Old pro knows to bide his time

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This article was published 24/09/2015 (3693 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The senior statesman of the Winnipeg Jets’ blue-line is not old by any means.

Jay Harrison, at 32, may carry the earliest birthdate among the large cast of defencemen vying for spots on the depth chart, but experience and wisdom are what keep him competitive.

The Oshawa, Ont., native went into the lineup for his first pre-season action Wednesday night in Edmonton. He wasn’t surrounded by excessive experience but the organization’s depth is never out of his vision.

“We have an extremely dynamic lineup,” he said Wednesday before the game. “We have a little bit of everything. We have speed and we’ve added some skill like (Alex) Burmistrov.

“Our big players are speed players, (Andrew) Ladd, (Blake) Wheeler, (Bryan) Little, (Mathieu) Perreault. Then we have the size game as well.

“In the back end, it replicates that. We have the size, the speed and the puck-moving ability and the offensive capability and of course the dynamic Dustin Byfuglien.

“There’s a lot of weapons, so to speak, to go to.”

In his 13 pro years, Harrison has come to understand how roster puzzles work.

He certainly let his play do his talking after being acquired last December from Carolina as the Jets were in the midst of a serious rash of injuries.

“Over the course of the season, you need contributions from everyone,” he said. “You need to win games in different ways.

“We saw that last year. When we got those contributions, well, without those in times of need, we don’t make the playoffs.”

Just how this is all going to fit together for Harrison’s 14th season remains something of an unknown. The team’s top six on the back end seems fairly set, especially with the rapid maturity of 24-year-old Ben Chiarot.

Harrison, Adam Pardy and Paul Postma have all endeared themselves to coach Paul Maurice and the team’s management in different ways, able to fit in and cause zero distractions or soft spots in action. Harrison’s role, for instance, was 35 regular-season games for the Jets after the trade, including seven in which he was asked to play more than 20 minutes.

Adding to the puzzle is youngster Josh Morrissey, the team’s 2013 first-round pick, who has had a good start on his development curve and will be a pro this year.

Harrison was asked where patience fits into the list of priorities, given all these elements of the Jets’ current drama.

‘With the depth we have in this locker- room, it’s going to require some patience for some guys to get the opportunity they might expect or might get somewhere else… that needs to be coupled with a highly disciplined approach to how you keep your game and how sharp you stay for that opportunity’

— Jay Harrison

“Patience is an interesting attribute at this level,” he said. “I’ve always said this, that a lot of people mistake patience for complacency, waiting for an opportunity as opposed to always being told to go and make an opportunity.

“That’s toeing a fine line. Certainly with the depth we have in this locker-room, it’s going to require some patience for some guys to get the opportunity they might expect or might get somewhere else.

“But at the same time, that needs to be coupled with a highly disciplined approach to how you keep your game and how sharp you stay for that opportunity.”

The best veterans comprehend most how to take nothing for granted.

“You always come in and it’s a habit I have — I’ve never come to a training camp not expecting I had to prove myself, not expecting to be given anything and I don’t expect this year is any different, especially with the defensive corps we have here this year and the young guys coming up as well,” he said.

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Wednesday night’s resumption of making his case for playing time has him thinking most about the next two weeks of preparation for the season.

“I’m a four- or five-game kind of guy, where you say, ‘I’ve gotten what I need to get out of these games and I’m ready to contribute at a level that means something,'” he said, asked what’s his ideal number of pre-season games. “There’s a fine line where you’re sacrificing some physicality and some energy in an exhibition game that doesn’t really have value beyond just that experience.

“I think a fair number is probably one more than most guys would think they need.”

tim.campbell@freepress.mb.ca