Andrew Copp earning trust, more minutes from Maurice

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This article was published 05/04/2016 (3456 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are no promises beyond seeing your name on the lineup sheet for game night. Andrew Copp has learned that throughout his first year with the Winnipeg Jets.

Being a captain at the University of Michigan, an all-star, a points producer and a minutes eater mean both diddly and squat when a guy becomes a pro. And while making that adjustment from college star can be excruciating at times, there are no sympathy cards at the next level.

It’s sink or swim, kill or be killed, survive and thrive or ride the pine.

“It’s been an interesting ride,” began Copp this week when asked to sum up his first pro season. “I wasn’t used to playing the minutes I was — in school I played more of the Bryan Little-Mark Scheifele minutes. That was an adjustment, just in terms of staying in the flow and the rhythm of the game.

“But, especially lately, I’ve been able to get a little more opportunity, being in that double-digit minute range, and my line has had some chemistry of late. I’m starting to, I wouldn’t say ‘figure it out’ because I thought I had a handle on that from the beginning, but I’m just starting be more consistent.”

Copp’s role hasn’t changed much this season, even with all the auditions up front with the Jets roster of late. But he’s become a trusted penalty killer, is chipping in with the occasional goal — including a highlight-of-the-night candidate against Minnesota Sunday — and has seen his minutes jump as a result.

Consider this: Copp had hit double digits in ice time just three times in his first 62 games this season, but has eclipsed that mark in eight of his last 11 heading into Tuesday’s game in Anaheim against the Ducks.

What he’s tried to do all season, and especially of late, is ensure he isn’t pigeon-holed into strictly a bottom-six role.

“You’re trying to prove yourself and show everything you can do on a consistent basis,” said Copp. “I didn’t show my offensive prowess as much at the beginning of the year. I was playing that fourth-line centre role, which is not a glamorous one, and I was really focused on taking care of my own zone and digging deep on faceoffs and being responsible.

“Lately, I just keep trying to add to my game to make sure I could be slotted into any place in the lineup. I want to expand my game. You want to show what you’re best at and then expand from there. I feel like that’s what has happened for me this year.”

Interestingly, the basic question that was asked about Copp at the beginning of the season remains: what is the ceiling on this guy, a gifted athlete so versatile he was one of the best high school quarterbacks in the state back in the day?

Asked Monday if he had an answer on Copp’s ceiling, Jets coach Paul Maurice offered this candid assessment:

“Not the ceiling, but the floor. He’s a safe player. He started on that fourth line and played the role very consistently.

“He’s a plus player as a young player. We know that he’s a safe guy that you can play and he’s gotten better and he became part of a penalty-killing unit whose numbers were really good after this changeover happened.

“But he’s going to have to come in and compete for that job again. There may be some movement, there may be a little amount of movement in that lineup in terms of veterans that come in, where we draft, all those things will factor into what holes are open.”

Translation? There are likely very few locks up front for the Jets next season, unless their name bar reads ‘Scheifele’, ‘Wheeler’, ‘Ehlers’, ‘Little’, ‘Stafford’ or ‘Perreault.’

And, again, no one need tell Copp of that reality.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are going to be competing for spots next year,” he said. “All I can do is try to prove myself every day.”

ed.tait@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPEdTait