Toews impressive in hometown debut

There was no storybook ending Tuesday night. This was, after all, just the opening chapter in Jonathan Toews’ comeback tale. If the Coles Notes version is any indication, the season ahead could be a real page-turner for the hometown hockey star.

Skating for the first time as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, Toews showed there’s still fuel in the tank and fire in the belly after a two-year, health-related hiatus. While there were some expected signs of rust in his pre-season debut, the overall body of work was solid in a 3-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers at Canada Life Centre.

Not surprisingly, the three-time Stanley Cup champion wasn’t doing any kind of post-game victory lap.

“Some good. Some not-so-good. I felt like I made some plays and as the game went along relaxed a bit,” said Toews. “I think the conditioning is going to come, the jump is going to come.”

The 37-year-old received a huge cheer when introduced in the starting lineup, then another ovation after winning the opening faceoff. He would go on to win 10 more draws in 19 subsequent attempts — including two in the waning minutes as the Jets pressed for an equalizer — while logging 18:36 of ice time.

Nervous?

“Oh, for sure,” he admitted. “It’s been a while. Just being here in Winnipeg, being in a new locker room, there’s a lot of things to get used to. But at the same time, those nerves feel good and I’m just excited to play hockey again.”

Long known more for his smarts than his speed, Toews flashed both with a hustle backcheck that thwarted a partial breakaway by Edmonton forward Max Jones.

“It’s nice to catch the guy. Good scoring chance there. I think it was on the power play though, so, obviously, we can make better plays there,” said Toews.

He also set up new linemates Gustav Nyquist and Cole Perfetti for a pair of quality scoring chances that narrowly missed.

“You get frustrated sometimes because you want to go out there and find the back of the net right away, and if you don’t you can beat yourself up for those mistakes here and there,” said Toews.

“I’m out there with two good players. For me the reminder is to keep focusing on what we’re doing well and trying to improve every game. It was fun to be out there at the end of the day, and obviously we didn’t get the win but it’s early. We’ve got a lot of work to do.”

Jets head coach Scott Arniel felt Toews made a favourable first impression.

“There was some good stuff. I thought he picked up our systems,” he said.

“There were other times where yeah, he could be a little better, and I think that’s just from rust. I think that’s just timing, getting to know his linemates. I think there was a little bit of both there. It was a good first game and I know for a fact that he’ll be better in the next one.”

High on Barlow 

A poor 2024 training camp with the Jets followed by a sleepy start to his Ontario Hockey League season — he played himself right off Team Canada World Junior roster consideration — may have led some to sour on Colby Barlow.

The 18th-overall pick from 2023 has put that stretch behind him and looks like a different player. The 20-year-old shed weight this summer, added a noticeable step, and has been turning heads during training camp skates and last Saturday’s scrimmage.

He carried that momentum into his first pre-season game, making the most of the opportunity. Barlow was a force early and often against the Oilers, generating several quality chances and registering a team-high five shots on goal.

He appeared to have opened the scoring late in the second period when Colin Miller’s point shot was deflected in and initially credited to him, only to have it later changed to Miller.

No matter. Barlow found the net for real late in the third, re-directing a Ville Heinola shot to cut Winnipeg’s deficit to one.

“Just go to the net. Good things happen, whether you get a piece of it or not,” said Barlow.

He wasn’t just shooting, either. Barlow threaded a perfect cross-ice pass to Parker Ford that nearly connected, then later made a strong defensive play with a backcheck and stick lift to snuff out an Edmonton chance.

“Definitely felt faster out there. Light on my feet, more agile,” he said.

With a crowded depth chart up front, Barlow is likely to begin his pro career this fall with the Manitoba Moose. If he keeps this up, he may work himself into early call-up consideration.

Double duty 

When a player finds himself in the lineup for the first two pre-season games, it usually means the coaching staff wants a long, hard look at what he might bring.

Forwards Brad Lambert, Nikita Chibrikov, Brayden Yager and Walker Duehr, along with defencemen Colin Miller and Elias Salomonsson, all drew double duty after suiting up in Sunday’s 3-2 overtime loss to Minnesota that opened Winnipeg’s six-game exhibition slate.

Lambert picked up the secondary assist on Miller’s goal but didn’t register a shot in just over 16 minutes of ice time.

Chibrikov (no shots in 15:55) and Yager (one shot in 14:29) were both quiet for a second straight outing, and likely will benefit from some seasoning in the AHL. Duehr, a veteran winger brought in for depth, went shotless in 12:40 and took a reckless high-sticking penalty that led to Isaac Howard’s power-play goal midway through the game.

On the blue line, Salomonsson acquitted himself well alongside Dylan Samberg, firing four shots on goal while logging 22:37.

Masked men 

It was a battle of the backups, at least for the first half of the game. Eric Comrie and Winnipegger Calvin Pickard were in the nets to start, with Pickard relieved midway through the second period by Matt Tomkins.

Comrie stopped 14 of 17 shots he faced, as rookie Quinn Hutson (the younger brother of Lane) opened the scoring for the visitors in the first period and veteran defenceman Ty Emberson scored the eventual game-winner midway through the third.

Pickard turned aside all eight shots that came his way, while Tomkins was beaten twice on 15 shots.

Not seeing stars 

The Toews debut aside, there really wasn’t a lot of star power in this one with both clubs dressing the bare minimum number of veterans as defined by the collective bargaining agreement.

That meant the likes of Connor Hellebuyck, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor, Gabe Vilardi, Nino Niedereitter, Vlad Namestnikov, Alex Iafallo, Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo were all healthy scratches for the home side. Edmonton left Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Evan Bouchard, Darnell Nurse, Mattias Ekholm and Stuart Skinner, among others, back in Alberta.

The Jets will likely start icing a more experienced lineup in the remaining four games, starting with Friday’s clash in Edmonton. They’ll close out the home portion of the pre-season on Saturday as the Calgary Flames come to town.

mike.mcintyre@freepress.mb.ca

X and Bluesky: @mikemcintyrewpg