska (ECHL) with six goals and nine points in six games. He played for Houston last season and may be remembered for a three-assist performance in an Aeros win in Game 4 of the Western Conference final against the Moose.

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition October 28, 2009 C4

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