Teenage Burmistrov best Jet so far

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This article was published 19/10/2011 (5191 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A rookie’s introduction to the NHL is most often one of vicious circles. You can’t learn much without ice time but you can’t get much icetime until you learn something.

So how has Alexander Burmistrov of the Winnipeg Jets stopped the tail-chasing?

With his eyes open and his head up, according to those who have watched him since he broke into the league last season as an 18-year-old with the Atlanta Thrashers.

“Definitely he’s improved from last year,” said linemate Nik Antropov. “I can see that in reading the game and the patience he has shown on the ice, especially in the last couple of games. The last game was phenomenal.

“It’s just all the little things that not everybody can see but if you know a little bit about hockey, definitely you can see it. That’s probably the most important thing from last year.”

Jets goalie Chris Mason has watched the process with great interest.

“Sometimes he (Burmistrov) wants to hold onto the puck and guys are so good that they can push you to an area where they want you to go and all of a sudden you’re stickhandling against the boards and there’s nowhere to go,” Mason said. “But he’s starting to figure that out.”

“He’s learning to play with his head up, look for his teammates. A guy like Kyle Wellwood (the other member of the line), he creates space and time without even having to move that fast. It’s just having your head up, surveying the ice and I think Burmi is starting to understand that more.”

Burmistrov was an impact player Monday night when the Jets posted their first-ever win in Winnipeg’s new NHL era. He assisted on both goals in a 2-1 win and recorded 20:57 of ice time, most of any Jets forward.

It was a marked contrast to Burmistrov’s rookie season, when he scored just six goals and 20 points in 74 games and was minus-12.

In that campaign, he had less than 10 minutes of icetime in nine games, averaged 13:13 and had just one outing over 20 minutes (20:01), that in a throwaway game near the end of the out-of-the-playoffs run.

“I think I just have a little more comfort right now,” said Burmistrov, the Jets’ leader in both points, three, and plus, also three. “I have one season passed already. I understand how to play in this league. I know what level is here right now and what players play here.

“Last year, when I stepped on the ice, I looked for the stars and it was ‘Oh my God.’ These guys, I play against them and I’m like, shaking, you know. Now I’m just trying to be better than these players, and to work hard.”

Certainly one factor in his learning to play in the NHL was living at the Antropov house in Atlanta last season.

“He helped me a lot,” Burmistrov said after Tuesday’s practice, before the Jets flew to Toronto, where they play the Maple Leafs tonight. “He’s done a lot for me. Last year in Atlanta, I lived with him. He brought me to his house, I lived with his kids. He’s an unbelievable guy and he helped me all the time.

“His kids, they’re nice kids, real nice kids.”

Antropov said that mentorship was simply the right thing to do.

“I’ve been in his shoes 12 years ago,” Antropov said. “I came into the league, didn’t know absolutely anything, I’m glad for me there were four or five Russian guys to take care of me, show me around, guide me around.

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“That’s what I’m trying to pass on to the next young guys. Doesn’t matter if it’s Russian or Canadian. We’re here to help as veteran guys. It’s what we’re trying to do.”

Burmistrov’s battle has improved with his awareness.

“I could see his skill,” Jets coach Claude Noel said, asked about what his summer video-watching homework told him about the franchise’s 2010 first-round draft pick. “I could see his thought process. He wasn’t in a real offensive role but I could see some of that stuff was there.

“I just see them more now. I think that’s where he’s really learned. There’s always a process. It always takes time.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca