Pionk ready to go tonight

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This article was published 13/12/2021 (1415 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Neal Pionk knows he’s become Public Enemy No. 1 in the eyes of Leafs Nation. But the Winnipeg Jets defenceman says he’s truly sorry for a knee-on-knee hit that injured Toronto’s Rasmus Sandin.

“Listen, I’m not out there to hurt anybody or have any sort of intent,” Pionk said Monday, speaking for the first time since the Dec. 5 incident. “It made me sick watching him go off the ice, and he’s limping off the ice. He’s a great young defenceman, I never want to cut his career short, even by a game. So there’s remorse there, and definitely not intent on the hit. I understand that what I did wasn’t right, and I’ve accepted that. I’m just looking forward to getting back.”

Pionk was handed a two-game suspension for the play, but he ended up missing a total of three contests after Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza retaliated against him with a deliberate knee to the head that left him concussed. Pionk resumed skating late last week, and is set to return to the lineup on Tuesday night against Buffalo.

“It is what it is. You’d probably have to ask him for details, I saw the video, it is what it is. The league made their decision,” Pionk said of Spezza, who was handed a six-game ban.

Pionk, who packs a mighty wallop for a player who is just averaged-sized by NHL standards at 6-0 and 186 pounds, admits he’s never been one to shy away from physicality. But this episode will be used as a teaching tool going forward.

“I can’t change it 100 per cent. But at the same time I have to learn my lesson,” he said. “I think that’s the biggest thing about giving a hit like that and serving a suspension. You have to learn from your mistakes. I got to learn to pick my spots better and make clean body contact.”

Pionk said unfortunate things can happen in a fast-moving sport, but the onus ultimately rests on him in that situation.

“Like the league said, it was kneeing. I’ve accepted that. I understand that what I did wasn’t right. It was wrong,” he said. “Again, there was no intent. Certainly didn’t want to injure him. And there’s definitely remorse there. I tried everything I could to lead with my shoulder. Obviously I didn’t and what happened happened. I’m looking forward to learn from it and get back playing.”

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Andrew Copp realizes he’s likely a longshot to make the United States Olympic Team. But the Winnipeg Jets forward is watching developments closely as the Beijing Games approach and a decision on NHL involvement remains up in the air.

The key sticking point right now for players appears to be China’s harsh rules about COVIDS-19 infections, ones that could see an athlete quarantined for up to five weeks in the country should they test positive. Vegas goalie Robin Lehner has already declined an invitation to play for Sweden, while others like Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo (Canada) have recently expressed concerns.

“You can obviously turn down going to the Olympics and there are guys that have possibly been there before and maybe have families or a wife or a girlfriend that is pregnant or something like that, where they can’t risk that,” said Copp.

“But fortunately that’s not my situation, so I do not think that would deter me. But it’s kind of not really just my decision. So, it will be interesting to see how all of that plays out over the next few weeks here on whether we’re going to go or not. It seems like the default answer is that we’re going to go, but there are obviously a lot of question marks for us to figure out. I can tell you that a three-to-five week quarantine in China would not be on my bucket list.”

The Jets are expected to send several players to Beijing. Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor are locks for the Americans. Nikolaj Ehlers will star for Denmark. And Mark Scheifele is a prime candidate for Canada.

Jets coach Paul Maurice was asked if he’s concerned about the potential impact on a team like his should an outbreak occur.

“I don’t have one in terms of a greater or lesser risk of an exposure at the Olympics. I can’t quantify that. I would think that with all of these professional athletes going over there, there would be the same safe guards probably that we had in the bubble and nobody got sick. They were able to, at one point, put us in an area and shut the whole place down, and nobody got sick — is my understanding — with COVID in the bubble,” Maurice said.

“They have a template in how to do it. The idea you’d lose players for a long period of time could be devastating to teams. We have potentially a bunch of players going to this event. If your group got locked down for some reason, I don’t know how you’d deal with that after. Calgary just got shut down on six players, so if we have six players going or five players going and something happens like that to the group, I don’t know what the answer to that is yet. You’d need to understand the risk factors before you could make a qualified decision. I don’t think I do.”

Despite the concerns, Maurice admits the hockey fan in him would love to see best-on-best take place on the biggest stage.

“I’d say I’ve changed my opinion. If you asked me 15 years ago I would say I don’t want any of my guys going to the All-Star game, I want to get them rest. Then you realize there isn’t a lot of special moments in anything. I want these guys to have those,” he said.

“I don’t want anybody to miss out. I want him to go. You can’t have all the teams win, unfortunately, because you want them all to come back flying from it. For me, it’s more personal. The players you coach, you care for like they’re members of your family. They have a chance to have a great experience. I’d like them all to experience it, I would.”

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You can count a number of Jets players and coaches among the millions who tuned in to see the Winnipeg Blue Bombers down the Hamilton Tiger-Cats in thrilling overtime fashion Sunday evening to capture a second-straight Grey Cup.

“I watched it, and I wasn’t the jinx, so that was the key piece to this. It was touch and go there for a while. I came in from outside and they were down a little bit. I’m back on now, so I can watch them again. That’s awesome,” said Maurice, who has forged a friendship with Bombers coach Mike O’Shea.

“I know the O’Shea family a bit, more through our kids went to school together. You have a good understanding of the stress of pro sports, the journey Mike would go through. It wasn’t easy in terms of building the team here. You know they’re having a phenomenal day, right? It may be even more special because it’s their second one,” said Maurice.

“I’m happy for the O’Shea family. I know the stress, I know the work, and the sacrifice the family makes because you’re not home. There should be good days in there. Then all the fans in Winnipeg. If you’ve been a die-hard fan for a long time, you’re having a good day. It’s great for the community. It’s great, I’m really happy for everybody. And I get to watch them next year. I might be able to get to a game one of these days. So that’d be pretty cool.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg