The kids are all right

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This article was published 17/03/2025 (198 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

VANCOUVER — Kids these days. They grow up so fast, don’t they?

Luke Schenn, the self-proclaimed “old man” on the Winnipeg Jets, was holding court at his locker room stall inside Rogers Arena on Monday afternoon when the subject of new teammates Dylan Samberg and Cole Perfetti came up.

Turns out the 35-year-old grizzled veteran of 1,107 combined NHL regular-season and playoff games, and counting — who has seen just about everything imaginable over his 17-year pro career — has had his eyes opened in a major way since coming over in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 7.

Let’s start with Samberg, who has spent the two games paired with Schenn on the blue-line and potted the overtime winner on Sunday night in Seattle as the Jets kicked off a three-game road trip by improving to an NHL best 47-17-4.

“I knew him a little bit. I feel like most guys in the league kind of had the book on him. But he’s surprised me. In the best way,” Schenn told the Free Press. “I knew he was good, but he’s better than I thought. He’s got a huge ceiling and he’s going to be a huge part of things here.”

Talk quickly turned to Perfetti, who set up his good friend and former roommate for the dramatic dagger and now has 17 points (7G, 10A) in his past 19 games.

“He’s another guy that has really stood out to me,” said Schenn. “I’ve played against him now for a few years. He’s just getting better. Obviously more opportunities, he’s producing more. With that comes more confidence. He’s a younger guy but a huge piece of what’s going on here.”

Schenn’s words should carry plenty of weight considering his own pedigree. Drafted fifth-overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, he’s gone on a wild roller-coaster from can’t miss prospect who burst on to the scene to struggling depth defenceman who had to rebuild his career in the minors to valuable journeyman that teams like the Jets trade for.

“You want to talk about a straight line, my own career is anything but. I’ve always said you have to continue to evolve, in all aspects of your game. (Samberg and Perfetti) would be prime examples of that,” said Schenn.

It took some time, but we are currently seeing the best versions of two players who are rapidly joining the conversation as members of Winnipeg’s all-important “core.”

Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Josh Morrissey, Adam Lowry, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers are all homegrown drafted and developed success stories who have become stars. Samberg (43rd-overall in 2017) and Perfetti (10th-overall in 2020) would appear to be well on their way to joining them.

“Little Jimmy and Big Jimmy,” began teammate Morgan Barron, a reference to tandem nicknames bestowed upon Perfetti (Little) and Samberg (Big).

“It was very cool to see them out there in overtime together. They’ve both had unbelievable years. I kind of feel like I came into the NHL and the organization at the same time as they did, like we all made the team at the same time. It’s been really cool to see them take that next step, to take their games to the next level.”

What a difference a year can make. This time last season, Samberg was playing on the third-pairing while Perfetti was struggling to even get in the lineup as a perpetual healthy scratch down the stretch and into the playoffs.

“I think both guys have really sort of grasped on to an identity for a player. And I think that’s always an important piece,” Jets assistant coach Davis Payne said Monday. “Once you have that, you can add layers to it and build upon it, but it’s really important to have that as a foundation. And I think both guys, certainly in my short time, have discovered that and can build off of that going forward.”

Samberg is arguably Winnipeg’s second-best defenceman behind Morrissey and, aside from Hellebuyck, might just be the team’s MVP this year. The Jets are 36-8-2 in the 46 games he’s played this year (.804 points percentage) compared to just 11-9-2 (.545) in the 21 games he missed with a broken foot and one outing for personal family reasons.

After scoring just three goals in his first 156 NHL games, Samberg now has six in 46 this year — including tallies in back-to-back games. He had a career-high 18 points in 78 games last year and already has 17 in 32 fewer contests this year.

“Just a big strong guy, he can skate well, he’s got a good stick, he passes the puck well and you see the offence coming out a little bit too for him. He’s only getting better, too. It’s been a pleasure to kind of get to know him a little bit and see how good he is,” said Schenn.

Perfetti’s surge is equally impressive. In addition to setting a new career high in points (42 so far), he looks faster and stronger in recent weeks. Confidence is a heck of a drug.

“I knew what he was like to play against, a dangerous guy, but he reads the game real well, competes hard, plays on both sides of the puck,” said Schenn.

Perhaps the only people enjoying Samberg and Perfetti’s growth more than teammates, coaches and fans are their agents. Samberg is a pending restricted free agent this summer and getting his name on a long-term extension should be among general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff’s top priorities. He’s in for a massive raise from his current US$1.4 million salary.

“What wins in this league is playing really solid defensively,” said Schenn, who might be in line for a small commission on the side given his glowing reference.

“You need guys that are good skaters and can close plays off the rush. You need guys that are strong in the corners and not making it easy on other team’s forwards and are strong in front of the net. When you’ve got a guy like that who’s able to play that way and then contribute offensively, those are the guys that you build around.”

Perfetti will be an RFA following next season and his value is also going up with every impressive performance. He’s currently making US$3.25 million after signing a two-year bridge deal last fall.

“There’s no secret, sometimes guys don’t necessarily want to come to Winnipeg,” said Barron. “But I think when players get drafted and in a lot of cases get traded here, guys like myself, Nino (Niederreiter), Vladdy (Namestnikov), guys get here, they want to buy in and play on a winning team and play in a great group. Between the locker room and the success we have on the ice, it makes it a really desirable place to play.

“(With Samberg and Perfetti), it’s cool to see how it’s all evolved.”

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg