So far, so good at Jets’ summer training camp

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 17/07/2020 (1878 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When it comes to holding hockey training camp in the middle of summer — during a global pandemic, no less — it’s safe to say that predictable is preferred. The circumstances are already strange enough. The last thing anyone wants to be dealing with right now is a surprise that comes out of the blue.

In that sense, consider the first few days a success for the Winnipeg Jets. Everyone made it back to town in time. Nobody got hurt. And there was no outbreak of COVID-19, as best we can tell.

That doesn’t mean it was a sleepy, uneventful affair. After four months away from the rink, simply getting back on the ice was no small feat, and certainly not something that should be taken for granted.

With that in mind, here’s a few things I’ve noticed so far — and a few others to keep our eyes on when the action resumes Sunday at Bell MTS Iceplex following a one-day break to continue preparation for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs two weeks from now.

There’s still some rust to shake off: It took until Wednesday for coach Paul Maurice to start liking what he was seeing. The effort was there, but the execution definitely was not.

That’s not surprising, considering most of the players had limited ice availability while waiting out the pause in their off-season homes. For creatures of habit such as NHL athletes, that much time off skates is going to have an impact.

“It really hasn’t set in that we’re gonna play a playoff game in probably two weeks here. It is what it is and I’m feeling better every day at camp. So hopefully the whole team and myself will be ready to hit the ground running,” leading scorer Kyle Connor said after Friday’s skate.

Slowly but surely, the pace started to pick up and the Jets started to resemble their normal selves. Expect the foot to be pressed a bit harder on the accelerator next week.

Josh Morrissey has been very noticeable: It was interesting to hear the team’s top defenceman admit he may have been “playing a little lighter than I would have liked to in terms of my strength and physical ability” prior to the regular season shutting down, a revelation that came to him while going over his games. He worked on that in the gym while sitting at his off-season home in Calgary and believes it’s paying off.

Maurice has singled Morrissey out as the guy who has impressed the most so far, and there’s no question he’s looked like a stud. If the Jets are going to do some damage in the playoffs, they need Morrissey, along with partner Dylan DeMelo, to be dynamite.

So far, so good.

The starting lineup is likely set, but there’s still some battles going on: Friday’s up-tempo scrimmage was interesting for a few reasons, including the names of the guys who managed to light the lamp. Rookie David Gustafsson opened the scoring for Team Blue, but Logan Shaw, Gabriel Bourque and Jansen Harkins (we think, there’s some dispute among players as to who touched the puck last) replied for Team White in a 3-1 victory.

Yes, all the big stars were playing. But the top lines and defence pairings, pitted against each other, more or less neutralized each other. As a result, it was the bubble guys who stood out, and all four scorers are guys who likely won’t be playing Game 1 against the Calgary Flames. But they can improve their standing as first replacement option with a strong showing.

Keeping the virus at bay?: There was certainly some buzz when four players — goaltender Laurent Brossoit and defencemen Anthony Bitetto, Nelson Nogier and Logan Stanley — were deemed “unfit to practise” when camp began, with the Jets not permitted to say anything else under new NHL restrictions.

Brossoit and Nogier were back on the ice by mid-week, while Bitetto and Stanley remain AWOL. Injury? Illness? Who the heck knows.

The NHL and NHLPA will release their weekly COVID-19 testing and infection numbers on Monday, and it will be interesting to break them down. These two weeks of camps, being held in all home markets with players basically under lockdown, are crucial.

If all 24 teams can safely get to the so-called bubble in the hub cities of Edmonton and Toronto by next weekend, then the return-to-play protocol will likely proceed as planned.

An exhibition game? Really?: Imagine being away from your team since mid-March, finally returning in early July under the most unique circumstances in league history, then getting injured just days before the playoffs begin in a meaningless practice game. That’s the reality every team will face as they play one exhibition contest in the days prior to the Aug. 1 puck drop.

Maurice said he’s thankful for the chance to use his entire lineup and expects it to closely resemble an actual game when his club faces the Vancouver Canucks on July 29. But you have to imagine he, and every other bench boss, will be holding their breath hoping the risk is ultimately worth it.

Who’s going to be broadcasting the qualifying series? You’ll note the television schedule has yet to be released. That’s because there’s a behind-the-scenes tug of war going on between Sportsnet (which owns Flames rights) and TSN (which owns the Jets rights) over who gets the initial best-of-five. It sounds like Sportsnet is likely to come out on top, with TSN being left out in the cold, but stay tuned.

TSN 1290 will carry all Jets radio broadcasts, but Paul Edmonds and company will be doing so off a monitor in Winnipeg, as crews are not being permitted inside the hub city rinks just to keep the bubble as tight as possible.

Like we said, strange times for all. But as long as the surprises are kept to a minimum, everyone around the Jets should be pretty happy.

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg