Prospects ready to show organization what they can do

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This article was published 29/06/2017 (2992 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

PRO hockey, in small doses, has looked good on Jansen Harkins.

In two short stays with the Manitoba Moose the past two AHL seasons, Harkins demonstrated his offensive abilities aren’t restricted to his junior days.

Once the 2015-16 season with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL was done, the 6-2, 195-pound centre joined the Moose and fired his first pro goal and added a pair of assists in six games. A year later, the son of former NHL journeyman forward Todd Harkins signed an entry-level deal with the Winnipeg Jets and rejoined the Moose for the final four games of the AHL season, scoring twice and adding two helpers in four games.

The Cougars’ all-time points leader (75 goals, 242 points) says he’s ready to be a full-time pro this fall.

“Both years I’ve done it were some of the best hockey I’ve ever played,” Harkins said following Thursday’s skate at Jets development camp at the Bell MTS Iceplex.

“It was definitely a huge step up from junior and I think just being able to come up with the Moose and have that midway step between junior and the NHL, it’s obviously great hockey and it’s a lot faster, better positionally and you have to quickly adapt.

“All my goals are pretty realistic. I want to play pro and I want to play on the Moose. It’s a great league and almost every good NHL player comes through the minors. I know that and I feel pretty blessed to go out there and have a chance to play the whole year there.”

Harkins, who was born in Cleveland but raised in the Vancouver area, was selected by the Jets in the second round (47th overall) in the 2015 draft. Forwards Kyle Connor and Jack Roslovic were plucked by the Jets the round before.

The 20-year-old left-shooting forward led the Cougars in scoring with 72 points, including 19 goals, in 64 games during the 2016-17 season. He was twice named to the WHL all-star team.

Harkins said he takes pride in his hockey smarts and has tried to put them to use in both ends of the rink. Points have always come easy, but he’s challenged himself to be quicker and stronger prior to Jets training camp in September.

“They’ve given me a lot of positive feedback this week. They want me to keep working on my speed and my strength,” he said.

“I’ve shown I can produce in the AHL, but in very small stints, so my goal next year is to become a consistent player with the Moose and hopefully down the road get my shot with the Jets.”

Not sweating the ‘small’ stuff

Skyler McKenzie is the smallest guy on the ice at amp but is busting his hump to let his play, not his limited stature, come into focus this week.

Passed over in 2016, his first year of draft eligibility, McKenzie was picked by Winnipeg in the seventh round (198th overall) of last week’s draft in Chicago.

The 5-8, 160-pound forward was noticeable Thursday, darting in an out of traffic during drills at Bell MTS Centre, unleashing a couple of rockets that found the back of the net.

The 19-year-old from Sherwood Park, Alta., did a lot of that last season for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL, increasing his point total to 84 (42G, 42A) from just 25 (8G, 17A) the year before — and impressing the Jets enough to use that late-round pick to grab him.

He was at the family cabin at Whitefish Lake, northeast of Edmonton, and had stopped following the draft online just minutes before his name was called at the United Center.

“In the sixth round, I was getting nervous and turned off my phone. It wasn’t too long after that I got a call from our assistant coach in Portland that I was taken in the seventh round. It was definitely something special,” he said. “I got a phone call from the Jets a while back and my agent was in touch with them quite a bit, so I was hoping and crossing my fingers that I would get picked by the Jets.”

McKenzie played portions of the season on a line with Winnipegger Cody Glass, a forward taken sixth-overall by the Vegas Golden Knights.

“It’s definitely special, whenever you have a guy go that early, it’s incredible. Cody came in when I was 16 and he was 15 and we roomed together for a while and got to know each other and created that bond between brothers on the team,” he said.

Though undersized, McKenzie figures that’s less of a knock against him than it would have been a decade ago, adding his skill, work ethic and desire are what drives him to push ahead.

He said the starry careers of guys such as the Boston Bruins’ 5-9, 180-pound dynamo Brad Marchand, 5-8, 180-pound Tyler Johnson of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames, just 5-9 and 160 pounds, gives him hope the unthinkable is possible.

“Those are the guys you look up to. They’ve been creating a path for smaller guys and it’s nice to see the league is evolving into a different style of game, more of a skill game,” he said. “I’m trying to use everything I have to my advantage. I go to the net hard and get open, use my speed and skill, and I like to be that pest, get under peoples’ skin.”

Time to battle

The kids are done with drills and get some actual play time today when the two groups battle in a scrimmage at 10:30 a.m. at Bell MTS Iceplex.

Roslovic and Connor, both drafted in 2015 out of U.S. college hockey and linemates for chunks of the season with the Moose last season, will be on opposite sides during the scrimmage.

Thirty-four prospects are listed on the development camp roster but two players — defenceman Tucker Poolman and centre Jordy Stallard — are sidelined because of injuries.

Left-winger Kristian Vesalainen, Winnipeg’s first-round pick (24th overall) last Friday at the 2017 NHL Draft in Chicago, is on the same 15-man squad for the scrimmage as centre Santeri Virtanen, defenceman Leon Gawanke and goalie Arvid Holm, who were all selected Saturday at the draft.

The other team includes blue-liner Nelson Nogier, who played 10 games with the Jets last season, Dylan Samberg and Johnathan Kovacevic, drafted in the second and third rounds, respectively, on Saturday, and slick-skating Finnish defenceman Sami Niku, who inked his first professional deal in mid-May.

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @WFPJasonBell