Size just a perk when you have Petan’s skill

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This article was published 25/09/2015 (3694 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

For Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice, size doesn’t matter. At least when it comes to forward Nic Petan, who at 5-9, 181 pounds is one of the smallest guys in training camp.

Although Petan joins a number of other guys at camp who still don’t need to shave every day, and sticks out like a sore thumb when placed between a duo such as Chris Thorburn (6-3, 230) and Thomas Raffl (6-4, 215) as he did in Winnipeg’s first pre-season game against the Minnesota Wild Tuesday, he is perhaps the most intriguing.

Ready or not, Petan is about to embark on his first season of professional hockey after a stellar campaign with the Portland Winterhawks, where he scored 452 points in 345 games.

His talent level is high, there’s no debating that but, where the conversation gets really interesting is where exactly does he fit on a Jets team that seemingly only has vacancies on its bottom six in a forward unit better known for physical play than savvy hands? Would he be better off playing in the AHL for the Manitoba Moose?

“At the end of the day if you’re on the puck and you’re competing as hard as you can than you can play for us,” said Maurice following Friday’s pre-game skate against Edmonton. “He’s in on that puck and he doesn’t play a perimeter game, and that’s what we ask of those (smaller) guys.”

Maurice said he liked what he saw from Petan at centre in Tuesday’s game, but admitted he wants to see what he can do on the wing, a thought going back to last year when he watched Petan perform on the international stage, helping Canada claim gold at the world junior championships.

He had four goals and 11 points in seven tournament games.

It’s not a natural position for Petan, but it’s what’s available on the roster, said Maurice, who added wing was new for Mathieu Perreault, who signed with the Jets after years of playing centre with Anaheim and Washington. Maurice moved him to the boards and he flourished.

“It’s hard to say,” said Petan when asked where he feels he fits in the lineup. “Spots are moving every day. You don’t want to pick and choose your spots… every spot they give you, work as hard as you can and try and stay in that spot.”

Not only will Petan have to adjust to a new position but also a new style of play — one more physical than what he’s seen in junior — to fit an identity that led to a franchise record 99-points for the Jets 2.0 last season and their first playoff berth in Winnipeg.

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“It’s exciting,” said Petan. “It’s something new for sure, playing an offensive style my whole career in junior. It’s something that you have to work on every day, you have to become a better defensive player and that’s what I’ve been working on over the past few years.”

Petan didn’t disappoint Friday, playing the right side on a line with Thorburn and Andrew Copp. He handled the puck with poise on a number of shifts, chipped in an assist by setting up Copp’s second period goal and finished plus-one.

If he wants to stick around in the NHL this season he’ll have to continue to show his versatility. As for his size, nobody cares.

jeff.hamilton@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jeffkhamilton

Jeff Hamilton
Multimedia producer

Jeff Hamilton is a sports and investigative reporter. Jeff joined the Free Press newsroom in April 2015, and has been covering the local sports scene since graduating from Carleton University’s journalism program in 2012. Read more about Jeff.

Every piece of reporting Jeff produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.