Special teams overhaul underway

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This article was published 24/09/2024 (349 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It appears the Winnipeg Jets are willing to think outside the box when it comes to fixing their not-so-special teams.

The first glimpse of that occurred Tuesday with nearly 90 minutes of on-ice training camp work focusing exclusively on the power play and penalty kill, which both struggled mightily last season.

Led by first-year assistant coaches Davis Payne and Dean Chynoweth, it didn’t take long to see some significant changes.

The PP, for example, included Nikolaj Ehlers on the top unit in a new spot in the high slot, along with Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi and Josh Morrissey. The idea is to create more motion and unpredictability.

“You obviously have your set plays and all that but there’s also times where you kind of read off what Scheif does with the puck. What KC’s going to do. Is he going to come down and attack? Is he going to throw it down to Gabe?” Ehlers explained of the options that potentially open up.

“Then I need to kind of slowly move up to a quiet spot where I can get a shot off if it goes to Gabe and to me. Do you move back door? I’m trying to figure all of that out right now. Like I’ve said, I’ve never played that spot. I’m excited to learn and that’s why we had a practice like (Tuesday).”

Ehlers has often been relegated to the second power-play unit during his tenure in Winnipeg, so getting PP1 minutes — as he heads into the final year of his contract — is a welcome development. He noted the success that Brayden Point (Tampa Bay), Sam Reinhart (Florida), Patrice Bergeron (Boston) and Sebastian Aho (Carolina) have had in a similar position.

“I’m going to do my best to learn how to play in there and I haven’t played in that spot ever,” said Ehlers.

“I think the way that we want to play on the power play is the mindset that I have. The attack, get the puck to the net, create loose pucks and get the rebounds,” he said. “So for me, it’s exciting. Obviously it is going to be different from the way that we’ve played over the years.”

With those five players likely set in stone as the top unit, there was plenty of competition for the second fivesome. Forwards Cole Perfetti, Nino Niederreiter, Vlad Namestnikov, Alex Iafallo, Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov and Brayden Yager all took turns along with defencemen Neal Pionk and Colin Miller.

“Our specialty teams have to get better. If you don’t work at them, don’t go through them, you’re not going to make any gains,” Jets coach Scott Arniel said of making it a priority at this stage.

“The biggest thing now is we have numbers. It allows you to have a lot of bodies. We had three power play units, so it allowed us to have a really good pace during the power play. We’re going to do this again in another week — when the numbers will be reduced maybe a little bit.”

The most interesting development Tuesday came when Scheifele and Connor began taking turns as a penalty killing duo — a move Arniel said will continue into the new campaign.

“We talked about being a little more aggressive on our kill,” said Arniel.

“KC has done it before. Scheif has hockey instincts. He’s done it before. He’s actually looking forward to the responsibility. If he comes over the boards first, or the second or third rotation, I just want to give these guys reps and I want them to get chances in the exhibition games and see how they do.”

Ehlers may also work into the mix.

“The one thing about top-end skill guys, they have great instincts of where the next play is going and they have a tendency to jump those plays,” said Arniel.

Winnipeg finished tied for fourth in the regular-season last year in spite of a power play (22nd) and penalty kill (21st) that was in the lower-tier of the league.

“We’re not re-inventing the wheel,” Arniel said of the changes.

“It’s not so much the positioning — whether it’s power play or penalty kill — it’s the stick detail, it’s the attack the net mentality, it’s the return of our penalty killers, how fast they work to get back. It really is about some of the little detail stuff that we’re trying to hammer home so that those four guys on the penalty kill are on the same page, and vice versa on the power play — those five guys.”

FIRST CUTS COME DOWN: The Jets have made their first training camp cuts, with a dozen players sent packing on Tuesday.

Forwards Kevin He, Jacob Julien, Connor Levis, Markus Loponen and Kieron Walton have all been returned to their respective junior teams. Forwards Chaz Lucius, Henri Nikkanen and Danny Zhilkin are headed to the Manitoba Moose, while forward Ben King and defencemen Dylan Anhorn, Dawson Barteaux and Ashton Sautner have been released from their professional tryouts and will join the Moose on their AHL contracts they had previously signed.

“They all got in games. I just asked them what they thought. It was amazing how every one of them said how faster, bigger, stronger… and that’s what I said to them as well, that’s the progression,” said Arniel.

“Now it’s about making sure they don’t waste a year, that they go back to junior, they go back down to the Moose. Don’t waste a year. Go back and work on the things you have to work on. We have lots of people that are going to help them with things in that area, what they need to improve.”

The moves leave Winnipeg with 41 players still in camp — 23 forwards, 13 defencemen (including the injured Ville Heinola) and five goaltenders. The Jets have four preseason games remaining, with the next one Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers at Canada Life Centre.

Winnipeg must get down to a maximum of 23 healthy skaters in time for the Oct. 9 season opener.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X: @mikemcintyrewpg

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld