Sky’s the limit for Jets’ high-flying ace

PHILADELPHIA — When you see the player Morgan Barron has grown into, it’s hard to envision him as an undersized forward looking to find his way.

But before Barron filled out the six-foot-four, 220-pound frame he currently carries as a member of the Winnipeg Jets, there was an occasionally awkward transition phase in the latter stages of high school.

“I hit my growth spurt quite late. I was pretty short until the 11th grade,” Barron said in a one-on-one conversation on Wednesday. “One summer, I was probably five-foot-eight and I progressively grew two or three inches in each of the next couple of years.

“I felt like in those early days, I was still trying to figure out how to build my game. It took me a few years to kind of grow into my body.”

The building process took him from Halifax to playing two seasons of prep school at St. Andrews College in Aurora, Ont., which is where he earned a scholarship to Cornell in the NCAA.

By his own admission, Barron was pretty raw before he arrived in the college ranks, but he’d shown enough ability for the New York Rangers to select him in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL draft, months before his freshman season began.

Longtime Cornell Big Red men’s hockey head coach Mike Schafer witnessed the growth first hand during Barron’s three seasons in the program.

“For us, he was a coach’s dream,” Schafer, who is now retired after three decades on the job, said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous teammate. He’s a guy that’s going to be a great penalty killer, a great faceoff guy. He’s going to complement everybody on the team. He’s going to give himself those chances because of what I said. He’s someone his coaches can depend on and someone his teammates can depend on.

“It takes time for all of those skill things to come out. You’ve got to get comfortable (in the NHL) and you’ve got to be comfortable with yourself. It’s probably more of a mental thing than anything else. The skill is there, but it’s a mental game to establish yourself as an NHL regular. He’s done that now.”

“He’s someone his coaches can depend on and someone his teammates can depend on.”

After refining his skating stride to adapt to his newfound size, Barron has not only grown into an NHL regular, he’s still pushing for more.

Heading into Thursday’s game with the Philadelphia Flyers, Barron already produced a pair of highlight-reel goals and has four points in his first three games of the season.

“Finding the back of the net a few times is good. I still feel like there’s another level in terms of creating those chances. We’ve capitalized on a lot of them, which is great, but there’s parts of our game that are going to have to be cleaned up,” said Barron. “It’s been a good start so far, but there’s a lot of lifting to do.”

Don’t confuse Barron’s answer as being dismissive either.

He’s appreciative of the hot start, but he’s not even 12 months removed from a tough start offensively — one where he didn’t score his first goal of the season until Game 19 and had just one assist before that.

“Last year, it was a much slower start statistically for me — and then it just feels like you’re chasing it sometimes,” said Barron. “As much as you try not to worry about those things, I remember sitting here at Game 15 last year and feeling like I was creating a lot of chances but it felt like I just couldn’t find the back of the net.

“So that can be frustrating. That’s part of our game, it ebbs and flows. You want to keep producing while things are going well, but I’m sure the ebbs and the flows will come. But ultimately, the goal is to be as consistent as possible and keep chipping in.”

In watching Barron’s evolution, Schafer has noticed a real determination to drive to the net and a willingness to go to the hard areas.

Early this season, Barron’s finishing ability has also been on display, burying a pair of backhands after nice bursts of speed.

“The goal he scored the other night, it was great to see him slow down right in front of the goaltender and then roof it,” said Schafer, referencing the goal on Ilya Sorokin that opened the scoring in the 5-2 win for the Jets over the New York Islanders. “That just shows you the maturing of his game.”

Playing a power forward style is one way Barron will see his ice time continue to rise and his importance continue to grow.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been challenged by coaches or scouts going through the draft, asking ‘what kind of player are you?’ I don’t want to say it’s out of necessity, but every player and every guy has to have an identity,” said Barron, who was acquired by the Jets from the Rangers in the 2022 deadline-deal for Andrew Copp.

“That, to me, is the game that I want to play. I feel like it fits what I’m able to bring on a nightly basis. It’s obviously developing those skills, but also having that mindset that night in and night out, that’s what I’m going to bring and that’s what I’m going to commit to being as a player.”

With Jets captain Adam Lowry missing the start of the season recovering from off-season hip surgery, Barron is being tasked with an enhanced role on the penalty kill and he’s often been called upon to take important draws in the defensive zone.

Barron relishes those enhanced opportunities.

“If you talk to anybody in this room, guys want to continue to take on bigger roles,” said Barron. “Ultimately, that’s what drives us to be better as individuals and that’s what keeps us moving forward as a team. Guys want to continue to improve and get better. As a group, that pushes all of us forward.”

Barron’s teammates aren’t surprised to see him get off to a great start.

“He’s got great speed. Every year he’s getting more comfortable and he’s just improving.”

“He’s a guy that is an absolute load to handle when he gets going and he’s playing and using that size to his advantage,” said Jets defenceman Dylan DeMelo. “He’s got great speed. Every year he’s getting more comfortable and he’s just improving.

“He’s doing a lot for us right now. I feel like every year he’s adding another layer onto his game and we’ve always known that he’s a guy with a ton of potential. There’s no ceiling on how good he can be.”

Jets goalie Eric Comrie noticed the improvements in Barron’s game once he returned to the organization after two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres and feels like he’s still just scratching the surface in his development.

“You can see that every single year, he gets better and better. He’s a horse of a human being. He’s a big man, he’s got a lot of muscle on him. He’s just a specimen,” said Comrie. “And he’s a good player. He’s got a lot of skill and he can really shoot the puck. He sees the game well, he’s fast. He’s got all the attributes and he’s going to continue to get better and better because he cares about the game.

“You don’t really know where the limit is. He’s got a lot of skill and attributes that will help him find more and more success.”

ken.wiebe@freepress.mb.ca

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