Lemieux looking to be a lean, mean agitation machine

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This article was published 26/06/2017 (3337 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

He may be getting leaner. But Brendan Lemieux says he definitely won’t be getting any less meaner as he prepares to fight for a job with the Winnipeg Jets.

Lemieux, 21, is one of the more interesting players on the ice this week at development camp. This is already his third with Winnipeg — and fourth overall after starting his career as a Buffalo draft pick — which practically makes him a veteran out there compared to all the fresh-faced rookies.

Lemieux also has a full season of pro hockey under his belt, albeit one that was interrupted twice by injury. He suffered a broken foot last fall in the Jets Young Stars tournament in British Columbia, then broke the foot again in March, which ended his season with the Manitoba Moose. He’s now recovered and back to skating, showing no ill effects on the ice Monday at the Bell MTS Iceplex.

“I’ve made some big changes in my training and am really happy with where I’m at right now. I’ve tried to get a little bit lighter. I’ve never really had an issue not being lean, but I’ve gotten a bit leaner. I just want to try and be a little quicker and lighter, not as bulky and as big as I have been in the past. Last year I felt I didn’t have that quickness that I need to have,” said Lemieux, who ended up with 12 goals, seven assists and 120 penalty minutes in 61 American Hockey League games.

He credits Winnipeg Jets legend Dale Hawerchuk, who coached him in junior in Barrie, with helping to change his mindset.

“He always said guys that aren’t willing to change aren’t going to get anywhere,” said Lemieux. “I definitely knew that going big, going strong and going tough wasn’t really the direction the game was going. So getting lighter, getting faster, being quicker is kind of the direction I’m going. The part of my game that’s hard to play against is never going to go anywhere.”

That’s potentially good news for an organization that would love to have a professional shift disturber such as Lemieux fill a bottom-six role. Lemieux, the son of former NHL star and agitator extraordinaire Claude Lemieux, is certainly not lacking in confidence as he assesses his chances of pushing for work with the Jets this fall.

“I think there are jobs. I really believe that this year. And if there isn’t one I plan on making one,” said Lemieux. “I want to come in with the mindset I’m not going to take no for an answer and really stick my foot in the door. Whatever comes after that, I’ll learn from it and roll with, but just really having that attitude I belong in the league and really want to stay.”

Lemieux said he watched plenty of NHL playoff action this spring as physical players such as the Anaheim Ducks’ Nick Ritchie and the Edmonton Oilers’ Zack Kassian made an impact.

“There’s room in the game still for guys that play physical and guys that are hard to play against, especially in the NHL,” said Lemieux. “I’m sure that’s what we want to do here and be really hard to play against.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikeoncrime.com