‘I wanted to continue to be part of a winning culture’

Phil Di Giuseppe had to wait a dozen seasons as a pro hockey player before experiencing what it was like to finally reach the top of the mountain.

So, while Di Giuseppe is more than happy to discuss the fresh start he’s getting with the Winnipeg Jets organization during his first training camp, you can understand why he’s so appreciative of his recent run to the Calder Cup title with the Abbotsford Canucks of the American Hockey League.

“It was awesome. It took me 12 years to win a championship,” said Di Giuseppe. “So, you learn that the chances are tough to come by. Everything needs to go right and you have to have all of the pieces in place to do it.”

Di Giuseppe, who signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Jets on July 1, had appeared in 101 NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks during the past three seasons and at one point was skating on a line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser.

But the energetic winger was limited to 20 NHL games last season, while suiting up in 22 games with Abbotsford before the magical playoff run — one that included a best-of-three play-in round that went the distance.

Instead of being eliminated in late April, the Canucks followed up an incredible finish to the regular season by winning five rounds and capturing the first title in the 96th game of the campaign.

“We were a tight-knit group. I had played with those guys for parts of four years,” said Di Giuseppe, who has 302 NHL games on his resumé to go along with 14 more during the Stanley Cup playoffs. “It was cool to see a lot of those young guys grow in those four years. There was a collective group of guys that had been there for four years. They kind of carried that culture that we had been building the whole time.”

By the time the final buzzer had sounded with a Game 6 victory over the Charlotte Checkers, Di Giuseppe had appeared in another 24 Calder Cup playoff games — notching six goals and 11 points as an important secondary scorer that won a ton of battles and supplied plenty of leadership.

“I got sent down and we went on a run where we were something like 30-3 to end the year,” said Di Giuseppe. “You can see that something special was starting to happen. I would say that the genuine love for the game kind of erupted in me. We had 22 guys that were all in on winning. They didn’t care who scored or this or that. It’s hard to manufacture, but circling back to the point of not being in the show, winning something, even if it was in the AHL, was a very beautiful moment.”

The playoffs ended just a few days before Di Giuseppe became an unrestricted free agent and he seized the opportunity to join the Jets when they came calling on July 1.

“As soon as I got word from my agent that this was available, I jumped on it right away,” he said. “When you win something, you kind of crave it. All summer, you almost miss those do or die moments. We accomplished it, so that rush you get from it, I wanted to continue to be part of a winning culture. Obviously, here they’ve been building that for quite some time.”

Di Giuseppe will suit up in his second exhibition game tonight against the Edmonton Oilers and will start the game on a line with David Gustafsson and fellow free agent signing Sam Fagemo.

Although he’s still getting to know the player, Jets head coach Scott Arniel says Di Giuseppe has come as advertised.

“From all of the other teams he’s played for, we knew that he was a hard-nosed guy,” said Arniel. “He plays the right way, can move well. He knows his role. You talk about guys — and we have great examples on our team — but you talk about a guy who plays to his identity each practice and each game, that’s what you ask (of players). That’s what we’re expecting of you. Do that first and then hopefully the bonus side is that the goals or the other things come from that.”

Now 31, Di Giuseppe is well versed in the importance of understanding his role and adjusting to whatever situation he finds himself in — whether that’s as a regular in the NHL lineup, busting his behind as the 13th forward or serving as more of a mentor in the AHL while logging a bit more ice time.

“I will lean on my experience, wherever I am,” said Di Giuseppe. “If I’m with Winnipeg, I could help with the PK and with shutting down lines. If I get sent down (to the Manitoba Moose), just play my game and help younger guys and try to build a winning culture down there.”

Di Giuseppe, who once played on a line with former Jets forward Andrew Copp when they were with the University of Michigan Wolverines, recognizes his strengths and plans to lean into them.

“My focus, first of all, on being a pro and being a good teammate,” said Di Giuseppe. “The forecheck is my MO. I love corner work and winning battles. When I’ve been given the opportunity to penalty kill, I’ve done a really good job (with that). I take pride when you’re up 2-1, being on the ice and closing that game down. I like to score but that’s what I would consider my bread and butter.”

The Jets are the fifth organization Di Giuseppe has been a part of and he realizes the importance of doing what it takes to earn the trust and get the attention of a coaching staff — especially one that doesn’t have a lot of job openings at the NHL level as a team that views itself as a Stanley Cup contender.

“You’ve got a new set of eyes, so you just go do what you think you’re capable of doing,” said Di Giuseppe, who was originally chosen in the second round (38th overall) of the 2012 NHL draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. “If you do that at a high intensity and you execute and then you let the pieces fall where they may.”

LOOSE PUCKS: Jets top defence prospect Elias Salomonsson was scheduled to suit up on Friday night, but came down with an illness and was replaced in the lineup by Moose veteran Ashton Sautner. Salomonsson is one of the players in a battle for work on the blue line and Arniel said it’s only a matter of time before the Swedish D-man becomes an NHL regular — though it’s too early to tell when exactly that might be.

“We are trying to make him a 15-year pro, we are not trying to make him a one-year pro,” said Arniel. “I don’t know, it might be Game 1 against Dallas, it might be Game 20, it might be the end of the season. It might be next year, I am not sure when it will all start for him but, at the end of the day, he is a heck of a prospect that has grown through last year.

“You need that youth to come and fill the holes for you. It can’t be all about free agency and trades. It has to be the young guys stepping in.”

Arniel also provided an update on the status of Jets forward prospect Kieron Walton, who remains in concussion protocol “after he failed his last test.” Walton was injured during the opener of the prospects showdown in Montreal earlier this month and hasn’t been able to participate with the main group during training camp.

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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