Jets hopefuls show promise in preseason loss to Senators

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This article was published 29/09/2023 (737 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

This trip to the Last Chance Cafe was a revealing one.

With a mostly inexperienced group travelling to Ottawa for a preseason game against the Senators on Friday, signs of separation are beginning to show in the battle for jobs.

With Jets head coach Rick Bowness expecting to lean on something closely resembling his opening lineup on Monday against the Flames and on Thursday in a rematch with the Senators, the time for the next round of cuts has essentially arrived after a 3-1 loss to the Senators at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday night.

“We want to see who can play in this league at that pace. That was the fastest pace we’ve seen in the preseason, so it’s a good evaluation for us (about) who can keep up to that pace,” Bowness said in Ottawa. “We’ve got a good feel for it.”

Bowness said the next round of cuts would be coming soon, though he couldn’t pinpoint a timeline.

Let’s dive into how some of those aforementioned battles are going through the four preseason tilts:

1. In what was his third appearance of the preseason, Ville Heinola is showing why he deserves consideration for a spot on the blue line. While it’s true assigning Heinola to the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League is the path of least resistance because he is exempt from waivers, the 2019 first-rounder is doing what he can to make this decision as difficult as possible for Jets brass.

Heinola, who led all players with 25:27 of ice time, continued to show his offensive flair and he nearly scored his first goal of the preseason when he danced in and ripped a shot off the iron through traffic. The question surrounding Heinola has always been about whether he’s going to be able to defend at the NHL level. That question can’t fully be answered during training camp as he needs more reps at this level. He’s showing plenty of signs of improvement when it comes to his reads and defending ability. His game is trending upward.

2. When you see how much he developed over the course of the past year, it’s hard to believe Dylan Samberg wasn’t in the opening-night lineup last season. After winning the three-way battle for the sixth D-man job, Samberg is showing he’s ready to take the next step in his progression.

Part of that is playing a more physical game, something Senators centre Tim Stutzle found out late in the first period. Stutzle left a backhand pass for linemate Vladimir Tarasenko and while he was admiring his pass with his head down, Samberg delivered a hard and clean shoulder check that caught the Senators skilled centre by surprise. The ability to get on the body — especially in open ice — has always been part of Samberg’s game and it figures to increase now that the 2017 second-rounder is getting more comfortable at this level.

3. Shifting to the forwards, Jansen Harkins scored for the second time in as many games, supplying the only offence for the Jets after burying a pass from Axel Jonsson-Fjallby. However, Harkins turned the puck over to Senators forward Claude Giroux on what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the final minute of the second period.

Harkins was looking to make a cross-ice feed from the right-wing boards after taking a pass from Simon Lundmark. The ill-advised pass was intercepted by Giroux, who made a slippery move and scored on the backhand. Chipping in on offence is a great way to get noticed, though dangerous plays in the D-zone rarely look good in the video sessions.

4. A lot of eyes have been on Brad Lambert and Chaz Lucius and for good reason. Both recent first-rounders were dominant when they were assigned to Western Hockey League teams last season after getting a taste of pro hockey with the Manitoba Moose. There were some signs of offensive flair from both players (including a dangerous shot from the slot by Lucius in the third period), but it’s clear they need reps and ice time at the AHL level this season before they’re ready to push for NHL work.

These young players still have high upside, now it’s about refining their respective games.

5. This was supposed to be a nice sendoff for Jets 2022 second-rounder Elias Salomonsson, but Senators foward hopeful Angus Crookshank had other ideas. In what looked like an innocent play in the neutral zone, Crookshank got his forearm up into the chin area of Salomonsson as he finished his check. Salomonsson was shaken up and went down the tunnel for further evaluation with 7:54 left in the first period.

He didn’t play another shift, leaving him with five for the game for 3:56 of ice time. The chance to skate alongside Josh Morrissey during training camp and in his first preseason action is something Salomonsson will look back on fondly, but this injury is a tough way for the experience to end this part of the journey.

Speaking of getting back up to speed, one of the disappointments of this camp was that 2023 first-rounder Colby Barlow came down with an illness after the first day of on-ice sessions and never got into any preseason action. He’ll rejoin the Owen Sound Attack of the Ontario Hockey League in the coming days and the next test after that will be to see if he can crack Team Canada’s roster for the 2024 World Junior Hockey Championship.

 

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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