Kosmachuk gets the call

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This article was published 08/03/2016 (3496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Scott Kosmachuk has heard it before. And so the ‘True North!’ shout-out during the national anthem at the MTS Centre hardly came as a surprise.

The strength of it, however, was something the young winger did feel to his core and will remember on the night of his National Hockey League debut with the Winnipeg Jets

“That’s something that definitely stuck out for me,” said Kosmachuk after Tuesday’s 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators. “The ‘True North!’ that the fans yell out, they do it at the (Manitoba) Moose games, too, but here it was louder.

“I guess there’s a couple more people yelling it.”

Kosmachuk didn’t pop off the page in his NHL debut, but the 2012 third-round draft pick hardly looked out of place, either. Playing on a line with Adam Lowry and Chris Thorburn, he finished with nine minutes and 25 seconds of ice time, including 1:40 on the power-play after Marko Dano had been rocked on a hit to the head by Austin Watson.

“It took a couple of shifts but the older guys — Lows (Adam Lowry) and Thorbs (Chris Thorburn) — really calmed my nerves,” said Kosmachuk. “They’re great guys to play with.”

Kosmachuk was summoned after Monday’s Moose game with the Jets Joel Armia expected to be out for a week with a lower-body injury. The short notice meant that his mother and brother were able to fly out in time for the game, but not his father.

“Hopefully there will be more to come,” said Kosmachuk. “This has been a dream of mine and it’s something I looked forward to.

“I tried to take it all in. Coach said to try to take it all in and not be nervous, be this, be that, and just enjoy the moment. The end result wasn’t what we were looking for but, personally, it was nice to get my feet under me. I just tried to keep things simple and get pucks in and out.

“Honestly, I thought I would be a lot more nervous. But playing here with the Moose as the home arena helped me in my first game.”

Kosmachuk said he did notice a change in the pace from the AHL, but Maurice was also content with how he handled the adjustment

‘I tried to take it all in. Coach said to try to take it all in and not be nervous, be this, be that, and just enjoy the moment. The end result wasn’t what we were looking for but, personally, it was nice to get my feet under me. I just tried to keep things simple and get pucks in and out’– Scott Kosmachuk on his first NHL game

“He moved well on the ice. It’s a big jump in speed, it’s a quick game for him,” said Maurice. “But I liked the way he skated… anything you might consider negative is just the difference between the two leagues — systems that are run, what teams will do against you — that experience takes care of a lot. He moved quicker than I’ve seen him move in his games, so that was good.”

Kosmachuk was the sixth prospect to make his NHL debut for the Jets this season after Nikolaj Ehlers, Nic Petan, Connor Hellebuyck, J.C. Lipon and Josh Morrissey. And so Maurice has become accustomed to his ‘welcome to the show’ speech he has made to the young guns this season.

“…If you score three, you’re not getting a 10-year deal and if you’re minus-two, you’re not going to the (ECHL),” Maurice said after the morning skate. “So just go out and play and we’ll work on things but don’t think about anything else but playing the game you know how to play.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

— with files from Tim Campbell