Kolesar’s job is to be a Knightmare for Jets

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This article was published 18/04/2023 (922 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LAS VEGAS — Keegan Kolesar loves being the kind of player other teams just hate to play against. And the Winnipeg product might just become Public Enemy No. 1 over the next couple weeks as his Vegas Golden Knights take on his hometown team.

Kolesar, 26, is a classic shift disturber, one who takes great pride in making you earn every inch of ice while also paying a price.

“It’s playing physical, it’s being ahead of the puck, it’s being a nightmare for the opposition,” Kolesar told the Free Press of his role.

“When you’re playing against a guy like that and the games on, you’re pretty worn down by then, getting pounded every time you touch the puck. Hit after hit. So that’s my job. I take a big honour in that, because I know it goes a long way in the series.”

For those reasons, the 6-2, 217-pound winger isn’t expecting a friendly reception when the best-of-seven series shifts to Winnipeg for games three and four on Saturday and Monday. That includes from some members of his inner-circle.

“A lot more people coming out of the woodwork,” Kolesar said of his phone blowing up ever since it became official the teams would meet in the opening round. “Some positive messages like ‘Good luck.’ Some saying ‘You’re going down.’ A couple of ‘Hey, can you get me tickets?’ I got a couple good laughs out of the texts I get every day.”

There’s nothing particularly fancy about Kolesar, who was selected in the third round (69th overall) by the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015, then traded to Vegas where he’s now skated in 196 regular-season NHL games spreads out over four seasons. He’s certainly on his way to carving out a successful career.

He’s coming off his most productive season, with a career-high eight goals along with 10 assists and 68 penalty minutes in 74 games. All of that comes while skating on an effective fourth-line, as he did on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena when the series against the Jets got underway. Nicolas Roy and another Manitoba product, Brett Howden, rounded out the trio.

“He’s been a constant on what we call our identity line,” said his first-year head coach, Bruce Cassidy. “A line to go out, start games, start periods. Get the momentum back in our favour by playing a certain way. He’s been part of that. We’re happy to have him. He’s a great forechecker.”

Cassidy expects to lean heavily on Kolesar and his linemates to try and keep some of Winnipeg’s offence in check.

“Winnipeg has some mobile defencemen, they’re going to get up the ice. We can neutralize some of that if we’re on time with our forechecks and physicality,” said Cassidy. “And he’s pitched in. He’s scored eight even-strength goals. He’s a plus player. So certainly conscientious away from the puck. We trust him to play against other team’s good lines, and whoever has been with him, they’ve been excellent.”

Kolesar got his first taste of NHL playoffs during his rookie season in 2021, when Vegas went to the Western Conference Final during the bizarre “bubble” year due to COVID. He had a goal and three assists in 17 games. Now, he’s looking forward to experiencing the full frenzy of post-season action, home and away. That includes the famous Winnipeg “Whiteout,” which he’s quite familiar with, of course.

“Sometimes you think about it coming full circle, to being where I am now,” he said.

“When I think back to my days in Winnipeg and I was cut from 10A1, it’s crazy right? But it’s exciting. You know what, at the end of the day it’s another series, there’s no extra points you get playing the hometown team you grew up in. It’s another series, and we’ve got a job to do.”

Vegas captured the No. 1 seed in the West, and Kolesar believes they’re poised to make some noise, especially with another Winnipegger, Mark Stone, making his return from back surgery just in the nick of time.

“We got our game where we liked down the stretch there. We won a lot of important games. And we were down numerous guys throughout that stretch,” said Kolesar. “So to find our game when we were down guys and have everyone contribute to that, it’s huge. And now we add some huge pieces back to our lineup. I think everyone, if they follow their role and play to our identity, can make a difference.”

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Standing in their way, right off the hop, is a Winnipeg team that was flirting with first place around the All-Star break, took an extended nose-dive and then got its act together in time to capture the final wild-card spot.

“I think they know how to be a top team. They were in first place for a reason. Whatever it may be that they fell off, adversity injuries, whatever it is, they were able to cling on and got into the playoffs,” said Kolesar.

“Positioning is always nice, but just getting in… for them, their core has been through it, they know what to do and what it takes to go far in these playoffs. We have a core here with numerous guys that have done it as well, we have good depth. So it’s not so much what they do, but it’s what we do. We can look at Xs and Os and videos of them all we want, but at the end of the day, we’re in our position because of how we play and I think if we get to that game sooner than later in this series, we’re going to be alright.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg

Mike McIntyre
Reporter

Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.

Every piece of reporting Mike produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.