Jets could face growing pains

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This article was published 05/10/2016 (3284 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The kids will play, that much is certain.

But whether that quickly translates into a winning product on the ice or a season of struggles for the Winnipeg Jets remains to be seen.

Up front, Patrick Laine, plucked second overall in the NHL Draft this summer, just turned 18 in April, Kyle Connor is 19, Nikolaj Ehlers is 20, Andrew Copp is 22, and Joel Armia and Adam Lowry are both 23.

On defence, Josh Morrissey is 21, while goalie Connor Hellebuyck is 23.

Most, if not all, could crack the Jets roster for the season opener Oct. 13 at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.

The trick, head coach Paul Maurice said Wednesday, is to allow each player some room to make the mistakes they’ll inevitably make and then guide them through the learning process.

“It’s a matter of understanding the league,” he said, following practice at the MTS Iceplex. “We believe in the talent of our young players. What they are capable of doing is going to be curtailed by men just like them that are 27 years old that are playing against them. So, you have to be patient about what your expectations are.

“You come in as an elite-minute guy, an elite scorer or an elite defender. And now you are playing a bunch of guys who were just like you that are seven years older.

“That’s a lot of experience. So, (be) patient with that — what we expect of them and what they expect of themselves.”

The Jets face the Oilers tonight (8 p.m.) and then wrap up the pre-season schedule Saturday in St. Paul, Minn., against the Wild (7 p.m.).

Hellebuyck will start in goal against the Oilers, Maurice confirmed, as the team goes for its fifth consecutive exhibition victory.

Defenceman Dustin Byfuglien said the organization’s blueprint for the future played a big role in his decision to ink a five-year contract extension, with an average annual value of US$7.6 million.

“Before it was even done, that was part of the thing. Sitting down and looking at what we’ve got coming, you know, where their heads are at, what they were planning on drafting, what they’re planning on doing. That stuff all comes into play,” he said. “We’ve still got a lot of numbers here (in camp), but the kids look good.

“We don’t have a choice, we’re going to be young. We’re going to have to have a young team and we’re going to have to work with it and, hopefully, we come together right away and be good off the get go.”

The growing pains come and go while off the ice, too.

“It’s kind of messed up these first couple weeks when you first come,” said Laine, a highly touted youngster from Finland. “It’s busy. You have to get a car and an apartment and stuff like that, so there’s a lot of things to do. And, of course, it’s training camp, so you need to focus on being your very best here.

“It’s getting better all the time. I’m getting to know the guys and things are settling down.”

Down by one: The Jets reassigned forward Ryan Olsen to the Manitoba Moose, the club’s AHL affiliate.

Olsen, 22, from Delta, B.C., fired six goals and chipped in seven assists in 67 games with the Moose last season.

Winnipeg still has 20 forwards, nine defencemen and three goaltenders remaining at training camp.

Forward Drew Stafford is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, but won’t play today, while forwards Shawn Matthias (upper body) and Brendan Lemieux (lower body) are listed as week-to-week.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell