Prince of Pests title still belongs to Thorburn

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This article was published 12/09/2016 (3321 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CHRIS Thorburn has a decade of NHL experience, and he’s more than willing to pass on some of that wisdom to youngsters within the Winnipeg Jets organization.

It doesn’t matter a couple of them are gunning for the big winger’s job.

Thorburn, 33, will skate in his sixth training camp with the Jets when it begins in just more than a week from now. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., product has also sweated out camps with the Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins and Atlanta Thrashers since he was drafted by the Sabres in the second round of the 2001 NHL Draft.

Even with nearly 700 NHL games under his belt, there’s simply no guarantee of future employment with the Jets, he said Monday.

“Every training camp’s been a battle for me, and nothing changes this year,” said Thorburn, after an informal morning skate at the MTS Iceplex with about 30 other Jets veterans and prospects. “I’ve been to so many training camps where I’ve kind of been a bubble player and I’ve had to go in and earn a spot. That’s the same kind of mindset and approach I’m taking this year.”

Thorburn has played an intriguing role with the Jets since the franchise moved north from Atlanta in time for the 2011-12 NHL season. He was one-third of the club’s GST line the first season with Tanner Glass and Jim Slater, and has performed on the fourth line since then, although head coach Paul Maurice has not been averse to spotting him in on the top nine.

He’s been a willing scrapper for Winnipeg — Jets fans are accustomed to seeing his long, black, sweat-soaked hair flailing around when his fists are flying — and he’s about as close to a pest as the organization has had — until now.

J.C. Lipon, 23, and Brendan Lemieux, 20, both carved out careers in junior hockey as agitators, and Lipon actually kept that up during a couple of seasons with the Jets’ AHL affiliate in St. John’s, and last winter with the Manitoba Moose, until a bum shoulder ended his season.

Thorburn said he likes what he’s seen from both prospects and wouldn’t balk at offering advice if either approached him.

“I’m not the kind of guy who’s going to shy away because I’m feeling threatened. I’m still going to help them out, like others helped me coming through the ranks,” said Thorburn, who played all 82 games for the Jets last season, firing six goals and adding six assists. “It’s a family here, as much as it is battling for positions and for jobs. There comes a time when you give someone advice and just help a kid out, because I remember how important it was for me when I first started.

“You’ve got guys like them who are pushing, which is good for the organization and that should elevate your game as an individual. I still feel I have some stuff to prove, I still feel like I have a lot of game left in me.”

The battle to be the Jets’ resident nuisance should create one of the most compelling storylines at training camp.

Indeed, Lemieux has the bloodlines to make a case. His father, Claude, was one of the game’s all-time great villains. He was also a tremendous performer, particularly in the post-season when he won Stanley Cups with three different teams.

Brendan Lemieux and the Windsor Spitfires were bounced from the Ontario Hockey League playoffs in the first round last spring. He joined the Moose for the final five games of the AHL season, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist while picking up six minutes in penalties.

That last stat wasn’t a true indicator of what he has to offer, he said.

“I think (being a pest) comes natural,” said Lemieux. “A smirk is sometimes enough. Sometimes, there’s stuff after the whistle. I think it comes naturally, though. I want to be a guy who’s hard to play against. And guys don’t like that.

“If you play guys hard, if you chase guys down, if you finish every hit, if you’re in the hard areas of the ice all the time, it’s upsetting to them. I want to get under guys’ skin.”

Lipon, meanwhile, said that formula has worked for him as well.

“I was never the best player on any teams I was on,” said the Regina native, who had a total of nearly 400 penalty minutes in three years with the Jets’ farm club. “In my first two years of junior (in Kamloops) I played fourth line, so I fought all the time. Then I started getting some skill, but I never really lost that grit. That interests me a lot. Obviously, you love scoring goals but I like getting into things and being in the mix.”

Monday’s session wasn’t an official Jets practice, but it was as close as it gets before the bosses get involved when rookie camp gets going Thursday.

Jets’ regulars such as Thorburn, Nikolaj Ehlers, Adam Lowry, Tyler Myers, Mathieu Perreault and Bryan Little were joined by youngsters such as Lemieux and Lipon, Jack Roslovic, Kyle Connor, Josh Morrissey and goaltender Eric Comrie.

They skated line drills for about 30 minutes and then scrimmaged four-on-four.

“There’s a lot of guys that came back into town, especially over the weekend. It’s just nice to get out there. It’s always good to get in a little bit before camp and get comfortable,” said Thorburn. “Once camp rolls around, you’re already in a groove and that’s most of the guys’ mindset.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

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