Journeyman blue-liner Dylan Coghlan hoping to stick with Jets

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/10/2024 (368 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Perspective is proving to be a valuable thing for Dylan Coghlan.

The Winnipeg Jets hopeful is onto his third NHL organization after arriving in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes this summer and he’s come to understand what he needs to focus on to ensure he’s not heading down to the minors again.

“Now that I’m a little bit older, I try to take more pride in the defensive side of the game and worry about that first,” said Coghlan, who suited up in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Calgary Flames. “It’s more rewarding when the coach compliments you for a D-zone play than an O-zone play. If you’d asked me that three or four years ago, that probably wouldn’t have been the case.”

That’s not to suggest Coghlan has abandoned the offensive part of his game, it’s just that he’s worked incredibly hard to become more of a two-way threat.

“The way I shoot the puck can be a threat to a lot of teams’ penalty kills,” he said. “I’ve got to find those open spots to get the shots off because when that happens, other plays open up.”

Coghlan, who is 6-2 and 207 pounds, is a mobile, puck-moving blue-liner with 103 hits and 89 blocked shots in 106 NHL games.

A high-scoring defenceman with the WHL’s Tri-City Americans, Coghlan went undrafted and signed with the Vegas Golden Knights in September 2017.

He returned to the WHL for a final campaign and after two seasons in the American Hockey League with the Chicago Wolves, Coghlan earned his first NHL opportunity during the 2020-21 season, skating in 29 games.

The following year, Coghlan saw more regular work, appearing in 59 games while accumulating three goals and 13 points.

In the summer of 2022, the Golden Knights were looking to shed salary by moving Max Pacioretty to the Hurricanes and Coghlan was involved in the deal as a sweetener.

This introduction to the business side of the game was an eye-opener for Coghlan, who was starting to feel like he’d begun to establish himself as an NHL regular.

“I had never been traded before, so it was new for me and kind of an adjustment,” he said. “It was weird. I knew it probably wasn’t going to work out in Vegas long-term with the guys that they had there at the time. There was a lot of depth there.”

Coghlan was excited about the chance to join the Hurricanes, but that enthusiasm was muted by the fact he got into only 17 games in 2022-23 and one outing last season — spending the bulk of the campaign with the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds (where he produced 16 goals and 41 points in 61 games).

“I thought there would be a chance to play a lot (with the Hurricanes), but it didn’t work out,” said Coghlan, who ultimately saw benefits from the opportunity to get more puck touches and increased minutes in the minors. “It was a little bit of adversity, which isn’t a bad thing. Going down and waiting for that (call-up). I got one three weeks in, I was excited and thought I was going to play and then I didn’t get called up until the last game of the year.”

“Now, I know I’m ready. Now that I’m here, I’m motivated not to go back (to the AHL).”–Dylan Coghlan

The mental toll of waiting for a call that didn’t come until months later was a difficult challenge to battle through.

“You start wondering when it’s going to happen, then it doesn’t happen and you get more frustrated,” he explained. “But I learned quickly not to worry about that and just focus on what was in front of me.”

This was a stark contrast from his first two seasons as a pro, when Coghlan was constantly working at his game, knowing that a lot of work was going to be required before he was even ready for that first crack at the NHL.

When you’ve been up a significant amount of the three previous seasons, spending time worrying about the things out of your control can spill over into your game, which only makes it tougher to earn that recall you’ve been working towards.

On July 5, the Hurricanes traded Coghlan to the Jets for future considerations.

“Now, I know I’m ready,” said Coghlan. “Now that I’m here, I’m motivated not to go back (to the AHL).”

With the departure of Brenden Dillon and Nate Schmidt, the Jets saw Coghlan as a guy that could bolster their depth on defence — specifically on the right side.

“I knew there was a good opportunity for me here, probably a much better opportunity than in Carolina,” said Coghlan, 26, who’s from Nanaimo, B.C. “There just weren’t a lot of holes there. They don’t change their lineup too often. It’s been awesome so far, a good fit.”

Having been traded before helped ease the transition to the Jets.

“I don’t know if it necessarily gets easier the more times that you do it, but you know how to cope with it,” Coghlan said.

Jets head coach Scott Arniel says Coghlan has come as advertised.

“He’s got good range, good mobility. He’s another guy that can shoot the puck,” said Arniel, who had Coghlan running the second power-play unit on Wednesday.

Coghlan has been to enough training camps to know he simply needs to put his best foot forward as the Jets prepare to make their final cuts over the next few days.

“I’m taking nothing for granted here,” he said. “I try not to think about the bigger outcome. I’m just trying to stay present.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld