Copp’s hard work pays off

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This article was published 25/03/2021 (1626 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There was no switch that got flipped, no amazing overnight transformation from checker to scorer. No, Andrew Copp grew his game the old-fashioned way. Through countless hours of dedication to his craft.

It’s paying off in a big way these days, as the 26-year-old Winnipeg Jets forward is enjoying his finest season, by far. A four-goal outburst on Wednesday night in Vancouver shows just how far he’s come — and makes you wonder just how much further he could go?

“Worked really hard at it. Like I said, it kind of doesn’t happen overnight. Some nights are a lot better than others. So it feels good. Still have how many other games left to go, and things still left to prove,” Copp said shortly after his breakout performance.

Copp now has 10 goals and 15 assists through 33 games. Considering his career-high is 11 goals (in 69 games in 2018-19) and 19 assists (in 82 games in 2017-18), he’s on pace to obliterate those numbers even though his 2021 campaign is just 56-games long.

“He spends an awful lot of his time trying to develop that part of his game. I think his talent and his gift is the defensive part of the game, and that comes naturally to him. He’s spent an awful lot of time developing his hands, picking pucks along the boards. Just worked at it and worked at it,” said coach Paul Maurice.

This is all likely to pay off for Copp in another way. He’s a pending restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer, and there’s no question he’s due for a raise from the US$2.28 million he’s currently making.

“He’s a great pro and a great guy for someone like me to look up to and watch how he comes to the rink and prepares himself every day. It doesn’t matter what day or what game of the year, he’s preparing the way everyone should and just a great guy off the ice. He’s been really good to me as a rookie this year and helped me out a lot. I’m so happy for him,” said Jets first-year defenceman Logan Stanley.

For all the talk of Winnipeg’s elite top six forwards of Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Blake Wheeler, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Paul Stastny, Copp is making a compelling case it actually goes much deeper.

Only Scheifele, Ehlers and Connor have scored more than him this season. Copp is actually one of eight players on the team that would project to have at least 20 goals this year over a full 82-game slate (along with the top six and linemate Mason Appleton. Their centre, Adam Lowry, is close to making it nine players).

“That line is in a lot of ways built for his style of play. He can play with other styles, but because he’s so strong defensively, those guys kind of have a unique game. They can play against the other team’s best or in a different match that was going on (Wednesday night) they can be pretty dominant,” said Maurice.

HELLEBUYCK STANDS TALL: Ho-hum. A 38-save performance from Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck barely seemed to register a post-game ripple on Wednesday night. Much of that, of course, was due to Copp’s four-goal effort. But there’s no question many have just taken the reigning Vezina Trophy winner’s nightly efforts for granted.

“No one’s asked a Connor Hellebuyck question here tonight and that was some ridiculous goaltending,” Maurice joked with media over Zoom following the game.

Hellebuyck’s numbers aren’t quite as stellar as his award-winning season last year, but they’re close. He now has a 2.65 goals-against-average (2.57 last year) and a .916 save-percentage (.922 last year). More importantly, he has 15 wins in 26 starts (he had 31 in 58 games last season).

“I’m just continuing on, getting better every day with the details that I’ve started building from the beginning of the season. I felt really good and I felt good this month, I felt good this season and I’m getting better every single day and this is just the results that we’re getting. So, not every night is gonna be results like this, but you’re still gonna feel good,” Hellebuyck said after his latest effort.

It certainly didn’t go unappreciated by those in front of him.

“I think he’s definitely a big-time or big-stage goalie. He’s been great all year and especially the last two games. Some huge saves for us throughout the two games and we’re glad we have him on our team,” said Stanley.

STANLEY THROWS DOWN: Speaking of the 6-7 blue-liner, Stanley got his first taste of an NHL dust-up Wednesday night when he dropped the gloves and chucked knuckles with Vancouver’s Zack MacEwen. Turns out both guys were just looking to light a bit of a fire after a sleepy first period.

Stanley more than held his own, getting in a couple big licks before he lost his balance and fell backwards.

“Maybe we were a little flat in the first and could have had a little more jump. I just tried to spark the team. Maybe it helped, maybe it didn’t, but I had fun,” said Stanley. “I don’t think it’s going to be every game but if something happens in the game and I need to step up, that’s part of my role and something I’m willing to do.”

He’s been a revelation of sorts for Winnipeg this season, now up to 21 games in. Along with an assist, his plus-nine ranking trails only Ehlers for tops on the team. He’s been paired with veteran Dylan DeMelo the last two outings.

“Dylan and Logan have a good mix, there’s lots of talk. Dylan’s a talker on the bench and I think that’s really good for Logan to have somebody that is constantly talking about the shift and the game to kind of engage him in his learning process of the NHL. So we’re happy with the way they played,” said Maurice.

“We’re just learning about Logan. His game’s right for a first-year defenceman. He’s been really solid for us. That element will eventually come to pretty much every defenceman — certainly the bigger men. Net front. The battles, net front will usually incite something like that. The willingness to do it… It doesn’t have to be his calling card but the willingness to do it is important. Having that physicality in his game changes the way our back end looks.”

 

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg