No holding back

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/09/2015 (3691 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s numero uno on the to-do list of every National Hockey League coach, including Paul Maurice of the Winnipeg Jets.

Taking a group of men and moulding them into a Stanley Cup contender is always job No. 1, whether a guy is standing on the bench with the Chicago Blackhawks or the Buffalo Sabres. But settling on which men wear the big-league jerseys is often both compelling theatre for outsiders and a hair-pulling chore for those involved.

And so it was Monday that Maurice, fresh from re-assigning 14 players to the Manitoba Moose and sending two more back to their junior clubs, rolled up his sleeves and got to work with the 27 players still scrapping for 23 roster jobs.

The Jets have three exhibition games remaining — today and Thursday at home against Ottawa and Calgary; Saturday in Calgary — before opening the season in Boston Oct. 8th.

Players such as Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler and Dustin Byfuglien — just to name a few — won’t be sweating the next few days before the final roster is declared. But for those on the bubble — Nic Petan, JC Lipon or 29-year-old rookie Thomas Raffl — what they serve up in their last chances to make an impression could be critical in which jersey they wear this winter.

“The competition now will get a little bit stronger,” said Maurice. “You’re seeing a number of cuts that went on around the league… all these teams now are getting very close to their lineup in these last two or three games. So, we’ll now get a better look at (the bubble guys) against the players that they are more likely to play against. Sometimes you play them with different lines to get a feel for who they are as players.

“Now, they’re going to play a role and they’re going to have players play against them that play a certain style of hockey. We’ll see who excels in players they’ll spend time with.”

Maurice was quick to praise two players who were reassigned on Monday: centre Ryan Olsen, who was sent to the Manitoba Moose, and Brendan Lemieux, who will return to the Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League. But the rest of camp will now be about finding the right line combinations and the right players to fit certain roles, particularly on a recreated fourth line that will likely feature Andrew Copp and Chris Thorburn along with either Petan, Anthony Peluso, Lipon or Raffl.

All of them bring different skillsets that could be part of a rotation Maurice & Co. use in their forward rotation.

“The players that stayed, each one of them is a little bit different and each one had pieces of their games and in training camp that will give us some good options, some different styles of player,” said Maurice. “We’ll give them each another opportunity to play a game, possibly two, and make a decision from there.

“Now we get down to the last few players… it’s not only about them any more. It’s how they fit with the people that we would play with them so we would get a different look with Lipon, Petan or Raffl in the lineup. We want to try and find out what is the best fit. Which three can thrivee the most? What can they bring to the line?

“It’s true of D pairings as well. When you get into that sixth-seventh spot, who fits best with number five sometimes is more important than this guy may be a better player, but these two guys play well together. There’s the fit that comes into question as well.”

That mix of size and skill, in particular with Petan, Lipon and Raffl, is going to make the last few cuts before the roster is declared particularly riveting.

Maurice praised Petan’s vision, likes his ability to move the puck and the potential offensive flair he could bring to the fourth line, adding “when you get a guy on that line with some hand skills that can generate some things and can do more than just hold water or bang.”

Lipon has impressed the both with the growth in his game since last year’s training camp.

“Lipon showed a real high level of grit and agitation on the ice,” Maurice said. “It’s something that he does naturally very well. The big difference for me from last year is his speed and his strength. There’s a lot more power in his stride, he’s getting to those hits in the corners faster and leaving a bigger impact. And there’s also some good hands there. He had some pretty good numbers coming out of junior so he can make a few plays.”

Raffl, meanwhile, has served up one of the juicier tales in camp. The 29-year-old captain of the Austrian national team is on a professional tryout offer has improved with every session on the smaller North American ice and has proven to be a quick study.

“He’s really intriguing,” said Maurice. “There are times in the course of practice and games that he shows real mature pro plays. We’re going to give him some time to see if he can show more of some of those things that we like, and we think we’re seeing more at each practice, each day as he gets more comfortable over here.

“He’s a big man and when he gets moving he can move really quick. And, he’s got some really good hands and he’s not afraid of the heavy going. We’re kinda watching to see because we’re not sure where his ceiling is yet. He just keeps getting a little better each time he hits the ice.”

TAKING SHAPE

The Jets assigned 14 players to the Manitoba Moose on Monday and sent two others back to their junior clubs.

Here’s brief look at who is still in the fight for jobs and who will begin the season down the hallway with the Moose:

Still standing (27)

Forwards: Andrew Ladd, Bryan Little, Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Mathieu Perreault, Drew Stafford, Adam Lowry, Alex Burmistrov, Chris Thorburn, Andrew Copp, Nikolaj Ehlers, JC Lipon, Anthony Peluso, Thomas Raffl, Nic Petan

Defence: Dustin Byfuglien, Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba, Toby Enstrom, Mark Stuart, Ben Chiarot, Jay Harrison, Adam Pardy, Paul Postma

Goaltenders: Ondrej Pavelec, Michael Hutchinson, Connor Hellebuyck

Assigned to the Moose (14)

Forwards: Matt Halischuk*, Patrice Cormier*, Ryan Olsen, Scott Kosmachuk, Matt Fraser*, John Albert, Chase De Leo, Joel Armia

Defence: Josh Morrissey, Julian Melchiori*, Brenden Kichton, Andrew MacWilliam, Jan Kostalek

Goaltender: Eric Comrie

*Pending waivers

Returned to juniors (2)

D Nelson Nogier (Red Deer, WHL); F Brendan Lemieux (Barrie, OHL)

5 roster questions yet to be answered

1. Where do Burmistrov and Ehlers fit?

Let’s assume the enigmatic Russian and Dynamic Dane have found a place in the team’s Top 9. But where? Would Alex Burmistrov, being a sound defensive player with some offensive flair, be a good replacement for Michael Frolik on a line with Andrew Ladd and Bryan Little?

And could Nikolaj Ehlers give the third line some more offensive pop working with Mathieu Perreault and Adam Lowry, assuming the Drew Stafford-Mark Scheifele-Blake Wheeler trio is reunited?

2. How does the roster math work?

There are 27 bodies still in camp, but who sticks after this? The Jets will likely keep 13 forwards, eight defencemen and two goaltenders. That would make one of the nine D-men still with the big club expendable and means two forwards, likely along with goalie Connor Hellebuyck, would be sent to the Moose after this week.

3. Is there a spot for Nic Petan on the fourth line?

He’s got exceptional hands and great vision, but can he carve out a spot on the fourth line as a role player? Petan might be able to get enough minutes on the wing on the fourth line with Andrew Copp and Chris Thorburn and, possibly, working on the second power-play unit. Making room for his kind of skill would give Paul Maurice a ton of options with his lineup card.

4. Who is the 13th forward?

It’s not an easy gig busting your hump at practice every day only to sit out many nights as the extra man up front. Matt Halischuk fulfilled this role capably, but has been assigned to the Moose. And if the Jets are insistent in having heavyweight Anthony Peluso as an option, that could make JC Lipon or Thomas Raffl vulnerable at the final roster cut down.

5. What happens to this deep, deep D corps?

The Jets still had nine defencemen on the ice on Monday and, even with all the injuries last year to this crew, can’t keep that many around for the start of the season. That likely leaves Adam Pardy or Paul Postma on the bubble and passing them through waivers in a week or so might come with risks.

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait