Da! Svechnikov fitting in nicely

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This article was published 14/11/2021 (1448 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Evgeny Svechnikov won’t permit himself to get overly stoked about his current situation, focusing instead on the means by which he got there and the work required to stay.

The Winnipeg winger had struggled to find a good fit in the NHL since he debuted with the Detroit Red Wings in the spring of 2017 at Joe Louis Arena. But he earned a job with the Jets out of training camp, starting the 2021-22 season with a fourth-line role. When the Central Division squad required someone with a deeper skillset to help fill a hole on the top-six, head coach Paul Maurice turned to the former first-round pick.

Now, Svechnikov is grounded on what surely must be considered Winnipeg’s uppermost forward line, featuring Kyle Connor, one of the league’s most lethal goalscorers, and centred by Pierre-Luc Dubois, Svechnikov’s old buddy from Cape Breton who is enjoying a solid, bounce-back season.

Surely, things are rosy for the 25-year-old Russian, da?

“I just wanted to come in and show what I can do and kind of go with it, you know?” Svechnikov said Saturday morning, hours before the Jets hosted the L.A. Kings. He has a goal and five assists in 13 outings this season. “I’m fortunate to be playing with Doobie and KC. It’s not easy, there’s toughness to it and you find ways to bring (your game) every day, and do what you can do.

“I don’t think too much. I just try and go out there and play as hard as I can, whether it’s practice or the game. I don’t really have a dream job. I will see after the season, maybe after that, I’ll think about (it).”

Winnipeg’s eventual 3-2 overtime triumph, halting the Kings’ seven-game winning streak, wasn’t the Dubois line’s finest hour of the season — in fact, none of the Jets forward units had a particularly inspiring evening — but it did generate the team’s only five-on-five goal, Connor’s team-leading 11th of the year. Only Edmonton Oilers centre Leon Draisaitl (14) and Washington Capitals left-winger Alex Ovechkin (12) had more prior to Sunday’s slate of games.

Dubois, listed at 6-2, 205 pounds, and Svechnikov, 6-3, 208 pounds, were physical, dishing out seven and four hits, respectively, an appropriate response to the grinding style of the defensively structured Kings on a night when scoring chances were at a premium.

Svechnikov, who garnered nearly 15 minutes of ice time on 18 even-strength shifts Saturday, feels he’s a more strong-willed and resilient player now than when he played about half as many minutes a night in Detroit.

“It’s two different games you’re playing when you play six or seven minutes a night or if you play 14 or 15. It’s two different games and two different players,” he said. “I feel more confident and comfortable as well. It’s hard when you play seven minutes, you’re just trying to get yourself going at game time. You have no control or chance. Once you’re feeling good, you’re back to sitting and waiting.

“Right now, you have a shift and you’re back to the rhythm. It helps a lot. I feel great once we get to that pace. Of course, once the bench gets going it’s a good feeling. You have rhythm and you’re bringing more.”

The Red Wings drafted Svechnikov 19th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft after his rookie year with the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The Russian-born forward amassed 32 goals and 78 points in just 55 games. He was force in Year 2 in Nova Scotia, netting 32 goals and 79 points in 50 contests.

That offensive bent to his game did not materialize in Detroit. Svechnikov spent the majority of his time from 2016-21 either in lineup of the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins or on the injured list. He had surgery to repair an injured knee suffered in the NHL preseason in September 2018 and missed the entire ‘18-19 campaign.

Svechnikov had just 41 NHL games under his belt, with five goals and seven assists to his credit, when Detroit chose not to offer him a qualifying offer this past July, setting the once highly touted prospect adrift.

He inked an AHL deal with the Manitoba Moose, and, after a terrific training camp, earned a one-year, two-way contract (US$750,000) and a roster spot with the Jets to open the 2021-22 regular season.

Even after the Red Wings cut ties with him, Svechnikov still had faith in his tools to be much more than a bottom-six guy.

“I think I had, since I was in juniors, the mindset of my game — the way I think, the way I play, the plays I make — I think I have a good shot. I’ve always thought that since I was in juniors, in Detroit, and even here,” he said. “I feel more confident. I have more chance to make those plays. Even if I turn it over, I can keep going and still feel good about it and keep trying to make plays.”

Svechnikov played the Jets season-opener Oct. 13 in Anaheim on the fourth line with Riley Nash and Kristian Vesalainen, watched from the press box three nights later in San Jose and then resurfaced on the fourth line in Minnesota on Oct. 19.

When Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele went onto the NHL’s protocol list, Maurice gave him an audition with Dubois and Connor, and the trio found instant harmony.

“I think sometimes it’s the connection on the bench and the mood that a player creates on a line sometimes, as much as what they do on the ice,” said Maurice. “Those three guys are talking all the time and that’s a good thing for chemistry building. I always think with that line they can do more …Svech will have a hand in that to get it to the next level.”

The Jets bench boss said the relative newcomer to the Jets has shown growth in his defensive game and has earned a longer leash.

“So, he’s cut down on those (mistakes). There were more of them early,” said Maurice. “Then, there’s gonna have to be something more that happens. We’re not gonna break that line up over a bad period, because they’re going and we’ll work on those mistakes and you do have to develop players in those roles sometimes, just keep working with them.

“We’ll do what’s best for the Jets. If that line falls off, we’re going to look to do something to get it going.”

jason.bell@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @WFPJasonBell