Vilardi’s work ethic on display

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This article was published 01/09/2023 (766 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gabe Vilardi had just stepped off the ice at the hockey for all centre Friday afternoon, sweat still beading on his face, when a small pack of local media suddenly had him surrounded.

Let the record show it was the 24-year-old who actually fired off the first question, wondering what exactly all the fuss was about.

“I haven’t done anything, yet,” Vilardi said with a laugh.

Welcome to Winnipeg.

The fact Vilardi was the focus of a scrum nearly three weeks ahead of training camp and almost six weeks until the puck drops for real on a new NHL season likely served as a stark reminder he’s not in Los Angeles anymore, where his early arrival for on-ice workouts likely would have gone unnoticed.

Not so around here, especially considering Vilardi was officially the first member of the Jets to get to town and will be under a spotlight as the centrepiece of the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade that happened in late June.

The 11th-overall pick in the 2017 draft, sent to Winnipeg along with Alex Iafallo and Rasmus Kupari, flew in last Monday to get acclimatized to his new hockey home.

“I can tell you the Bonfire Bistro is a good place to eat. That’s about all I can tell you so far,” he said of his initial impressions of the city. “There’s a lot of great staff with all organizations, and same thing here. First-class. They make sure you’re nice and comfy when you get into town.”

After getting settled in his residence, the Kingston, Ont., product began skating on Tuesday under the direction of Dave Cameron, the program manager for the Jets Hockey Development Program. The group began to grow as the week went on, with a handful of local amateurs and pros.

By Friday, new Jets teammate Adam Lowry had joined him for a twirl.

“He knows what he’s doing,” Vilardi said of Cameron. “It’s a bit of both. Telling him what I want to work on, and then him kind of taking the lead and getting creative.”

The 6-3, 215-pound Vilardi spent more than an hour on the ice Friday doing a series of drills and showing a knack for going hard to the net, which played a big part in the career-high of 23 goals and 18 assists he recorded in 63 games last year. He’ll be looking to build off that, armed with a new two-year contract he signed with Winnipeg that will pay him US$3.437 million per season.

The so-called bridge deal was struck between his agent and his new team on July 19. He had been set to go to arbitration on July 28 if they were still at a stalemate.

“To be honest with you, that’s not really me. I didn’t do anything with it,” said Vilardi. “At the end of the day, I just focus on my summer and we have little conversations (with his agent) about term and this is maybe the ballpark you’re going to get. OK, sure, cool.”

Vilardi tried to treat this off-season like any other, even if change was in the air. He spent the majority of it in Kingston, where he traditionally skates by himself most days.

“You work on skill stuff, stuff that you don’t really work on as much during the season because you’re always tired,” he said. “It was really nice. Went by really fast. They always do.”

The ideal situation would be for Vilardi to continue trending upward, have a couple of big years that benefit himself and the Jets, and then cash in on a longer-term extension with what is expected to be a rapidly rising salary cap.

Not that he is getting caught up in what his bank account might eventually look like.

“I don’t really think about things like that. I just focus on playing hockey,” he said.

Safe to say Vilardi is joining the Jets during an interesting period of transition, with both Dubois and former captain Blake Wheeler sent packing earlier this summer. There’s also ongoing trade buzz surrounding No. 1 centre Mark Scheifele and No. 1 goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who are both entering the final year of their contracts.

“To be honest, I’m not really thinking about it when I’m on a different team,” Vilardi said of any existing perceptions he might have.

He was asked Friday whether a team needs a captain, something the Jets didn’t have last season after Bowness elected to remove the “C” from Wheeler.

“I thought Scheifele was the captain,” said Vilardi. No, he was one of the three alternates, along with Lowry and Josh Morrissey.

“Nah, I don’t think you need a captain. I think different leaders and different ways, everyone can kind of lead by example.”

Vilardi is likely to be slotted in the top six in some fashion, but whether it’s at his natural position of centre or on the wing (where he’s mostly been used in the NHL) remains to be seen. Vilardi, along with Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti and either Iafallo or Nino Niederreiter are the most likely candidates to be on one of the top two lines.

He has talked to coach Rick Bowness multiple times on the phone, while also joining the player text chain where the burning subject in recent days has been the upcoming fantasy football draft.

“Now Lowry’s here, so get to hang out with him today,” said Vilardi. “Guys will keep shuffling in and I’ll get more comfortable and familiar with faces.”

Indeed, there could be close to a dozen regulars in town by the end of next week as anticipation grows. Vilardi admitted there will be some early nerves to work through on a personal level.

“Obviously, I was in Los Angeles for a while. Very comfy and knew all the guys,” he said. “It helps with on-ice stuff, too. It’s very important to establish relationships off the ice, and then it comes on the ice, too, with your teammates.”

To that end, he is hoping to make a good first impression on the organization that traded for him. No doubt getting here so early is a strong step in that direction.

“I’m a hard-working guy. I think that’s kind of the mindset. Just come in, day in, day out and work hard,” said Vilardi. “Hopefully, good things happen.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @mikemcintyrewpg