Postma answers the bell

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This article was published 01/11/2016 (3242 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Paul Postma has enjoyed getting up close and personal with the stars of the NHL again.

The Winnipeg Jets defenceman spent the majority of his time watching the action from the press box during the 2015-16 season, dressing for just 26 games. But the 27-year-old product of Red Deer, Alta., has played in seven of the club’s first 10 games this campaign, including five in a row to start the season, and the club’s last two.

When Tyler Myers was a late scratch with a lower-body injury Sunday afternoon, Postma was called on out of necessity and registered a season-high 16 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time playing on the right side of the Jets’ second defensive pairing, partnered up with Toby Enstrom, in a 3-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.

He played another 14:16 Tuesday night in a 3-2 loss to the Washington Capitals at the MTS Centre.

Postma’s play hasn’t been flashy, but he’s been relatively responsible in his own end — although the defensive tandem made of mess of things on the Capitals’ second goal Tuesday when Postma chased Evgeny Kuznetsov around the net and Enstrom left Marcus Johansson unattended, allowing Johansson to notch his sixth of the season.

The eight-year pro admitted he still considers himself a work in progress, adding there’s an offensive side to his game that needs to emerge.

“I’ve been around this game my whole life, but there’s still so much left to learn,” said Postma, who is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer. “We’re going to be playing against (teams’) top-end guys, so playing good defence is always on my mind and something that I try and get better at, and I think I’ve been doing that lately.

“I’m going to try and produce a little more offensively now. I just have to play with confidence and have fun out there and play at ease.”

Postma, selected by the Atlanta Thrashers in the seventh round of the 2007 NHL Draft, registered an 84-point season his final year of junior with the Calgary Hitmen (2008-09) and then put up good numbers with the Thrashers’ AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves, during his first two years of pro.

When the organization moved north to Winnipeg, he spent most of the 2011-12 season with the Jets’ farm club in St. John’s, Nfld., posting 44 points (13 goals). Since then, he’s suffered through a number of injuries, including a blood clot in his leg that wiped out a chunk of the 2013-14 campaign.

In 132 games with the Jets over parts of six seasons, he has nine goals and 11 assists.

A right-shooting blue-liner, he’s had to fight for time behind Dustin Byfuglien, Myers and Jacob Trouba. But with Myers on the shelf and Trouba holding out, Postma has an opportunity to demonstrate he deserves a regular assignment.

“There are times when it’s been frustrating and I’ve been out of the lineup for a while, and it’s something you don’t want to have to go through in your career,” he said. “But with the back end on this team, it’s extremely strong, especially on that right side, I think just going through that makes me a stronger player. It was more of a mental game for me. If I can get through that, I can get through anything.”

Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice said he’s been satisfied with Postma’s performance early in the season, noting the organization is mindful the blue-liner has spent more time as a spectator than a participant.

“He does some things that should be new-age relevant to the National Hockey League. He skates exceptionally well, and he can get a puck to the net very well, pulls it across the line as (well as) most defenceman in the league,” said Maurice.

“What he’s always had to work with is trading that off to being strong in his own end and playing well defensively, and I think he’s made a real concerted effort this year to bring that first.

“It’s a challenge for him. He’s been out of the lineup so often… for a man of his age, he just hasn’t had a lot of in-game experience.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell