Jets will ice young team in Edmonton

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This article was published 24/09/2022 (1078 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Winnipeg Jets are bringing a young and inexperienced roster to Edmonton on Sunday as they kick off a six-game preseason schedule.

New coach Rick Bowness said he’s not worried about matchups at this stage of training camp, but wants to get an idea of what he has from players fighting for jobs.

“It’s all about us. We’re not going to worry about Edmonton,” Bowness said of the possibility of facing Connor McDavid and/or Leon Draisaitl right off the hop. “If they play those guys, they play those guys. We’ve got to see who is picking up what we’re trying to do. We’re not going to focus at all on Edmonton and we’re going to roll, everyone is going to have a chance to play. If they play McDavid, they play McDavid. We’re not worried about that. We’re worried about our guys, that’s all.”

Only a handful of players considered locks for the opening-night roster are headed to Alberta — Pierre-Luc Dubois, Cole Perfetti, Mason Appleton, Jansen Harkins and Dominic Toninato up front, and Dylan DeMelo and Logan Stanley on the blue-line. David Rittich will be one of the goaltenders.

The other 13 players are very much on the bubble: Forwards David Gustafsson, Kristian Reichel, Mikey Eyssimont, Jeff Malott, Kevin Stenlund, Saku Maenalanen and Chaz Lucius; defencemen Johnathan Kovacevic, Declan Chisholm, Leon Gawanke, Ashton Sautner and Kyle Capobianco; And goaltender Arvid Holm

Puck drops at Rogers Place at 5 p.m. (CT), with the game being broadcast on TSN3 and carried on 680 CJOB.

Expect the Jets to ice a stronger roster on Tuesday when they host the Ottawa Senators at Canada Life Centre.

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Make it two straight victories for Team Hawerchuk.

The Jets held a second scrimmage on Saturday, with history pretty much repeating itself from 24 hours earlier. Gustafsson and Kyle Connor scored to give their squad a 2-1 victory over Team Steen in front of a packed house at Bell MTS Iceplex during the “Fan Fest” event.

Dubois had the lone tally for the losing squad.

Daniel Torgersson and Mark Scheifele scored in Friday’s 2-0 victory for Team Hawerchuk.

Forwards Brad Lambert, Morgan Barron and Wyatt Bongiovanni missed both contests as they nurse minor injuries.

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There was a noticeable jump in intensity during the scrimmage, including a physical net-front battle between Dubois and Stanley that included a few slashes and cross-checks. Bowness enjoyed seeing the jousting.

“You want them to play hard. We’re not out there to hurt each other and we’re not out there to fight each other. But you have to play the game hard,” he said. “We wanted more contact today. We got it. So that’s fine.”

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The first three days of camp have all included a specific theme. Thursday was neutral zone work. Friday was defensive zone. Saturday was offensive zone. Now the next stage begins, to see how it can be applied in real live game situations.

“Who is picking up what we’re doing and who isn’t, that’s all that we’re looking for,” said Bowness.

It’s clear all the coaching has taken a bit of a toll on Bowness, who didn’t have much of a voice as he met with the media on Saturday afternoon.

“I always come into training camp saying I’m going to be quiet the first couple of days and it never works,” he said with a chuckle. “I’ll be OK by Day 6.”

Someone get the new coach some hot tea and a few lozenges.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg