Roy keeping eyes peeled

By: Mike Sawatzky Posted: 4:00 AM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2016

PENTICTON, B.C. — Jimmy Roy is a travelling man.

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PENTICTON, B.C. — Jimmy Roy is a travelling man.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2016 (3354 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PENTICTON, B.C. — Jimmy Roy is a travelling man.

He spends most of the hockey season on the road as the director of player development for the Winnipeg Jets, and it’s his job to know what and how the NHL club’s prospects are doing, wherever they might be.

One of the club’s most recent draft choices, Russian goalie Mikhail Berdin, who stopped 23 shots in Monday’s 4-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers in Winnipeg’s final game at the Young Stars Classic NHL rookie tournament, is a special case.

CLINT TRAHAN / WINNIPEG FREE PRESSJets’ goalie prospect Mikhail Bredin follows the puck Monday in Penticton.

The 18-year-old Berdin, who does not speak English, is expected to end up with the USJHL’s Sioux Falls Stampede this fall.

“That’s a tough one,” said Roy. “There’s not much (to do) other than watching right now. He’s pretty quiet, obviously.”

Roy and his deputy, player development assistant Mike Keane, serve as a go-between for the NHL team and the club’s large group of prospects not playing in the pro ranks. Roy and Keane advise and help in any way they can.

A prime example would be Winnipeg’s 6-7, 230-pound defence prospect Logan Stanley, a 2016 first-rounder who will be returning to the Ontario Hockey League after an appearance at the Jets’ main training camp.

Stanley’s massive reach and skating ability for a big man are obvious assets. But he’s a work in progress.

“That’s the whole process of development I like,” said Roy. “I enjoy working with these kids from when they’re drafted. There’s nervousness (now) and they’re not the complete package.

CLINT TRAHAN PHOTO
Michael Spacek of the Winnipeg Jets takes out Ben Betker of the Edmonton Oilers. — CLINT TRAHAN PHOTO Michael Spacek of the Winnipeg Jets takes out Ben Betker of the Edmonton Oilers.

“After a year or two, you see their skating improve, you see their puck skills, you see their maturity, you see them more comfortable on the ice. There’s a process. There are only a few special kids that can go right in (to the NHL),” he said.

Roy was at the the Young Stars tournament, working to develop a rapport with the club’s most recent draft choices as well as maintaining ties with players who have been around longer.

— Sawatzky