Jets leading scorer is … Appleton?

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This article was published 05/11/2023 (699 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

TEMPE, Ariz. — The question almost seemed to stop Mason Appleton in his tracks, as if the reality hadn’t quite set in.

“How does it feel to be the leading scorer on the Winnipeg Jets?”

Folks, this is no mirage, the kind people see out here in the desert all the time. After a few seconds to process, a slight smirk came across the face of the 27-year-old as he spoke with the Free Press.

“Obviously we’ve had a lot of guys who have had good starts to the year,” Appleton began.

No kidding, as demonstrated by the fact Appleton has plenty of company on top of the team stats sheet these days. His nine points (three goals, six assists) has him in a four-way tie with Kyle Connor (six goals, three assists, Nino Niederreiter (five goals, four assists) and Mark Scheifele (four goals, five assists) for the clubhouse lead.

Right behind them are a trio of skaters with eight points in Adam Lowry (two goals, six assists), Josh Morrissey (one goal, seven assists) and Cole Perfetti (one goal, seven assists).

That’s Grand Canyon type of depth when it comes to offence, but the fact Appleton is in the mix is one of the early-season surprises, no question. After all, the 2015 sixth-round draft pick is coming off a 16-point campaign, albeit over 41 games due to injuries, but his career high is only 25 points set back in 2021-22.

Appleton is currently on pace for 67 points, although he’s not getting ahead of himself.

“I pride myself in not always scoring and getting points but doing a lot of other good things to help this team win. That’s kind of the backbone of my game,” Appleton said.

When Gabriel Vilardi suffered a sprained MCL in the third game of the season, it was Appleton who initially got the bump up to play on the top line with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor.

Go figure that the best thing that could have happened to both him and the team was actually getting removed from that grouping after just a couple games, with Alex Iafallo taking his spot.

“He’s a great overall player. He’s very smart. He works hard every single night, tries to be the best version of himself every night.”–  Winnipeg Jets left winger and Appleton’s linemate Nino Niederreiter

“He’s a great overall player. He’s very smart. He works hard every single night, tries to be the best version of himself every night,” said Niederreiter.

“It doesn’t matter what position he gets put in, he tries to play his game. It doesn’t matter if he plays with Scheifs or with our line, he just stays true to his game. I think that’s why he’s successful.”

Now, with Lowry and Niederreiter, an argument can be made that Appleton is actually on the unofficial No. 1 trio on the team. They were dominant in Saturday’s 5-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes, with Niederreiter scoring a hat trick and Appleton and Lowry chipping in with a pair of assists each,

“It’s been a blast,” Appleton said of his line.

“We like to go to work together, and we managed to score some pretty nice goals, obviously. I think it’s a lot of simple, direct hockey, where we can all read off each other, feed off each other. We really pride ourselves in winning battles and getting first touches on pucks and not giving up on any play.”

The trio can be a handful to play against, to say the least. Lowry (6’5, 210) and Niederreiter (6’2, 218) bring the physicality and net-front presence, while Appleton has plenty of speed and skill and savvy,

“I think we all read off each other and bring something a little bit different,” said Appleton.

“But at the same time, we all are good at pretty similar things. When we work down below, the top of the circles, winning our one-on-ones, being strong on the puck in the corner, being strong low-to-high, beating guys to the net. That Nino hat trick goal was a product of Lows beating his guy to the net, getting a tip on it, and then Nino just sending it over the goal line. It’s an easy goal to score, if you’re willing to do the hard things.”

Associate coach Scott Arniel has been using them in all situations, including starting the game and each period to try and get some early momentum, matching them up against the other team’s best in a shutdown role.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence, and they get all of their success because of their hard work. They work so hard. They’re really tight with the system and they put a lot of pressure on the opposition, especially the defence. They’re big bodies that get in there and muck and grind, and from there they take over.”– Associate Jets coach Scott Arniel talking about the Mason Appleton – Adam Lowry – Nino Niederreiter line.

“They’re playing with a lot of confidence, and they get all of their success because of their hard work,” he said.

“They work so hard. They’re really tight with the system and they put a lot of pressure on the opposition, especially the defence. They’re big bodies that get in there and muck and grind, and from there they take over.”

Appleton said they are relishing the opportunity to be many things.

“When we’re at home or on the road, our role can change a tad as a line,” he said.

“We’ve spent so much time on the o-zone, so I get to showcase that a little bit more. I think Nino and Adam do as well. We’ve been pretty dominant offensively, so then you get to showcase it a bit more and I know I’m capable of making plays, scoring goals, and getting assists. So I think our line has been great so far.”

Appleton and his teammates will be looking to keep the good times rolling when they close out the three-game road trip on Tuesday in St. Louis. The 5-4-2 Jets enjoyed a day off Sunday in Tempe and will practise Monday morning at Mullett Arena before flying to Missouri.

“If you look at our entire season, we maybe have had four periods of hockey we didn’t like. I think we’ve been very consistent,” said Appleton.

“For all the people that love the analytics out there, if you look at the five-on-five, we’ve been the better team a lot of nights. If you clean your specials up a little bit, and if we keep playing the way we are five-on-five, we’re a dang good hockey team and we’re going to win a lot of games this year.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg