Trouba not troubled by distractions

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This article was published 15/09/2017 (2916 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jacob Trouba is normally reticent to talk about contract issues and that didn’t change Friday.

The 23-year-old defenceman, who’s in the final year of a two-year deal that will pay him US$2.8125 million in 2017-18, was asked Friday if there had been any off-season progress in talks about an extension with the Winnipeg Jets.

“Briefly. Nothing really came out of it,” Trouba, who missed 15 games during a contract stalement with the club last season, said on Day 1 of the NHL club’s training camp at the Iceplex. “I’m focused on the season and I’ve never really been one to talk about it during the year. For me, just worry about it next summer and go play some hockey.”

Trouba was also asked if he had tweaked his summer training program.

“Depends on what I want to tell you… I guess I did a little bit different training-wise over the summer,” Trouba said. “A little less with the weights and trying to put on weight and a little more agility and that kind of stuff. More quickness, hopefully that translates onto the ice pretty well. I did some Pilates this summer, which was interesting for me. It was helpful and hopefully it will help me.”

Trouba explained where he thought his game progressed the most.

“Decision making was a little bit better,” Trouba said. “It’s not something you see on score sheets, but it’s something that makes a difference in a lot of games. It’s something I still need to work on. There are those times when you still have mental lapses and the more you can get that out of your game, the better off the team will be.”

Clean bill of health

The Jets had their medicals Thursday and then spent Friday morning enduring the monotony of on-ice fitness testing.

Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice confirmed he’ll be pushing a healthy bunch through its paces when players hit the ice Saturday for the first real workouts of the nearly three-week training camp, which includes seven pre-season games.

And, he noted, the guys who get paid to play have arrived in town in shape — for the most part.

“We test speed and endurance. What you’re looking for is the returning players to be where they’re at or better. We have a handful of guys that we would consider their fitness elite, so there’s not going to be a lot of room to improve,” he said.

“There will be a bunch of guys that we’re looking to get better, and then a baseline for the new guys.”

A pair of veteran defenceman who battled injuries last season, Tyler Myers and Toby Enstrom, are cleared for contact, as is rookie blue-liner Tucker Poolman who had off-season surgery on both shoulders.

Maurice said he’ll gradually work all three into the lineup as the pre-season progresses.

“We’ll probably hold (them) out of the first exhibition game. There’s only a few of them, just to give them a few more practices to make sure they’re right,” he said.

“They’re going full-on in the first practice. We’re not holding anyone back.”

Jan Kostalek, who played 60 games on the Manitoba Moose blue line last season, and young defenceman Luke Green, a 2016 third-round draft pick, are nursing injuries and won’t participate in Saturday’s on-ice sessions (9 a.m. and noon).

The club’s fourth annual Fan Fest goes Saturday at the Iceplex, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Winnipeg’s first pre-season test is slated for Monday when the Minnesota Wild vist BellMTS Place. Game time is 7 p.m.

TSN fills analyst vacancy

TSN is reaching into its deep roster of on-air talent to fill the role of analyst on Jets broadcasts, left vacant by the recent departure of Shane Hnidy.

Veteran broadcasters Ray Ferraro, Dave Poulin and Jamie McLellan, all former NHLers, will each work between five and 10 of TSN3’s 60 regular-season Jets games in 2017-18. CBC and Sportsnet will carry the remaining 22 games. Last month Hnidy was hired as a television analyst for broadcasts of Vegas Golden Knights, the NHL’s newest team.

“It’s been an interesting challenge trying to replace Shane,” said TSN’s vice-president and executive producer of live events Paul Graham Friday morning. “Shane was a tremendous part of our telecasts and well liked and respected from everyone, the fans, the Jets and his peers.”

The Vancouver-based Ferraro and the Ontario-based Poulin and McLellan, all of whom have additional responsibilities with TSN, are not viewed as long-term replacements for Hnidy.

“In the meantime, we’re going to audition a few guys during the pre-season and potentially some more during the course of the season,” Graham said. “And ultimately, at some point during the season, we’ll decide on one or two who we think we want to move forward with — outside of Ray, Jamie and Dave.”

Graham said three former pro players with varying amounts of broadcasting experience will have an opportunity to audition during the upcoming pre-season.

Nick Boynton, who has worked on Arizona Coyotes broadcasts; Dave Thomlinson, who has been employed in Vancouver radio and helped out on TSN’s world hockey championship broadcasts; and Kevin Sawyer, who has served on Shaw TV’s Western Hockey League shows, will team up for two games each with play-by-play man Dennis Beyak.

Former NHL goaltender Trevor Kidd, a more recent fixture on Jets radio pre- and post-game shows, will also get a chance to work with Beyak on some Jets TV broadcasts during the regular season. Graham said other candidates may also eventually figure into the mix.

Mike Johnson, who once worked on Jets telecasts and recently returned to the TSN stable, will not be part of the Winnipeg broadcasts.

Hnidy, a 41-year-old Neepawa native, had been a part of the Jets radio and television broadcasts on TSN 1290 and TSN3 since the franchise relocated from Atlanta for the start of the 2011-12 NHL season. He became the Jets’ full-time TV analyst in 2014.

There are four years remaining on TSN-Jets television deal.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell

Winnipeg Jets 2017/18 Broadcast Schedule