Jets thrilled to represent their countries

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This article was published 05/12/2024 (306 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Kyle Connor has never been big on hypotheticals, so when the Winnipeg Jets left-winger was asked about the many pundits predicting the United States should be the favourite for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, he swatted away the question like he was doing his best Connor Hellebuyck impression.

“No comment,” Connor said after the morning skate inside the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, where the Jets faced the Sabres Thursday night. “There’s a lot of good teams there.”

Connor was more than happy to talk about the strengths of Team USA and the pride he felt in being selected to participate in the best-on-best tournament that will also feature Canada, Sweden and Finland.

He simply wasn’t interested in making any bold declarations about where his team was going to finish.

Connor was a safe bet to have his name called, based on his consistent offensive production over the past several seasons and it will be interesting to see who he lines up beside when the event begins in February.

Whether he’s skating alongside Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes or Dylan Larkin, Connor will be one of the scorers Team USA will rely on.

“Just a ton of speed. Everybody kind of brings something different at the table, but at the same time everybody’s pretty dynamic. It’s going to be fun,” said Connor. “There’s a lot of different line combinations you can probably come up with. Head coach is gonna have a tough job. But also, as a player, you relish the opportunity to be able to get to play with somebody that you might never get a chance to.”

Connor is also thrilled to be able to share the experience with a teammate in Hellebuyck.

“He’s obviously a world class goaltender and obviously a great teammate and a great friend,” said Connor. “I couldn’t be more excited to share the experience with him, and I know he’s excited as well.”

Hellebuyck has the inside track to start in goal for the U.S. squad and he’s one of the reasons some observers are giving that country an early edge.

“He’s been one of the best here for a while,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “He’s going to give all those other teams a tough time.”

The third member of the Jets that heard his name called is Josh Morrissey and the defenceman is eager to suit up for his country again.

“It’s just a huge honour for me to have the chance to represent Canada again,” said Morrissey, who got the call from Team Canada on Sunday night after the game against the Dallas Stars. “It’s something that I’ve taken a lot of pride in, in the past, and I’ve had the opportunity to do it throughout my career at different points in time. With the NHL being back on the international stage, with best-on-best competition again for the first time basically since 2016 and the World Cup, it’s exciting to have that opportunity.”

Morrissey was asked if he’d given much thought to whether he might be on a pairing with Alex Pietrangelo, Colton Parayko or Cale Makar?

“I mean, there’s lots of good options, obviously. Whatever it ends up being, with how it all shakes out, you can’t go wrong any way,” said Morrissey. “Definitely you start playing the armchair coach and you start thinking about different options. It’s fun, it’s exciting and it will be an experience that I can’t wait to be a part of.”

To be able to be on a team with Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby for the first time is something Morrissey is looking forward to.

“It’s exciting to see the names and have the opportunity to play with the best players in the world. I’ve had the chance to play with a number of those guys in the past, so it’s exciting to connect again with a bunch of them and it’s pretty exciting (because) I’ve never had the chance to play with a guy like Sid, amongst other great players,” said Morrissey. “It’s a huge honour to be selected. There’s a ton of great players in the league from Canada and to get that opportunity is something I definitely don’t take lightly. I’m just excited to have that opportunity to represent my country and to play alongside the league’s best and compete among the league’s best.”

As for the strengths of Team Canada, they are easy to identify.

“There’s depth throughout the lineup. Obviously, there’s a ton of great players,” said Morrissey, noting a lot of great Canadian players have been left off the roster as well. “The high-end talent, when you look at (Nathan) MacKinnon, (Connor) McDavid, Sid, Makar, among others, there’s some pretty elite guys there. But I like the balance throughout the lineup.”

What will be required for Canada to finish atop the four-team tournament?

“My experience in short-term competitions, it’s all about coming together as fast as possible,” said Morrissey. “Most of the guys on the team are the top players on their NHL teams, so, buying into your role and coming together in the short-term is important. Being dialed into the system. It’s always exciting to play for your country, with one goal, which is to win.”

Morrissey has experience going up against Hellebuyck and Connor in practice, but recognizes it will be a bit strange to view them as opponents — even if it’s only for a short period of time.

“Everyone has done it before at different levels. Once you get into the game, you’re just playing,” said Morrissey. “But beforehand and leading into the tournament, I’m sure we will give each other the gears a little bit.”

Jets centre Mark Scheifele was hoping to be part of this Canadian roster and despite not being named on Wednesday, he’s likely one of the guys Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was talking about when he mentioned several players being on the radar as potential injury replacements

“I’ve had the conversation with Don and I’ve had a conversation with Scheif. He’s right there on the bubble,” said Jets head coach Scott Arniel. “Don’t know where everything is going to be in February. Again, with this schedule you’re starting to see bodies drop around the league. You never know where things may shake out. He’s disappointed but he’s going to go out and continue to play the way he plays. He wants to be that guy if there is an opportunity for him to get on the team.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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