Perfetti’s reality check Being scratched, ‘One of the worst feelings I’ve ever felt,’ says Jets forward By: Ken Wiebe Posted: 5:23 PM CST Monday, Mar. 4, 2024

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This article was published 04/03/2024 (950 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Cole Perfetti got straight to the point.

The Winnipeg Jets forward was the last player standing in the locker room after a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Although his parents were waiting to sneak in a quick visit after making the two-hour drive from Whitby, Ont., Perfetti had already carved out time for a post-game workout while interviews were taking place.

As he returned for a quick conversation, the emotion in his voice and the precision in his delivery told you all that you needed to know about how the previous 36-hour period — which included the first healthy scratch of his career — had been like to endure.

“I’m not going to sugar coat it,” said Perfetti, whose team is set to face the Seattle Kraken on Tuesday at Canada Life Centre (7 p.m., TSN, CJOB). “It was probably one of the worst feelings I’ve ever felt. I don’t know what the right word is. Not embarrassing, because you’re still in the NHL, but it was a reality check. It was a wake-up call.”

There was a rawness to Perfetti’s words, which makes sense given what had just transpired.

He was just getting started, having straddled the fine line of processing his emotions and mapping out what needed to be done to put this event in the rearview mirror.

“I know my game is not where I know it can be and we’re trying to win, so I understand that coaches have to make decisions,” said Perfetti. “(Jets head coach Rick Bowness) has done it in the past with other young guys on other teams. It’s something that I never want to have happen again. It was a wake-up call. Not that the effort wasn’t there, but I’m going to work my ass off every single day, in every single practice and every single game, to make sure that doesn’t happen again — because it didn’t feel good.

“It’s a bump in the road and hopefully, it makes me a better player in the end.”

“I’m not going to sugar coat it … It was probably one of the worst feelings I’ve ever felt. I don’t know what the right word is. Not embarrassing, because you’re still in the NHL, but it was a reality check. It was a wake-up call.”–Cole Perfetti

The 10th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft had reason to feel good on Sunday night. He had done his part to respond to the aforementioned bump in the road by providing the primary assist on the game-winning goal from Morgan Barron at 13:55 of the third period.

No, this wasn’t a prime example of Perfetti’s vision on display but it was the type of play that is going to be required of him during the final 22 regular season games and beyond as the Jets continue to push for top spot in both the Central Division and Western Conference.

Perfetti, who returned to the lineup on the fourth line with Barron and David Gustafsson, accepted the pass from Neal Pionk on his off side and chipped the puck off the glass on his backhand into the neutral zone.

The Sabres defenceman was applying pressure, which raised the degree of difficulty.

By notching his first point in 16 games, Perfetti has a chance to exhale.

The lengthy drought is over and while he was limited to 13 shifts for 11:50, plays like this one will help increase his ice time and perhaps, provide a jolt of energy.

Perfetti, who has already played a career-high in NHL games in a season with 59, also set a new bar for points with 31.

“Obviously, a little bit on the schneid there and I’m glad to just get that one out of the way,” said Perfetti. “It’s an accomplishment to be proud of. I’m happy to be a part of that (game-winning goal). What a play by (Barron) and what a shot. Just happy about it. Maybe a little bit of the pressure is off now. Maybe a little bit more confidence.”

Perfetti finds himself in unfamiliar territory, moved to the fourth line after spending the bulk of the campaign on the second unit.

On Sunday, the Jets fourth line was scored on by the Sabres fourth line, as Buffalo took a 2-1 lead in the second period.

“It’s an accomplishment to be proud of. I’m happy to be a part of that (game-winning goal).”–Cole Perfetti

Perfetti had jumped to try and knock a flipped puck out of the air but couldn’t come up with it before the Sabres entered the zone and Eric Robinson finished off the play with a shot from the slot.

“After that goal against, it was a little frustrating again. Our line wasn’t happy that we gave up the (go ahead) goal for them,” said Perfetti. “So, to get the game-winner as a line there, we were all pretty proud of that and pretty happy with the way that we fought back and came through for our team.”

The rough patch of play is a reminder that the development path for a young player, even a top prospect, is rarely linear.

Enduring growing pains is something of a right of passage at this level, especially for someone who turned 22 on New Year’s Day.

That doesn’t mean it was easy to go through, even for someone as mature as Perfetti.

“I had a different mindset coming into the game,” said Perfetti, who has gone 19 games without scoring a goal, though he remains seventh on the team in that category. “I’m just fortunate that I have a great support group, with my friends and family, in a tough time like that. Obviously, it’s been a tough month personally, (with) not contributing to the team.

“To be able to have that support from everyone that loves me to just be in my corner and be there for me, they knew that I was not in a good spot and it was tough for me. I’m just grateful that I have that.”

Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey is impressed by how Perfetti quickly put the disappointment behind him.

“Yeah I thought he played really well. It was nice to see him getting an apple there in the third and just making a smart play and yeah, he’s a great young player,” said Morrissey, who was named the NHLs third star of the week after chipping in a goal and seven points in four games. “I see so much hockey sense and in the way he plays the game, which I really appreciate and I think you know, there are going to be ups and downs in your career.

“Sometimes it looks different, but anyone that’s established themselves and gone on to a career in the league knows that sometimes, you have those situations and obviously, he just loves the game and cares about the game and I thought he came out after a situation no one likes and no one wants to be in and played great, brought a great attitude to the rink. It’s just one of those things that sometimes you go through as a player and he’s going to be a great player in this league for a long time and like I said, he’s so smart that it’ll be fun to watch him improve, but it’s nice to see him play well.”

The Jets have only one game left on the schedule before the NHL trade deadline arrives and it will be interesting to see what general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff could have up his sleeve.

The health of forward Gabriel Vilardi could play a role in that decision and an update on his status could be provided following the morning skate.

Vilardi, who has 16 goals and 30 points in 38 games this season, missed the last two games with an undisclosed upper-body issue and flew back to Winnipeg during the road trip to be examined by team doctors.

If he’s out for an extended period of time, that could open the door to a bigger move within the top-six — or potentially help open the door for Perfetti to work his way back up the depth chart.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld